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Overview

Phone menus (IVR - Interactive Voice Response) transform your single business number into a sophisticated call routing system. Callers hear professional greetings and navigate to their desired destination using keypad selections or voice commands—just like calling a large enterprise, but achievable for any size business.

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Understanding phone menus

What callers experience When someone calls your number when you have a phone menu:
  1. They’ll hear a custom greeting message you’ve recorded or uploaded
  2. They’ll hear a series of menu options (“Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Support…”)
  3. They make their selection via keypad or voice
  4. They’re immediately and automatically routed to the right destination
Benefits for your business
  • Professional image: Makes you sound like a larger organization
  • Efficient routing: It gets callers to the right person faster
  • Reduced interruptions: It filters out spam and robocalls, which don’t usually know what to do when faced with a phone menu
  • Self-service options: You can help people get the information they need without staff needing to pick up the phone
  • Scalability: You can handle more calls without more staff or complexity
Phone menus are available on Business and Scale plans. Starter plan users can upgrade to access this feature.

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Setting up your phone menu

Access the call flow builder
  1. Open OpenPhone on web or desktop
  2. Navigate to Settings → Phone numbers
  3. Select the number to configure
  4. Click Edit call flow under Call flow section
Accessing call flow builder for phone menu setup
Add phone menu to your flow
  1. Drag Phone menu step into the canvas
  2. Place it after:
    • Incoming call trigger (for all calls)
    • Business hours condition (for time-based menus)
  3. Select the step to configure settings

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Configuring menu options

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Create your greeting

Click Add greeting message and choose:
  • Upload a file: Use existing audio (MP3/WAV)
  • Record: Create greeting directly in OpenPhone
  • Text to speech: Type text for professional voiceover
Example greeting: “Thank you for calling Acme Inc. For Sales, press 1. For Support, press 2. For our business hours and location, press 3. To speak with an operator, press 0.”

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Set up menu options

  1. Click Add keypad option
  2. Assign numbers 0-9 to destinations
  3. Add voice keywords for each option
  4. Configure up to 10 different paths
Adding and configuring phone menu options

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Available destinations

Each menu option can route to:
  • Ring users: Connect to team members
  • Voicemail: Direct to specific voicemail box
  • Play audio: Share recorded information
  • Forward call: Route to external numbers
  • Another phone menu: Create multi-level menus
  • Sona AI agent: Let AI handle the call

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Handle no selection

Configure what happens if callers don’t make a selection:
  • Default: Routes to voicemail
  • Alternative options: Ring users, repeat menu, or forward

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Multi-level menus

Create sophisticated menu trees for larger organizations, like in this (unsophisticated) drawing: 
Main Menu
├── 1. Sales
│   ├── 1. New customers
│   ├── 2. Existing accounts
│   └── 3. Partner inquiries
├── 2. Support
│   ├── 1. Technical issues
│   ├── 2. Billing questions
│   └── 3. Account help
└── 3. Company info

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How to set up a multi-level phone menu

To add a multi-level phone menu to your call flow:
  1. **In the call flow builder, **drag in the Phone menu step from the side panel.
  2. Add your first-level options (0–9).
  3. To nest a menu, drag an additional Phone menu step under one of your first-level phone menu options.
As shown below, you can repeat this process to add additional layers. Multi Levelphonemenu Gi

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Call flow builder routing options

Each key press (0–9) can:
  • Route to any other Call Flow Builder step (e.g., Ring users, Forward, Play audio, voicemail, Sona)
  • Route to another Phone menu (a nested menu)
  • Tip: Use Go to to avoid recreating steps (e.g., reuse an existing voicemail or agent group)
    • Add a go to step to the canvas, then select any existing step on the canvas you want to route to
  • Use Repeat menu to loop the caller back to the current menu or main menu.
Gotostep Gi

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In case of no selection

If a caller doesn’t press anything:
  • Use Repeat menu to give them another chance
  • Route to another option (e.g. Voicemail, Ring users, Forward or Sona) to avoid frustration
Noselection Gi Best practices
  • ✅ Keep it short: Limit menus to essential options. People want to talk to someone, not get stuck in a loop.
  • ✅ Use commands: You can add a voice command (e.g. “1”), then mention in your greeting: “Press or say 1 to reach Support”
  • ✅ Use Go to to reuse steps and simplify complex flows.
  • ✅ Send callers to Sona, your AI agent, to reduce wait time and handle FAQs.
  • ⚠️ Avoid excessive depth: We recommend keeping menus within 2 to 3 levels max.

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Other advanced configurations

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Time-based menus

Different menus for different times: Business hours menu: Full options with live routing 
1. Sales team
2. Support desk
3. Accounting
4. Schedule appointment
After-hours menu: Limited options 
1. Emergency support
2. Leave a message
3. Business hours info
Keep it simple
  • 3-4 options maximum: Prevents overwhelming callers
  • Logical grouping: Putting related options together will make sense for callers
  • Most popular first: Reduce average navigation time
  • Clear descriptions: Avoid jargon or ambiguity
Professional greeting tips
  1. Start with company name: Confirms they called the right number
  2. Be concise: Don’t record for longer than 20 seconds total
  3. Speak clearly: Keep a moderate pace so people can keep up
  4. Include zero option: Always offer a way out
Optimize caller flow
  • Self-service options: Reduce call volume
  • Quick escape: Easy path to human help
  • Consistent numbering: Same options across menus
  • Test regularly: Call your own number monthly

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Common phone menu patterns

Small business 
1. Sales
2. Support  
3. Hours & Location
0. Operator
Professional services 
1. New clients
2. Existing clients
3. Billing
4. Emergency
Retail/Restaurant 
1. Place an order
2. Check order status
3. Store hours
4. Directions
Healthcare 
1. Schedule appointment
2. Prescription refills
3. Test results
4. Urgent care

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FAQs