How to set up a phone menu on OpenPhone

"Thanks for calling Acme Inc. For Sales press 1, for Support press 2."

That automated voice guiding you via menu options is called a phone menu. It is also referred to as an  IVR (interactive voice response), auto-attendant, virtual receptionist, automated attendant, or phone tree.

This guide will show you how to set up a phone menu on OpenPhone and cover some frequently asked questions! The phone menu feature can be used by all of our Business and Scale plan users! If you’re a Starter user, learn how to upgrade here.

How to set up a phone menu on OpenPhone

To access the phone menu, simply:

1. Navigate to the call flow destination where you want to add a phone menu (during or after hours).
2. Click the ellipses (three dots) menu in the corner of the destination number.

Using your call flow builder, the phone menu call step adds a phone menu to your call flow. You can adjust your phone menu greeting and keypad options in this call step. Add as many menu options as you need. Callers can navigate the menu using voice commands or keypad options.

To add a phone menu block to your default call flow:

1. Drag and drop the Phone menu step into the canvas. You can either have a phone menu after an Incoming call trigger or after a Business hours condition block (during or after hours).
2. Select the phone menu step and edit your custom menu greeting and menu options in the right panel of the builder.
3. Click Change greeting to set a greeting message. You can set the greeting by uploading an audio file, recording yourself, or doing text to speech. If you need inspiration on what to include check out our auto-attendant scripts guide!
4. Click Add keypad option to add up to 10 different options that callers can navigate by pressing a number on the keypad. To the right of each option, you can also enter a keyword so that callers can select an option based on that word.

Once you’ve chosen how many menu options you want, you can customize the path of each of these menu options. By default, the call flow builder will add a Ring users step after each menu option.

To edit these steps, select them and click Replace step in the right panel of the builder to choose a different call step. You can choose from these other phone menu options: Voicemail, Ring users, Play audio and route to default action, and Forward call.

• Voicemail — The callers will be able to listen to your voicemail and leave a message for you.
• Ring users — Calls will come through to all members of the phone number. If you're the only person with access to the number, you'll receive calls. If you have a team sharing access to the number, everyone will receive calls
• Play an audio — This is great if you want to have a dedicated option for letting callers know your business hours or business address/directions. You need to share information and that's it!
• Forward call — Forward calls to another OpenPhone number in your organization (to one person or group) or to any US or Canadian phone number.  

By default, if a caller stays on the call without selecting a phone menu option, the call flow builder will default to a Voicemail step. Under No selection you can set a destination when a caller stays on the call without selecting an option. You can change this destination by selecting the ellipses (three dots) menu on the top right-hand corner of the step.

1. Select the Voicemail step.
2. Click Replace step in the right panel of the builder to replace this option with another default option, including Ring users, Play audio, Forward call, and Repeat the menu.

You can add different phone menus during your business hours and after hours. Use two different phone menu steps to offer custom experiences to your callers.

FAQs 

Is there an additional cost for OpenPhone's phone menu? Phone menu features are a part of our Business and Scale plans. 

Is it possible to route menu options to external (non-OpenPhone) numbers?

Yes, it is!

Is there a a phone menu option where the customer is directed to leaving a message?

Yes! It's called Send to voicemail and it's a part of our Business and Scale plans.

Is it possible to have a menu option where the customer can listen to an audio recording?

Yep! It's called Play an audio and it's a part of our Business and Scale plans.

How many extensions can we get on OpenPhone?

You can get up to 10 extensions for menu items 0 - 9. We don't support 2-digit and 3-digit extensions at this time (e.g., ext 101).

Can I text an phone menu phone number? Who'll receive that text?

Yes, you can! Everyone set as a member of the phone number will be able to receive messages coming into it.

Who'll be able to call out of the phone number?

Everyone set as a member of the phone number will be able to make calls from that number.

Does OpenPhone Support a multi-layered phone menu?

Yes, OpenPhone phone menu will trigger per phone number that they are routed to. 

If you have any other questions, please submit a request here. We're happy to help!