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RingCentral MVP

RingCentral MVP is a cloud-based business communications solution that offers tools for Messaging, Video and Phone. Core features of the solution include conferencing, auto-recording and unlimited long-distance and local calling. ...Read more about RingCentral MVP

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Ooma Office

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OnSIP

OnSIP Hosted OnSIP Hosted VoIP by Junction Networks is a cloud-based phone solution that offers businesses across various industry verticals PBX feature such as auto attendants and voicemail-to-email. Unified communications (...Read more about OnSIP

4.6 (49 reviews)

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Nextiva

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4.6 (747 reviews)

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Dialpad

Dialpad is an AI-powered cloud communication platform and business phone system that provides organizations with the latest in VoIP telephony technology to keep teams connected and productive. The platform comprises three integrat...Read more about Dialpad

4.3 (516 reviews)

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net2phone Canada

net2phone Canada is a cloud-based business phone service provider, helping Canadian organizations drive business performance through powerful uCaaS tools. Trusted by clients and partners across the country, net2phone Canada has di...Read more about net2phone Canada

4.6 (10 reviews)

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Five9

Five9 is an all-in-one cloud contact center solution for inbound, outbound, blended and omnichannel contact centers world-wide. Powered by Practical AI, Five9 enables agents to provide customer experiences across phone, emai...Read more about Five9

4.2 (460 reviews)

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Talkdesk

Talkdesk is a cloud-based call center solution that helps businesses improve customer satisfaction while simultaneously reducing customer support costs. It uses interactive voice response (IVR), automatic call distribution (ACD) a...Read more about Talkdesk

VoIP.ms

VoIP.ms is a cloud-based internet phone service solution designed to help businesses manage local, mobile and toll-free number portability across Canada and United States. Key features include voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, D...Read more about VoIP.ms

Google Voice

Google Voice is a cloud-based business phone system that provides users with a unique contact number to receive international calls, send text messages and transcribe voicemails, streamlining communications across the organization...Read more about Google Voice

GoTo Connect

GoTo Connect is the all-in-one phone, meeting and messaging software built for SMBs. It boasts an enterprise-class phone system with 100+ features with inclusive minutes for local, long distance & international calls; video and au...Read more about GoTo Connect

Dialpad Meetings

Dialpad Meetings is a cloud-based web conferencing solution that helps businesses of all sizes by combining messaging, voice and video. While it enables users to join meetings instantly without using a PIN, UberConference also let...Read more about Dialpad Meetings

NICE CXone

Organizations around the world are striving to deliver the ultimate customer experience, strengthen brand value, and boost efficiency. NICE CXone empowers brands to achieve these objectives on one interaction-centric platform with...Read more about NICE CXone

CallHippo

CallHippo is a cloud-based call center solution that helps mid to large size businesses with workflow automation and virtual telephony. The platform enables users to give detailed analysis to customers through call recordings. Cal...Read more about CallHippo

Weave

Weave is the all-in-one customer communication and engagement platform for small- and medium-sized businesses. From the first phone call to the final invoice and every touchpoint in between, Weave connects the entire customer jour...Read more about Weave

Twilio

Twilio is the worlds leading cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build, scale, and operate their own customized communication solutions. The platform is designed to be customizable and easy to use, which means...Read more about Twilio

Aircall

Aircall is a cloud-based business phone and call center system that helps manage and streamline customer support and sales engagement operations. Designed for offices and teams in remote areas, it enables users to integrate the so...Read more about Aircall

3CX

3CX Phone System is an open standards communications solution, suitable for any sized business that wants all the features of an advanced contact center at a fraction of the cost. 3CX can take your business communications to the n...Read more about 3CX

Ringover

Ringover is the no.1 business phone system that gives you unlimited calls to 110 countries, video conferencing, SMS and group messaging, call recording, call whispering and more features focused on improving your teams productivit...Read more about Ringover

Vonage Business Communications

Vonage Business Communications is a good option for small-, medium-, and enterprise-level businesses that need a scalable, easy-to-use VoIP platform with premium voice clarity and a wide array of solutions for specific business ne...Read more about Vonage Business Communications

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: January 09, 2024

An automated attendant (commonly shortened to auto attendant) is a software application included in many business phone systems. Auto attendants are also known as “virtual receptionist software,” since these applications can perform many of the functions of a human receptionist.

Our buyer’s guide will cover the following topics:

What Is Auto Attendant Software?

Auto Attendant vs. IVR

How Auto Attendant Software Is Packaged

Common Functionality of Auto Attendant Software

Programming Tips

What Is Auto Attendant Software?

You know those voice menus you get when you call a local business? “Press 1 for Suzy, 2 for Bill” etc.? That’s an auto attendant.

The primary purpose of an auto attendant is to route incoming calls by listing options in a voice menu for callers to choose from (for example, “press 1 for sales, 2 for accounts receivable” etc.). Once the caller enters a number or symbol on her or his telephone keypad, the application automatically routes the call to the corresponding extension.

Auto attendants are NOT the fancy menus you get when you call your Internet provider to pay your bill, or when you call your credit card company to check your account balance. That’s a separate kind of system known as an interactive voice response (IVR) system. Let’s take a quick look at the differences in functionality between IVR systems and auto attendants to help you make an informed selection.

Auto Attendant vs. IVR

Auto attendants are commonly confused with IVR software. There are a number of distinctions between auto attendants and IVR systems:

  • User input

    IVR: Allows for voice response on the part of the caller (for example, “please state the reason you’re calling”).

    Auto attendant: Limited to numerical input (“press 1,” “press *” etc.).

  • Self-service functionality

    IVR:> Allows callers to perform tasks over the phone, such as paying a bill or checking an account balance.

    Auto attendant: Routes callers to the proper extension.

  • Business context

    IVR: Call centers that handle a high volume of inbound calls.

    Auto attendant: Smaller companies without large teams of dedicated sales or support agents.

  • Menu structure

    IVR: Menus “branch out” into various sub-menus as callers choose different options.

    Auto attendant: Generally have just one or two menu levels. Many auto attendants have only one level, but some offer a few sub-menus to choose from (for example, for different departments).

  • Call routing

    IVR: Routes callers into a call queue, where they wait on hold for the next available agent. The queue is configured and controlled by a software application known as Automatic Call Distribution or ACD, which usually integrates with the IVR system.

    Auto attendant: Routes callers directly to an extension. In some cases, auto attendants can be integrated with your call queue if your PBX system has ACD functionality (more commonly found in call center solutions than more basic PBX systems).

Typically, IVR systems are used in dedicated call centers, while auto attendants are used by local businesses and businesses that just need directory routing, e.g., dentists’ offices, law firms, consulting firms etc. IVR systems are both expensive and complex to program—they will be overkill for most small businesses, except small businesses that deal with unusually heavy inbound call volume.

IVR systems are generally sold on a standalone basis or they’re packaged in specialized software suites for call centers. Auto attendants, on the other hand, are packaged differently, as we’ll discuss now.

How Auto Attendant Software Is Packaged

Auto attendants are generally included as applications within Private Branch eXchange (PBX) systems. A PBX system is the interface between extensions in a business directory and broader telecommunications networks (e.g., the traditional phone network and the Internet). PBX systems are applications that serve as the core of business phone systems: Indeed, in most cases, the term “PBX” is simply a synonym for “phone system.”

The basic purpose of a PBX system is to enable routing control over both inbound and outbound calls. Most business phone systems are suites of PBX applications that include auto attendants alongside other applications, such as voicemail and call recording.

While most auto attendants are packaged in these PBX suites, some vendors offer them as stand-alone applications. Many of these standalone solutions also offer IVR functionality.

If you operate a call center, want to enable self-service options for inbound callers or want to place incoming calls into a queue, then you should consider a call center system. Smaller businesses can generally get by with PBX suites designed for their needs—many of which include auto attendants.

Common Functionality of Auto Attendant Software

Unlike IVR systems, auto attendants are straightforward, easy-to-program applications. Auto attendants include the following standard functionality:

Voice menu

Allows you to record your own voice menus. Some vendors also offer professional menu recording services.

Dial-by-name directory

A special auto-attendant phone feature that allows you to reach employee extensions by spelling out the employee’s first or last name with your telephone keypad. Particularly useful for larger offices.

Introductory greeting

Allows you to record a greeting that welcomes inbound callers and describes your business or brand.

After-hours mode

Allows you to program the system to offer different greetings and options based on your business’s hours of operation (e.g., informs callers that your business is now closed when it enters after-hours mode). Can also be programmed to handle weekends and holidays.

The capabilities of auto attendants can be greatly enhanced by PBX call routing functionality, such as find me/follow me (which forwards calls from office phones to mobile devices after a fixed number of rings) and hunt groups (also known as ring groups; forwards calls to a group of extensions defined by business role, rather than to a single extension). Find me/follow me enables callers to reach employees on mobile devices as well as desk phones from the auto attendant menu. Hunt groups are useful for department-level options in the menu; for instance, when an inbound caller presses #1 for “sales,” the desk phones of every employee in sales will ring.

By using hunt groups with an auto attendant, small businesses that have multiple employees dedicated to answering the phones can set up a very basic call center solution. You can choose to have all your agents’ phones ring at the same time when a caller makes a selection in the auto attendant menu. Alternatively, you can have phones ring sequentially in a round-robin scheme (employee A gets the call first, and if s/he doesn’t answer the call goes to employee B, then C etc.).