Set up a Voice automated attendant for your organization

This feature is available with the Voice Standard and Premier subscriptions. Learn more

As an administrator, you can set up Google Voice to direct callers to the correct people or departments in your organization. This automated attendant (auto attendant) plays messages and lets callers choose options.

For example, you might set up a menu, such as, "For support, press one. For sales, press 2. To speak to an operator, press zero."

Step 1: Create an auto attendant

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  AppsGoogle WorkspaceGoogle Voice.
3. Click Auto attendants.
4. Click Create.
   
5. Enter a name for the auto attendant and, optionally, add a description.
6. Click Create.

Step 2: Add greetings

In the Initial greeting section, enter the first messages you want callers to hear.

1. For Welcome message, click Add A Welcome Message or Add Another Welcome Message and choose an option:
   • Use text-to-speech (TTS)—Enter a welcome messageclick Default to choose the language, voice type, and message speedclick OK.
   • Upload your own audio—Upload a recorded message, select the language, and change the recorded text, if needed, and click Save.
2. (Optional) To enter an announcement that users can’t skip, click Add A Special Announcement and choose an option.
   For example, you could add, "We're experiencing higher than normal call volumes."
3. Click Done.

Step 3: Set up call handling

In the Call handling section, choose the actions of the auto attendant after callers hear the greetings.

Create menu options for callers to choose from

1. Click Play Menu Prompts.
2. (Optional) To explain the menu options, for Add optional introduction, enter a message.  

   For example, "Please listen carefully and choose from the following menu options."

   • Use text-to-speech (TTS)—Enter a welcome messageclick Default to choose the language, voice type, and message speedclick OK.
     (Optional) To use a language other than U.S. English, click en‑US and choose a language from the list.
   • Upload your own audio—Upload a recorded message, select the language, and change the recorded text, if needed. Click Save.
3. For Add a prompt for the n key, enter a message that tells callers what the option is for. 

   For example, "For technical support, press one."

4. (Optional) To change the prompt number and key, click the Down arrow  and choose an available key.

5. For Select an action, click the Down arrow  and choose an option from the following table:

Option after key message plays	Description
Continue to a submenu	Direct callers to another menu. You also need to set up the submenu.
Repeat this menu	Play the introduction message again.
Play a message	Play a message you enter. You also need to choose what to do next: Repeat this menu—Play the introduction message again. Disconnect the caller—Disconnect the caller after playing the message.
Send to voicemail	Play a message you enter and then send the caller to voicemail. You can enter up to 10 email addresses to receive the voicemail.
Transfer the caller	Optionally, enter a message in the language of your choice to play to callers before they are transferred. Then, choose to transfer the caller to a licensed user with a Voice number, ring group, auto attendant, or another phone number.

6. (Optional) To add more menu options, click Add Option.
7. (Optional) To change the order of menu options, next to a key, drag Move  up or down in the order.
8. When you finish, click Done.

Set up where to transfer callers

1. Click Transfer caller .
2. For Optional announcement, enter a message to play to callers before they're transferred.
   For example, "Please hold while we transfer you to our sales department."
3. (Optional) To use a language other than U.S. English, click en‑US and choose a language from the list.
4. For Transfer type, click the Down arrow and choose the type of transfer:
   • User—Enter the email address of the person in your organization to transfer callers to. If you choose a user with no  phone number, you get an error message.
   • Ring group—Click the Down arrow and select the ring group to transfer calls to. The ring group needs at least one member with a phone number or you get an error.
   • Auto attendant—Click the Down arrow and choose the auto attendant to transfer callers to. If you choose an auto attendant with no phone number, you get an error.
   • Phone number—Enter the phone number to transfer callers to. To use a phone number that's not in the U.S., click the Down arrow  and choose a country or region from the list.

Send to voicemail or disconnect caller

Step 4: Customize your working hours

For calls outside your working hours, the auto attendant can play an alternate greeting and handle calls differently. You can also specify options for holidays or when you're closed.

Set open hours

1. Cick Edit Business Hours.
2. For Open hours, choose your organization's hours:
   • 24 hours per day—(Default) The auto attendant always uses the standard options you set up. The after-hours options aren't used.
   • Customized hours—Choose the working hours for your organization. Callers outside these hours hear the after-hours options.
3. When you finish setting the hours, click Done.

Set holiday closures

1. For Holiday closures, click choose the day when callers need to hear the after-hours message. 
2. (Optional) To add more dates, repeat step one.
3. When you’re finished, click Done.

Set after-hours action

1. For After hours action, enter the announcement callers hear when it's outside your working hours or during holiday closures.

   For example, "Our hours are 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time, please call back."

2. (Optional) To use a language other than U.S. English, click en‑US and choose a language from the list.
3. (Optional) To add another announcement in a different language, click Add .
4. For Select an action, click the Down arrow  and choose an option from the following table:

Action after announcement plays	Description
Disconnect the caller	Auto attendant disconnects callers after they hear the announcement.
Send to voicemail	Play a message you enter and then send the caller to voicemail. You can enter up to 10 email addresses to receive the voicemail.
Transfer the caller	Optionally, enter a message in the language of your choice to play to callers before they are transferred. Then, choose to transfer the caller to a licensed user with a Voice number, ring group, auto attendant, or another phone number.

5. When you finish, click Done.

Step 5: Test the auto attendant

After you create or modify an auto attendant, you can preview the changes before making it active.

1. Click Preview.
   
2. At the prompt, click Call.

   Google Voice opens in a new tab of your browser. In the side panel, you can view and hear a sample call. The panel appears for one minute.

3. Choose an option:
   • To test the auto attendant, click Dial  and choose options.
   • To change the auto attendant, go back to the previous steps and make any updates.

Step 6: Publish the auto attendant

After you test the auto attendant, publish it to add it or replace a previous version.

1. At the bottom, click Publish.
2. If you get a message about any mistakes or missing information in the setup:
   1. Click Close.
   2. Fix the errors.
   3. Publish again.
3. At the confirmation, click Publish.

Step 7: Assign phone numbers

For callers to reach the auto attendant, you need to assign a Voice number to the attendant that's not already assigned to a user.

1. For Phone Numbers, click Assign a number and choose an option:
   • To create a number, select ​Assign a new number.
   • To repurpose one of your auto attendant numbers, select Take over a number.
   • To reassign an existing number, select Reassign an existing number and follow the steps in Reassign a Voice number.
2. For Country/region, click the Down arrow  and choose a country or region from the list.

   If you choose a location that isn't one of your Voice locations, you get an error message. For details, go to Add Voice locations.

3. For Service address, enter the address for your organization.

   An available Voice number appears.

4. (Optional) To find a different number, click Changenext to a number in the list, click Select.
5. Click Assign.

As you enter information, the system saves your changes.