Every missed transfer and long hold time chips away at customer trust and staff morale, especially in busy contact centers where interactive voice response and auto attendant scripts steer callers. A well-designed IVR platform can make all the difference in streamlining these interactions and improving caller satisfaction. Is your Dialpad IVR sending people to the wrong queue or forcing them through clunky phone menus? This article provides clear, practical guidance for creating a perfectly tailored Dialpad IVR that uses intelligent call routing, voice menus, speech recognition, call flows, and queue management. Every call reaches the right team quickly and accurately, saving time, reducing frustration, and delivering a seamless experience for both customers and staff.
To help make that happen, Voice AI’s text to speech tool produces natural-sounding prompts and dynamic voice messages that keep callers informed, speed up self-service, reduce misroutes, and cut handle time.
What is Dialpad’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System?
Dialpad’s Interactive Voice Response system is an automated telephone menu that delivers layered, dynamic voice responses to callers. It plays recorded or synthesized voice prompts, accepts keypad input, and routes calls based on choices and caller data.
The IVR sits inside Dialpad’s cloud-based phone platform and runs as part of your Office call flow, so every incoming call can be handled, screened, and directed before it ever reaches an agent.
What the IVR Lets Callers Do
How do you let callers reach the right place without tying up agents? Use menus and prompts. Callers can navigate options, enter account or booking numbers, check status, or get a department using DTMF input. This allows many routine requests to be resolved through automated prompts and provides callers with a clear path to live help when needed.
How Dialpad IVR Integrates with the Cloud Phone System
Dialpad’s IVR links directly to its cloud telephony stack, so call routing, voicemail, call transfer, and user presence work together. You can pull the caller context and route to Offices, Departments, or individual Users.
The IVR uses customizable voice prompts, menu logic, and routing rules that run natively in Dialpad, which keeps administration and analytics unified in the same admin console.
Who Can Use IVR Workflows and How to Enable Them
IVR Workflows are available to Dialpad users on all plans and licenses. You must be a Company or Office Admin to manage and configure IVR Workflows.
Self-enablement is available for companies located in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Companies in all other locations must contact Customer Care to enable this feature.
How Admins Build Personalized Flows, Fast
Admins can create customized IVR flows to address specific customer pain points and tailor the caller experience. There’s no coding involved, and workflows can be made in minutes.
Do you want to ask for an order number, check CRM fields, and then route to a priority queue? Build it with clicks and variables, then edit the flow whenever you need to refine it.
How IVR Improves Caller Experience and Agent Efficiency
What do you gain with an IVR? You reduce hold times, lower repeat transfers, and give callers a self-service option outside business hours.
The IVR collects critical data, identifies callers, and drives routing based on that information so agents spend less time on routine verification and more time on complex interactions. IVR does not replace live agents, but it frees them to handle higher-value work.
Data, CRM Access, and Personalization Options
Dialpad IVR workflows can collect DTMF input like account numbers and pins, query CRM or other systems through APIs, and use those results to set variables. That lets the IVR identify callers and change behavior based on account status, previous interactions, or priority level. Personalized routing and prompts improve resolution rates and reduce repeat contacts.
IVR Workflow Steps You Can Use Today
- Menu: Plays a menu prompt and collects the caller’s menu choice
- Collect: Captures DTMF input for account numbers, pins and similar fields
- Play: Plays audio file prompts or messages to the caller
- Go to: Moves the caller to another IVR workflow or another step in the current flow
- Assign: Creates or updates variables during the call for later use; new variables are created automatically when assigned a value
- Transfer: Sends the call to another Office, Department, User, or external phone number
- Hang up: Ends the call when the interaction is complete
- Branch: Evaluates a system or workflow variable and proceeds down different paths based on the result
- Expert: Performs API calls, advanced logic, and variable handling for complex integrations
- Customer Data: Displays Customer Context inside the IVR workflow so prompts and routing can use known account information
Advanced Expert Flows and Professional Services
Need API orchestration, complex decisioning, or custom logic? Expert flows unlock advanced operations but must be enabled by Dialpad’s Professional Services team. Contact your Customer Success Manager to activate expert flows and plan integrations with CRMs, databases, or third-party systems.
Why Administrators Should Ask Themselves Questions Now
Which processes do your agents spend the most time on? Which caller tasks could be handled without human intervention? Map those tasks to IVR workflows and test them during low-volume windows. Want a specific example or checklist to get started? I can outline a rollout plan and sample flow based on your call types.
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How Do You Set up a Dialpad IVR System from Scratch?
Turn on IVR Workflows at The Company Level: Enable System-Wide Access
- Open the Dialpad Admin Portal.
- Select My Company.
- Choose Company Settings.
- Go to IVR workflows.
- Slide the toggle to Enabled.
Self-Enable is available for companies located in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. If your company is outside those countries, contact Dialpad Support to request that IVR workflows be turned on. Once enabled, you can create a Standard IVR Workflow.
Build Your IVR Workflow In Dialpad: Create The Call Flow Step By Step
- In Admin Settings select IVR Workflows.
- Click Create Workflow.
- Enter a clear name for the workflow.
- Click the plus icon.
- Choose Create from scratch or pick a template.
- Add steps and actions such as playing media, presenting menus, collecting digits, transferring to the queue, or sending to voicemail. Use routing rules to direct calls based on business hours, caller input, or skill-based routing.
- Rearrange steps by clicking and dragging the workflow diagram on the screen. Use the preview controls in the lower right to zoom in or out.
- Select Publish to activate the flow immediately, or Save to keep a draft for review.
Assign an IVR to an Office, Department, or Contact Center: Connect Numbers to The Flow
- In Dialpad Admin Settings, pick the Office, Department, or Contact Center you want to route.
- Select Business Hours and Call Routing.
- Open Call Routing and click Edit Call Routing.
- Choose Open Hours Routing or Closed Hours Routing depending on which period you are editing.
- Select Other Routing Options.
- Choose an IVR Workflow and pick the published workflow you want to assign.
- Save your routing changes. After assigning, the number of Entry Points appears beside each IVR workflow, allowing you to track where calls enter the IVR.
Edit and Update an IVR Workflow: Change Without Breaking Live Calls
- Go to Admin Settings, then Channels & IVR, and choose IVR Workflows.
- Find the workflow and open the More menu beside it.
- Select Edit.
- Modify prompts, routing rules, menu options, transfers, media, or timings.
- Click Save to store edits as a draft that colleagues can review.
- Click Publish when you want changes sent live to all connected numbers.
When you edit a workflow step, you change settings within that same step type. If you need a different step type, either delete the old step and add a new one or disconnect the current step and insert the new step between other nodes.
Save Versus Publish: Control When Edits Go Live
Save preserves your work without affecting calls. Use Save when you want another team member to review changes. Publish pushes your edits live to every number using that workflow, so callers experience the update immediately.
Copy a Workflow: Make Safe Copies for Version Control
- Open Admin Settings, then Channels and IVR, and go to IVR Workflows.
- Find the workflow you want to copy and open the More menu.
- Choose Copy.
- Name the new workflow.
- Select which Office or Offices will use the copied workflow and click Apply. You can include up to 10 Offices in each copy request.
- Select Copy to create the duplicate. Use the copy to test changes or maintain version control without affecting the live flow.
Disconnect or Insert a Workflow Step: Restructure Call Flows Without Rebuilding
- In Admin Settings go to Channels & IVR, then IVR Workflows.
- Open the workflow and select More then Edit.
- Select the step you want to change, open Options, and choose Disconnect.
- Insert a new step where needed, then reconnect nodes so the logic flows correctly.
You can also delete steps if they are no longer required.
Delete an IVR Workflow: Remove a Flow Safely
- First, remove all connected numbers. Go to each Office, Department or Contact Center assigned to the workflow.
- Select Business Hours and Call Routing, open Call Routing and click Edit Call Routing.
- For both Open Hours Routing and Closed Hours Routing, change routing to an option other than an IVR workflow.
- Return to IVR Workflows in Admin Settings.
- Open the More menu beside the workflow and select Delete.
- Confirm the deletion.
Workflows that still have entry points cannot be deleted. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.
Set fallback Actions: Route Calls When a Step Fails
- In Admin Settings select the Contact Center, Department, or Office that uses an IVR workflow.
- Open Advanced Settings and go to IVR Workflows Fallback Action. You will only see this option for places that already have an IVR configured.
- Choose the fallback action that best protects the caller experience:
- Voicemail: sends the caller to the contact center voicemail.
- Operators: routes to operators. Operator fallback activates only if all operators are off duty and will not trigger if the hold queue is full or an operator misses a call.
- Contact Center, Department, or Office: sends to a specific group.
- Team member: sends to a specific user.
- Room Phone or External Number: forwards to a room phone or external number.
Use fallback actions to prevent dead ends when a media file or third-party step becomes unresponsive.
Find Interactions Routed Through IVR: View Session History and Call Records
- In the Admin Portal, open Conversation History.
- Set Conversation type to Ai agent or IVR.
- Select the IVR workflow you want to inspect and click Apply. This filters the session history to calls that passed through your IVR.
See the Exact IVR Steps a Caller Took: Inspect Internal Messages
- From the filtered Conversation History, open the interaction you want to review.
- Click View summary.
- Select Show internal messages to reveal each IVR step, the media that played, and the caller selections.
This view helps you validate prompts, menu options, and routing outcomes.
A Quick Test and Troubleshooting Checklist: Validate Your IVR After Changes
- Call the number assigned to the workflow during open hours and closed hours to confirm both routings.
- Use Session History to find the test call and inspect internal messages.
- If a prompt fails to play or a step times out, set a fallback action to a phone number or voicemail.
- Keep copies of published flows so you can revert or consult previous versions.
Want to run a test now? Pick a number, make the call, then follow the steps above to review the interaction details.
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Try our Text to Speech Tool for Free Today
Voice AI transforms text to speech into natural, expressive audio that fits right into interactive voice response systems. You get a library of:
- Human-like voices
- Multi-language support
- Control over tone and pacing
So prompts sound alive instead of robotic. Use these voices for IVR menu prompts, auto attendant scripts, voicemail greetings, and on-hold messages while you keep configuration time to a minimum. Want to hear how an authentic caller would react to your new voice prompt?
Plugging Voice AI Into Dialpad IVR and Call Routing
Integrate Voice AI with Dialpad IVR to replace canned prompts with natural narration that improves caller engagement. The tool integrates with IVR designer flows, DTMF menus, speech recognition, and natural language understanding, enabling callers to reach the correct queue faster.
That lowers queue times and supports skill-based routing, call transfer, callback, and call deflection to virtual agent paths. How would more natural IVR prompts change first contact resolution for your team?
Developer-Friendly APIs and Telephony Integration
Developers can connect Voice AI through APIs or SDKs to cloud telephony platforms, SIP trunking, and cloud PBX. Combine text-to-speech with speech-to-text, real-time transcription, and conversation analytics to power screen pop, CRM integration, and agent assist features. That pairing helps create voicebots and virtual agents that hand off cleanly to humans with context. Which integrations would speed your deployment most?
Use Cases for Content Creators, Educators, and Training
Content creators and instructional designers get consistent, emotionally tuned narration without studio time. Educators can generate multilingual lessons, control speed, and provide accessible audio for students who need spoken content.
Use the same voices for product demos, training modules, and onboarding sequences to keep tone and clarity consistent across channels. What type of content would you convert first?
Operational Gains and Analytics for Contact Centers
Natural voice prompts reduce confusion and call abandonment, boosting self-service containment and lowering average handle time. Pair TTS with call analytics dashboards and conversation recording to measure caller flow, IVR drop-off points, and utterance success rates. This data feeds continuous improvement for menu prompts, IVR scripting, and voice routing rules inside Dialpad IVR. Which metric matters most for your CX goals?
Try it and Iterate Rapidly
Create a free account, pick a voice, generate sample prompts, and drop them into your IVR flows for A/B testing. Monitor call handling, transcription accuracy, and caller satisfaction to refine wording and routing. Keep the rollout iterative so you improve prompts while preserving call quality and agent workflows. Ready to test a voice in your IVR tomorrow?
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