How to set up a Zoom Phone auto receptionist

Setting up a Zoom Phone auto receptionist allows you to efficiently route incoming calls to the appropriate destination, providing a professional and streamlined experience for your callers. This guide walks you through the process of creating and configuring an auto receptionist in the Zoom Phone admin portal. You’ll learn how to set up call routing, greetings, and other options to customize your auto receptionist.

Prerequisites

• A Zoom Pro, Zoom United Business, or Zoom United Enterprise account.
• A Zoom Phone license.
• Administrator privileges in the Zoom web portal.
• Purchased Zoom Phone number(s) that you want to assign to the auto receptionist.

Create the Auto Receptionist

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator.
2. Navigate to Phone System Management > Auto Receptionists.
3. Click Add.
4. Enter a descriptive Name for the auto receptionist. This helps you identify it in the admin portal.
5. In the Extension Number field, enter a unique extension number for the auto receptionist. This can be used for internal dialing.
6. If you want to assign a direct phone number to the auto receptionist:
   • Click Assign.
   • Select an available phone number from the dropdown menu.
   • Click Save. You can assign multiple phone numbers to an auto receptionist.

Configure Call Handling Settings

1. In the Hours of Operation section, specify the days and times the auto receptionist will be active. You can set different schedules for weekdays and weekends.
   • Click Edit to customize the schedule.
   • Click Save when finished.
2. In the Greeting section, configure the audio greeting that callers will hear.
   • Select an option:
     • Play a greeting message: Use a pre-recorded system prompt, upload your own audio file (MP3 or WAV format, maximum 5MB), or record a greeting using your computer’s microphone.
     • Play a system prompt: Use a standard Zoom system prompt.
   • If uploading a custom greeting, click Upload and select the audio file.
   • If recording a greeting, click Record, follow the on-screen prompts, and click Stop when finished. You can play back the recording before saving.
3. In the Menu Options section, configure the dial keys and their corresponding actions. This is where you define how callers can navigate the phone system.
   • Click Add Key Press.
   • In the Key Press field, enter the digit (0-9, *, #) that the caller will press.
   • In the Action field, select the desired action:
     • Connect to a User: Route the call to a specific user in your organization. Select the user from the dropdown menu.
     • Connect to a Call Queue: Route the call to a call queue. Select the call queue from the dropdown menu.
     • Connect to an Auto Receptionist: Route the call to another auto receptionist. Select the auto receptionist from the dropdown menu.
     • External Transfer: Transfer the call to an external phone number. Enter the phone number in the provided field.
     • Voicemail: Send the caller directly to voicemail for a specific user. Select the user from the dropdown menu.
     • Disconnect: Disconnect the call.
   • Click Save.
   • Repeat these steps to add more menu options.
4. Configure Invalid Key Press behavior in the section below. This determines what happens when a caller presses a key that is not assigned to a menu option.
   • Select an option:
     • Play a message and repeat the menu: Plays a message indicating the key press was invalid and then repeats the greeting and menu options.
     • Play a message and disconnect: Plays a message indicating the key press was invalid and then disconnects the call.
     • Connect to an Auto Receptionist: Routes the call to another auto receptionist. Select the auto receptionist from the dropdown menu.
     • Disconnect: Disconnects the call.
5. In the After Hours section, configure the behavior of the auto receptionist outside of the defined hours of operation. The settings are similar to the Hours of Operation settings.

Configure SMS Settings (Optional)

1. Navigate to Phone System Management > Auto Receptionists.
2. Click the name of the auto receptionist you want to configure.
3. Scroll down to the Team SMS section.
4. Enable or disable Team SMS.
5. If enabled, you can adjust settings related to SMS notifications and usage.

Review and Save

1. Review all the settings you have configured for the auto receptionist.
2. Click Save to save your changes.

Test the Auto Receptionist

1. Call the phone number assigned to the auto receptionist.
2. Listen to the greeting and menu options.
3. Test each menu option to ensure it routes calls to the correct destination.
4. Verify the After Hours behavior if applicable.

Common Issues

• Call routing is not working correctly: Double-check the menu options and ensure the correct destinations are selected. Verify that the target users or call queues are properly configured and active.
• Uploaded audio file is not playing: Ensure the audio file is in the correct format (MP3 or WAV) and that the file size does not exceed 5MB. Try a different audio file to rule out file corruption.
• Callers are getting disconnected unexpectedly: Verify that the “Invalid Key Press” setting and “After Hours” setting are configured correctly and are not set to disconnect callers prematurely.
• Cannot assign a phone number: Verify that the phone number is available and not already assigned to another user, call queue, or auto receptionist.
• Greeting message is not clear: Re-record the greeting in a quiet environment with clear pronunciation. Consider using a professional voice recording service for a higher-quality greeting.