Voice Prompt Overview

A voice prompt is a recorded audio message that Cloud Voice plays to callers. Some prompts ask the caller to key in information using Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) tones, the sounds a phone keypad makes when a button is pressed. Others simply give instructions or guide the caller to the right destination.

Prompt types

Cloud Voice works with several kinds of voice prompt, each suited to a different purpose.

System prompt

System prompts ship with Cloud Voice and deliver standard instructions to callers, such as asking a caller to key in a password before they are admitted to a meeting. You can keep the built-in prompts as they are, replace them with a set downloaded from the online library, or upload your own recordings. See Change System Prompt and Customize System Prompt.

Caution

System prompts are the default messages Cloud Voice plays across many call scenarios, so changing or replacing them affects what every caller hears, not just one feature. Place a test call after any change to confirm the new prompt sounds correct.

Music on hold

Music on Hold (MoH) is the audio that fills the silence for callers who have been placed on hold. You can play the bundled music or build a playlist of your own. See Set up a Custom MoH Playlist.

Custom prompt

A custom prompt is a message tailored to your business and used in a specific call scenario, for example telling a caller that their call is being forwarded to another destination. You can record one from a phone or upload a file you have already prepared. See Record a Custom Prompt and Upload a Custom Prompt.

Custom ringtone

A custom ringtone can be used as a distinctive ringtone in the Cloud Voice App for the members of IVRs (Interactive Voice Response menus), queues, and ring groups. A personalized ringtone lets agents recognize at a glance where an incoming call is coming from. See Upload a Custom Ringtone.

Tip

Give each queue or ring group its own ringtone so an agent can tell which line is ringing before they answer. This is handy for staff who cover more than one department.

Prompt preferences

System-wide prompt behavior is controlled from the PBX (Private Branch Exchange) admin console under PBX Settings > Voice Prompt > Prompt Preferences. These settings decide which audio callers hear in common situations such as being on hold, reaching a busy line, or having a call fail.

Note

Several of the settings below pick from prompts and playlists you create elsewhere. A dropdown will be empty until you have added the matching entries, so build your Music on Hold playlists and Custom Prompt recordings first, then come back to this page to assign them.

Music on Hold: The playlist played to a caller who is on hold. The playlists offered here are the same ones you define under Music on Hold.

Music on Hold for Call Forwarding: What the caller hears while on hold during call forwarding:

• Music on Hold: plays your Music on Hold selection.
• Ringing Tone: plays a ringing tone instead.

Invalid Phone Number Prompt: Played when the dialed number is not valid. The available choices come from your Custom Prompt entries.

Busy Line Prompt: Played when the trunk (the line that connects Cloud Voice to your phone service provider and carries calls to and from the outside world) is already in use. The available choices come from your Custom Prompt entries.

Call Failure Prompt: Played when a call cannot be sent out. The available choices come from your Custom Prompt entries.

Event Notification Prompt: Played when the system places a call to notify someone that a particular event has occurred. The available choices come from your Custom Prompt entries.

Play Call Forwarding Prompt: Whether to let the caller know that the current call is about to be forwarded.

Play Call Waiting Prompt: Played when a caller is waiting to be connected to an extension user who is already on a call. What follows depends on who is calling:

• An internal (extension) caller hears “Sorry! Please hold on, the number you dialed is busy now.”, followed by a ringing tone.
• An external caller hears the same message, then either a ringing tone or a ringback tone. Which one plays depends on whether a ringback tone is configured for the inbound route that delivered the call, under Call Control > Inbound Route > Default Destination > Ringback Tone.

Note

The tone an external caller hears is not set on this page. It is inherited from the inbound route that received the call, so if you want callers to hear a ringback tone here, set the Ringback Tone on that inbound route’s default destination.