Overview
YouMail’s Auto Attendant (AA) allows you to route your inbound calls to different people, teams, or voicemails using pre-recorded greetings and keypress options. Auto Attendant can also be referred to as a "virtual receptionist."
Key benefits/use cases
Professional call routing: Give callers choices like “Press 1 for support” so they reach the right destination.
Flexible call handling: Use Auto Attendant on both main and extra lines with time-based greetings.
Custom greetings: Choose or record Auto Attendant greetings that include your menu instructions.
Improved caller experience: Reduce missed calls and voicemail by directing callers to the right team or person.
Pre-setup checklist
Before you get started setting up your Auto Attendant, you'll want to make sure you have:
Subscribed to one of YouMail's Business plans
Decided what keypresses you want to make available to your callers (e.g. "Press 1 for Sales, 2 for Tech Support, etc.)
Recorded a greeting that tells your callers what those keypress options are
Decided if you want the Auto Attendant setup on:
an extra line (most popular option) - your Auto Attendant will immediately answer inbound calls without ringing your mainline
your mainline - your Auto Attendant will replace your voicemail on unanswered calls
Pro Tip: We recommend setting up your Auto Attendant from a computer due to the number of configuration steps. This article assumes you're using a desktop or laptop.
How to setup Auto Attendant on an extra line
Enable the Auto Attendant
To enable the Auto Attendant on one of your extra lines:
Log into your YouMail Dashboard > Phone Lines
Under the desired extra line, click Edit
Change Forwarding Type to Use an Auto Attendant Menu
Click the Main Menu button
Click the Enabled toggle to the ON (blue) position
Click Save
Configure your menu options
TIP: When setting up your keypress options, include options to Repeat menu options and Send to Voicemail.
Continuing from the same How do you want to handle calls to your Extra Line? screen, click Main Menu again
Click MENU OPTIONS
Configure the WHEN CALLERS DON'T PRESS A KEY options
Select the Pause for duration time - this is how many seconds you want the system to wait before performing the Then action. You can select between 1-10 seconds.
Select the Then action you want to happen after the pause. You can choose between:
Repeat the menu options (replays the main AA greeting)
Allow the caller to leave a voicemail (sends the caller to voicemail)
Hang up and end the call
Configure the keypresses you want to make available to your callers
Under MENU OPTIONS, click Add +
Type in the name or team to whom you'll be sending the keypress (e.g., Sales Department, John, etc.)
Under PRESSING select the key you want associated with this person or team
You can select a number between 0-7 and 9.
Note: The number 8 is reserved for a legacy conference calling feature and is unavailable for use in the YouMail system
Under ACTION select the action you want associated with this key press. You can choose between:
Connects to (simultaneously) - this option will give you the opportunity to add one or more phone numbers to a list. Then, the call will ring all phone numbers listed at the same time.
Connects to (sequentially) - this option will give you the opportunity to add one or more phone numbers to a list and set a ring duration for each number. Then, the call will ring all the phone numbers listed sequentially, one at a time, until the call is answered.
Leave a voicemail - this option will send the caller to voicemail.
CONNECT PHRASE should be left alone unless you are using the Smart Greeting instead of recording your own.
Repeat steps 4a-e for every keypress you want to make available to your callers
Click Save
Upload your greeting
Once you've configured your keypress options, you'll want to record a greeting that tells your callers what these options are. For the best results, we recommend that you type up your script and record it using a voice memo/recorder app on your phone or computer. Then, you can export it to a .mp3 or .wav file and upload it using the steps below.
Continuing from the same How do you want to handle calls to your Extra Line? screen, click Main Menu again
Click GREETING
Click Upload a New Greeting
Give the greeting a Name and Description so that you can tell it apart from other greetings on your account
Click Choose File to locate and select the greeting you pre-recorded
Click Save
IMPORTANT: If you do not have a greeting already recorded, you can use the Record a New Greeting option OR use our text-to-speech greeting option to create one using one of our system generated voices.
How to setup Auto Attendant on your Mainline
Enable the Auto Attendant
Sign in to YouMail.com with your account.
Go to Greetings > Auto Attendant.
Click Configure Main Menu.
Click the Enabled toggle to the ON (blue) position
Click Save
Configure your menu options
TIP: When setting up your keypress options, include options to Repeat menu options and Send to Voicemail.
From the same Auto Attendant page in your Dashboard, click Configure Main Menu
Click MENU OPTIONS
Configure the WHEN CALLERS DON'T PRESS A KEY options
Select the Pause for duration time - this is how many seconds you want the system to wait before performing the Then action. You can select between 1-10 seconds.
Select the Then action you want to happen after the pause. You can choose between:
Repeat the menu options (replays the main AA greeting)
Allow the caller to leave a voicemail (sends the caller to voicemail)
Hang up and end the call
Configure the keypresses you want to make available to your callers
Under MENU OPTIONS, click Add +
Type in the name or team to whom you'll be sending the keypress (e.g., Sales Department, John, etc.)
Under PRESSING select the key you want associated with this person or team
You can select a number between 0-7 and 9.
Note: The number 8 is reserved for a legacy conference calling feature and is unavailable for use in the YouMail system
Under ACTION select the action you want associated with this key press. You can choose between:
Connects to (simultaneously) - this option will give you the opportunity to add one or more phone numbers to a list. Then, the call will ring all phone numbers listed at the same time.
Connects to (sequentially) - this option will give you the opportunity to add one or more phone numbers to a list and set a ring duration for each number. Then, the call will ring all the phone numbers listed sequentially, one at a time, until the call is answered.
Leave a voicemail - this option will send the caller to voicemail.
CONNECT PHRASE should be left alone unless you are using the Smart Greeting instead of recording your own.
Repeat steps 4a-e for every keypress you want to make available to your callers
Click Save
Upload your greeting
Once you've configured your keypress options, you'll want to record a greeting that tells your callers what these options are. For the best results, we recommend that you type up your script and record it using a voice memo/recorder app on your phone or computer. Then, you can export it to a .mp3 or .wav file and upload it using the steps below.
From the same Auto Attendant page in your Dashboard, click Configure Main Menu
Click GREETING
Click Upload a New Greeting
Give the greeting a Name and Description so that you can tell it apart from other greetings on your account
Click Choose File to locate and select the greeting you pre-recorded
Click Save
IMPORTANT: If you do not have a greeting already recorded, you can use the Record a New Greeting option OR use our text-to-speech greeting option to create one using one of our system generated voices.
Additional Auto Attendant options
Time-based menu settings
If you would like to have different options for your callers depending on the Day or Time, you can set this up by setting business hours up on your main Auto Attendant greeting and enabling the Off-Hours Menu.
Note: Having a dedicated greeting and menu for off-hours helps maintain professionalism by setting the right expectations for your callers even when you’re closed.
TIME OF DAY settings
To set specific hours for your Auto Attendant, go back to the configuration menu and enable the TIME OF DAY options.
For AAs setup on your mainline:
Go to the Auto Attendant page in your Dashboard
Click on Configure Main Menu
For AAs setup on an extra line:
Go to the Phone Lines page in your Dashboard
Click Edit on the line where your AA is setup
Click Main Menu
Once you are at the configuration menu for your AA, you can enable the TIME OF DAY options by:
Checking the Pick specific days and business hours box
Selecting the DAYS, START TIME, and END TIME during which you would like the main AA options to be available
Ensuring the correct TIME ZONE is selected
Clicking Save
Off-Hours Menu
To set specific hours for your Auto Attendant, go back to the configuration menu and enable the TIME OF DAY options.
For AAs setup on your mainline:
Go to the Auto Attendant page in your Dashboard
Click on Configure Off-Hours Menu
For AAs setup on an extra line:
Go to the Phone Lines page in your Dashboard
Click Edit on the line where your AA is setup
Click Off-Hours Menu
Once you are at the Off-Hours Menu configuration page, you can enable and setup the AA with all of the same options that are available on the regular AA. However, the configuration you setup here will only be used outside of the hours you setup in the TIME OF DAY settings in the main AA menu.