IVR script examples for business phone menus
Here are 16 IVR script examples for business phone menus: main menu greetings, department routing, callback offers, queue and hold messages, and after-hours routing. Each is short, British and ready to copy. Swap the [square-bracket] placeholders for your own details, list your most popular option first, and keep each menu to three to five choices.
What makes a good IVR script?
An IVR (interactive voice response) menu is the recorded "press 1 for sales" message callers hear when they reach your number. Done well, it routes people to the right team in seconds and makes a small business sound organised. Done badly, with too many options or a long-winded greeting, it frustrates callers and sends them to your competitors.
Three rules keep an IVR script tight:
- Greet, then go. Name the business, then move straight to the options.
- Most common option first. If most callers want sales, make that 1.
- Three to five choices, maximum. Always offer a route to a person.
Record the script in a quiet room with a clear, steady voice, and read the keypad numbers slowly. Below are templates for every common menu, grouped by what they do.
Main menu IVR scripts
The core greeting and routing menu most businesses need. Keep the welcome to one line.
"Thank you for calling [Company name]. To help us direct your call, please choose from the following options. For sales and new enquiries, press 1. For customer support, press 2. For accounts and billing, press 3. To speak to reception, press 0, or stay on the line and we will connect you."
"Welcome to [Company name]. For sales, press 1. For support, press 2. For all other enquiries, press 3. If you know the extension you require, you may dial it at any time. To repeat these options, press star."
"Thank you for calling [Company name], where [short tagline]. For new orders, press 1. For an existing order or delivery query, press 2. For anything else, press 3 and a member of our team will help you."
Simple two and three option menus
For small teams, fewer options route callers faster. Do not pad a menu just to fill it.
"Thank you for calling [Company name]. For sales, press 1. For everything else, press 2. We will connect you straight away."
"You have reached [Company name]. To book or enquire, press 1. To speak to the team about an existing job, press 2. To leave a message, press 3."
"Welcome to [Company name]. For [department one], press 1. For [department two], press 2. Or hold the line and we will put you through to the next available person."
Department routing scripts
Use these confirmation lines once a caller has chosen a department, so they know they are in the right place.
"You are being connected to our sales team. Please hold the line, and one of our advisers will be with you shortly."
"Thank you. Connecting you to customer support now. If all of our team are busy, you will hear a short message and we will answer as soon as we can."
"Putting you through to accounts. Please have your account or invoice number ready, as this will help us deal with your query more quickly."
Callback offer scripts
Offering a callback reduces hang-ups when a team is busy. Make the instruction clear.
"All of our advisers are currently helping other customers. Rather than wait on hold, you can request a callback without losing your place in the queue. To do this, press 1, leave your name and number after the tone, then hang up, and we will call you back as soon as a member of the team is free."
"Our team are busy right now. If you would prefer us to call you back, press 1 and leave your name and number, and we will return your call shortly. To keep holding, please stay on the line."
"Thank you for calling [Company name]. We are experiencing a high volume of calls. To save your time, press 1 to arrange a callback, or stay on the line and the next available adviser will be with you."
Queue and hold messages
Hold messages reassure callers they have not been forgotten. Keep them short and rotate them.
"Thank you for waiting. All of our advisers are currently busy, but your call is important to us and we will answer as soon as we can. Please continue to hold."
"You are still in the queue and we have not forgotten you. We are connecting calls as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience."
"Thanks for holding. You are now [position] in the queue. The next available member of our team will be with you very soon."
After-hours IVR script
Route out-of-hours callers cleanly rather than ringing out to nobody.
"Thank you for calling [Company name]. Our office is now closed. We are open [opening hours], Monday to Friday. To leave a message, press 1 and we will call you back the next working day. For urgent matters, press 2. Otherwise, you can find answers on our website."
Tips for writing IVR scripts
- Open with the company name, then go straight to the options. No long welcome.
- Order options by how many callers choose them, most popular first.
- Always give a route to a human, usually press 0 for reception.
- Let callers know they can repeat the menu, for example "press star to hear these again".
- Test the whole journey yourself, including holding and being transferred.
- Rotate hold messages so regular callers do not hear the same line every time.
Frequently asked questions
What is an IVR script?
An IVR script is the recorded wording a caller hears when they reach an interactive voice response menu, such as press 1 for sales, press 2 for support. It greets the caller, lists the keypad options and routes the call to the right team or service. A good IVR script is short, lists the most common option first, and never makes the caller listen to more than four or five choices.
How many options should an IVR menu have?
Keep it to three to five options on the main menu. More than five and callers forget the early choices and press zero or hang up. If you genuinely need more routes, use a short two-level menu so each layer stays simple, and always put your most popular option, usually sales or new enquiries, first.
What should a callback message say?
A callback message should tell the caller the team is busy, offer to call them back without losing their place in the queue, and confirm what happens next. For example, leaving their number then hanging up while keeping their position. It reassures the caller that they will not be forgotten and reduces the number of people who give up while waiting on hold.
What is the difference between an IVR and an auto-attendant?
The terms are often used interchangeably. An auto-attendant is the automated voice that greets callers and routes them, while IVR (interactive voice response) is the wider technology that lets callers interact using the keypad or their voice. In everyday business use, an IVR menu and an auto-attendant menu mean the same thing: a recorded greeting with press-one-for options.
Can an IVR transfer callers to a mobile or remote worker?
Yes. With a cloud phone system, each IVR option can ring a desk phone, a mobile app, a browser softphone, a whole team at once, or a queue. So pressing 1 for sales can ring three salespeople wherever they are working. You can also route by business hours, sending after-hours calls straight to voicemail or to an AI receptionist.
Put these scripts to work
Set up voicemail, menus and on-hold messages in minutes with a Voxora cloud phone system.