Text-to-speech is an inbound behavior action that processes written text prompts into audio announcements. Text-to-speech is an excellent option for auto-attendants (menus), especially ones that require regular updates.
Step-by-step guide
To use text-to-speech in an auto-attendant (menu):
- In the control panel, click Extensions in the main menu. On the Extensions page select the desired extension to edit from the list.
- Click Edit in the Inbound Behavior section.
- Click the drop-down box next to Step #1 and select Text to Speech.
- In the provided text field enter your desired text.
- Use the drop-down list next to Voice to select the voice style.
- Click Submit to save.
Best Use Practices
- When using the text-to-speech function in an auto-attendant (menu), it is recommended to add a Step #2 action of Wait for 2-4 seconds to provide extra time for the caller to select an option. If no wait or terminating action (denoted by an *) is in the steps, the menu audio will repeat 3 times before hanging up.
- Be sure to enable the "Allow caller to input a menu option during the above steps" and select actions to match your text-to-speach script.
- Place a test call to the new extension to confirm the pronunciation of your script. Text-to-speech often can mispronounce proper names or text with hyphens or apostrophes and your script may need to be adjusted.
- The text-to-speech option can not be used as an action for the button input options. To use the text-to-speech option within a menu for a specific input, create a new virtual extension and build the text-to-speech function in the new extension. Once the new extension is completed, use the action Transfer to Extensions to send the specific input to the newly created extension.
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