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Assign an IVR flow to a phone number

A phone number can route through an IVR flow, or have the flow removed to fall back to the number's non-IVR routing. Assign the flow from the number's voice panel — pick from existing flows, or create a new one from the same screen.

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Assign an IVR flow to a phone number

A phone number can route new calls through an IVR flow, or have the flow removed so calls fall back to the number’s non-IVR routing. The flow lives independently — you can build it once and reuse it on multiple numbers, or have a different flow per number for language- or brand-specific entry points.

Before you start

  • A phone number provisioned and visible in Settings → Voice.
  • A flow you want to assign — either an existing one or one you’re about to create.

Steps

  1. Open Settings → Voice.
  2. Select the phone number in the sidebar.
  3. If the number has no flow yet, the panel shows No Voice Flow.
  4. Pick a flow:
    From the Select a flow… dropdown, choose the flow you want to use and click Share.
    Or click Create Voice Flow to build a new one. It’s assigned to the current number as soon as it’s created.
  5. The assignment applies immediately — there is no separate save step.

New calls to this number will use the assigned flow after a short cache refresh window, typically within 30 seconds. Calls already in progress continue on the flow they started.

Verify it worked

Dial the number from your own phone. You should hear the first action in the flow — typically a greeting Say Message — instead of a fallback message.

Reusing flows across numbers

A single flow can power multiple numbers. Common reasons to do this:

  • A general “office hours menu” used by every regional number, with the language-specific greeting handled by a Language Selection node.
  • An A/B test on a marketing number — share the main flow and switch the assignment when measuring.
  • Multiple toll-free numbers for the same brand, all funneling into the same support flow.

To assign a flow to several numbers, repeat the steps on each phone number — flows are not “broadcast assigned” from one place.

Switching flows on a live number

Changing the assigned flow applies to new calls after a short cache refresh window, typically within 30 seconds. Calls already in progress continue on whichever flow they started.

Be careful editing a flow that is already assigned to a live number. Saved edits to that flow affect new calls to every number using it after the cache or provisioning window. They do not wait for a separate publish step.

If you’re rolling out a major IVR change:

  1. Build the new flow alongside the old one instead of editing the live flow directly.
  2. Test the new flow on a spare number first.
  3. When you’re satisfied, switch the production number’s ivrFlowId or flow assignment to the new flow.
  4. Keep the old flow around for a week in case you need to roll back.

This keeps live callers on the existing flow while you build and test. The production number only starts using the new flow after you switch its assignment.

Remove a flow from a number

Remove a flow when the number should stop using IVR and fall back to its non-IVR routing, such as its Agent Stack if one is configured.

  1. Open Settings → Voice.
  2. Open the IVR flow.
  3. Go to the Manage tab.
  4. Find the phone number that should stop using the flow.
  5. Click Remove for that number.
  6. Review the confirmation. It shows what will answer calls next after the flow is removed.
  7. Confirm the removal.

New calls to this number will use the fallback routing after a short cache refresh window, typically within 30 seconds. Calls already in progress continue on the flow they started.

Deleting an IVR flow

An IVR flow cannot be deleted while any phone numbers still use it. Before deleting a flow, open the flow’s Manage tab and remove every phone number assignment. After no numbers are assigned, you can delete the flow.

Troubleshooting

  • Symptom: You don’t see your flow in the list. Fix: Flows are tenant-wide but are listed in the flow dropdown of any number that has no flow yet. If the flow exists but isn’t shown, refresh the page or check whether you’re looking at the right phone number.

  • Symptom: A call lands but plays a generic message instead of your flow. Fix: No flow is assigned. Walk through the steps above and confirm a Share (or Copy) action was performed (not just selecting the flow in the dropdown).

See also

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