Call flows
Play Audio
Play Audio lets callers hear a recorded announcement before continuing to the next step in your call flow. Use it to introduce your business, share useful information, or explain what will happen next before ringing your team or presenting a phone menu.
The recording plays when the caller reaches this step. Where you place it determines which callers hear it.
When to use Play Audio
Use Play Audio for announcements such as:
- A welcome message before callers reach your team.
- Directions, parking instructions, or other information callers frequently need.
- A temporary announcement about a closure or service change.
- An explanation before forwarding the call to another inbox.
For example, a caller could choose an option in your Phone Menu to hear your location and parking instructions, then continue to your main answering team.
Choose the right audio step
Use Phone Menu when callers should press a number to choose what happens next. Use Call Flow Voicemail when callers should hear a greeting and leave a message. Play Audio plays a recording and then follows its next connection.
Before you begin
- Prepare the recording you want callers to hear.
- Decide where the announcement belongs in the call flow.
- Decide what should happen after the recording finishes.
Keep the recording focused on information callers need at that point. If an earlier step already welcomes callers or introduces your business, you do not need to repeat that introduction.
Where to find it
Open the call-flow builder for the inbox you want to configure. For more information, see Open the call-flow builder.
From Flow widgets, drag Play Audio onto the canvas. Select the step to open its settings.
Add your audio
- Add or select the Play Audio step in the web call-flow builder.
- Under Audio file, select Upload audio to attach a recording of up to 10 MB, or select Generate with AI to create one from a script. See Generate the announcement with AI.
- Confirm that the audio player is present and connect the step to its next destination.
A Play Audio step needs attached audio before the flow can be saved. Keep the clip concise and remove unnecessary silence.
Generate the announcement with AI
Generate with AI turns a written script into the announcement callers hear.
- Add or select the Play Audio step.
- Under Audio file, select Generate with AI.
- The Script starts with “Thank you for calling. We appreciate your patience.” Replace it with exactly what callers should hear, such as a holiday closure or a short update.
- Select Generate audio and wait for the preview.
- Play the preview and check the wording, pronunciation, and length.
- Select Use this audio. The clip replaces any earlier audio on this step in the draft.
- Connect the step to its next destination, then select Save draft or Publish flow.
If the clip needs a change, edit the script or select Generate again, then preview the new result. If the dialog says your audio isn’t available yet, select Check generation instead of starting another clip.
Connect what happens next
Connect the preceding step or branch to the top of Play Audio. Then connect its output to the step callers should reach after the recording finishes.
For example, connect it to:
- Ring Users to ring your team.
- Phone Menu to offer keypad choices.
- Forward Call to send the caller to another inbox or phone number.
- Call Flow Voicemail to let the caller leave a message.
Without a next connection, the call ends
If Play Audio has no outgoing connection, the call ends after the recording finishes. Connect the next step whenever callers should continue.
Replace an announcement
Select the Play Audio step and use Replace audio when available, or remove the attached clip with its trash icon and confirm Remove audio before uploading a replacement. You can also use Generate with AI to prepare and preview a new clip.
Attaching the replacement changes the draft. Save the draft to keep it for later, or publish the flow when its audio and connections are ready for callers.
If you remove the entire Play Audio step, reconnect the surrounding steps. Remove temporary announcements when their information is no longer relevant.
Save and publish your flow
Select Save draft to keep your changes without updating live routing. Select Publish flow when the recording and its connections are ready.
See Saving and Publishing Call Flows for more information.
Common questions
Why can’t I save my Play Audio step?
Make sure an audio file is attached and the upload has finished. Play Audio requires a recording.
Why does the call end after the announcement?
Check the outgoing connection from Play Audio. Without a connection to another step, the call ends when the recording finishes.
Why don’t callers hear the announcement?
Confirm that the published call flow includes your changes and that the caller’s route actually passes through this Play Audio step. A recording on a different branch will not play for that caller.
Why do callers still hear the old recording?
Confirm that the replacement finished uploading and that you published the updated flow. Also check that you replaced the recording in the step callers actually reach.
Can callers press a number during this announcement to choose a destination?
Play Audio does not collect keypad choices. Use Phone Menu to play a recording that asks callers to select an option.
Does Play Audio change my hold music or voicemail greeting?
No. It only changes the recording played at this step in the call flow. Manage Hold Music and Default Voicemail Recording separately.