Speak or Play a Message to Callers with the IVR Say/Play Action
In a phone menu workflow, Say/Play is how you talk to callers. It either reads text aloud using a synthetic voice or plays an audio file you upload. Use it for greetings, announcements, instructions and goodbyes.
Options
- Say or Play Message: choose Say a message (text-to-speech) or Play a message (an uploaded audio file).
- Text to Say: the words to speak, shown when you choose Say.
- Language: the spoken language. Currently English is the supported option.
- Message Voice: a male or female voice.
- Number of Loops: how many times the message repeats. The default is 1.
Add it to a phone menu
- Open the workflow that begins with the Start IVR trigger.
- Click + at the point where callers should hear something.
- Choose Say/Play.
- Name it descriptively, for example "Welcome greeting".
- Pick Say or Play, then fill in the text or upload the audio.
- Choose voice and number of loops.
- Save.
Example greeting
Say a message: "Hello, and welcome to Riverside Dental. Please stay on the line while we connect you." Voice: female. Loops: 1.
Choosing between Say and Play
| Use Say when | Use Play when |
|---|---|
| Text changes often | You want a professional recording |
| You need quick edits | You want branded music or a real voice |
| Prompts include variables | The message is long and polished |
Tips
- Keep prompts short; callers lose patience quickly.
- Use MP3 for uploaded audio for broad compatibility.
- Use extra loops only for important instructions; repeating greetings is annoying.
- If you need the caller to press a key, use Gather Input On Call instead, which can speak the prompt itself.
Good to know: Say/Play does not wait for a key press; pair it with a Gather step whenever you expect a response.
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