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DialNexa IVR Agents route callers with keypad input instead of an LLM conversation. Build a DTMF menu, collect digits when needed, connect the caller to a published voice agent, or end the call. IVR is available to every workspace through Manual Build > Show the IVR agent and is currently marked Beta. DialNexa IVR Agent editor showing connected Menu, Collect Digits, Connect to Agent, and Hang Up nodes with timing settings.

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Who Should Use DialNexa IVR Agents

Use an IVR Agent when the first part of a call should be predictable and driven by key presses. Common examples include department routing, language selection, account-number collection, and a menu that hands the caller to a conversational agent. Do not use an IVR Agent when callers need open-ended conversation before routing. IVR Agents do not use an LLM, transcriber, knowledge base, functions, or fallback model while the caller is in the IVR menu.

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Before You Begin

  • Open Agents > Create agent > Manual Build and select Show the IVR agent.
  • Publish every non-IVR agent that the menu should connect to.
  • Write static menu prompts. IVR prompts cannot contain dynamic variables such as {{customer_name}}.
  • Plan a valid path from Start to a Menu node and from each key option to a real node.
  • Use a phone call for testing. Web tests are not available for IVR Agents.

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IVR Node Types

The Connect To Agent node uses the target agent’s current published configuration loaded for the call. It does not create a second phone leg. The target agent can use its own call-transfer settings after the handoff, but the IVR menu itself does not transfer directly to a human number.

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Build An IVR Menu

1

Create the IVR Agent

Open Agents and select Create agent. Select Manual Build, reveal Show the IVR agent, then select IVR Agent. DialNexa creates a blank IVR draft directly because conversational templates do not apply to IVR.
2

Connect Start to the first menu

Open the full-screen IVR editor and connect the Start node to the first Menu node. Start must lead to a valid entry node before publishing.
3

Add keypad routes

Write a static prompt, then map each announced key to a Menu, Collect Digits, Connect To Agent, or Hang Up node. Each branch displays its digit on the connecting line. Compare these labels with the spoken prompt and do not announce a key that has no connected destination.
4

Configure digit collection

Set the minimum and maximum digit count, the variable name used to store the result, and an optional terminator. The default terminator is #.
5

Choose the handoff target

In a Connect To Agent node, select a published non-IVR agent in the same workspace. Set a non-empty fallback for every variable listed for the target. The list comes from its latest published version. This node is terminal for the IVR graph because control moves to the selected agent.
6

Review timing and retry settings

The default inter-digit timeout is 3 seconds, and the default maximum invalid attempts is 3. Tune these values only after testing with real callers.
7

Save and publish

Draft changes save automatically while the editor is open. Use Save or Done before leaving, then publish through the normal agent publish action.

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Publish Requirements

Publishing validates the complete graph and renders prompt audio before the version becomes available. Publish fails when any of these conditions apply:
  • Start does not lead to a valid entry node.
  • An edge points to a missing node.
  • A menu key has no valid destination.
  • A Collect Digits node has invalid length or routing settings.
  • A Connect To Agent node points to an unavailable, unpublished, or IVR agent.
  • A handoff target requires a variable without a non-empty fallback on its Connect To Agent node.
  • Prompt audio cannot be rendered and cached.
  • Static prompt text contains a dynamic variable placeholder.
Published IVR versions are view-only. Create or edit a draft to change the graph.

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Handoff Variables And Publishing Warnings

Each Connect To Agent node needs fallback values for the variables in its target’s published prompt, welcome message, voicemail message, and default-variable map. A target default can prefill the field, but review it before publishing. Test-call forms and batch recipient mapping also expose target variables. At handoff, values are combined in this order, with later non-empty runtime values winning:
  1. The target agent’s own defaults.
  2. Fallback values on the IVR node.
  3. Variables supplied with the live call.
  4. Values collected from the caller through IVR digit input.
Empty or null live values do not erase a configured fallback. The merged values also fill the target’s welcome message. Publishing an agent that is a live IVR destination warns which IVR agents reference it. Republishing an IVR warns about targets published since its last publish. Review and test those handoffs because new calls use the target’s current published configuration. API integrations can use the IVR dependency check and changed-target check before publishing.

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Verify The IVR Agent

Assign the published version to a phone route and place a test call. Test every key, invalid input, no-input behavior, digit terminator, handoff, and hang-up path. After an agent handoff, confirm the target agent uses its current published behavior.

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IVR Recordings And Transcripts

The IVR menu phase is not recorded or transcribed. A call that stays in the keypad menu can therefore have no recording or transcript. Recording begins when the call hands off to a conversational agent, so evidence covers that conversation. Use the IVR filter in Call History to review menu-only and handed-off calls. If publishing reports that the prompt-audio cache is unreachable, retry after service recovery. Shortening otherwise valid prompts will not fix a cache outage. Other rendering errors identify the affected prompts; correct the voice or prompt and try again.

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Billing Behavior

IVR prompt playback and keypad routing do not start the conversational AI stack. AI stack charges begin only after the IVR hands the call to a conversational agent. Telephony charges can still apply throughout the call. Use the dashboard billing breakdown as the source of truth for the workspace plan and call route.

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Troubleshooting

Confirm that you opened Manual Build, then select Show the IVR agent. If the card is still missing after a refresh, contact DialNexa support with the workspace ID shown under Workspace Settings > General.
Check every Menu and Hang Up prompt. Remove dynamic variables, confirm the selected voice is available, and publish again.
Confirm the Connect To Agent node selects a non-IVR agent in the same workspace and that the target has a published version.
Compare the spoken prompt with the configured DTMF edges. Every announced key must connect to an existing node.

Types Of Agents

Compare IVR with conversational agent types.

Agent Versions And Publishing

Manage drafts and published versions.

Phone Numbers

Assign a published agent to a phone route.

Call History

Review the result of each test call.