Setup - Auto Attendant - Microsoft Teams

Publisher

Microsoft

URL

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/aa-cq-setup-auto-attendant

Published

2026-08-31

Updated

unknown

Accessed

2026-09-24

HTTP status

200

License

Microsoft Learn terms of use; source repository license not verified in this run; no-redistribution; short excerpts and locators only

Source notes citing this source

• If business hours are left unchanged, an auto attendant follows its business-hours call flow from 09:00 to 17:00 every day and the after-hours flow at all other times; each day can have multiple time ranges. in context
• Dial scope defaults to all online users; a user in both the include and exclude groups, or hidden from the Exchange GAL, is excluded, and a new user can take up to 36 hours to appear in the directory. in context
• Dial keys are matched before directory search, so Microsoft recommends setting directory search to None on menus with mapped keys and using a separate auto attendant for dial-by-name or dial-by-extension. in context
• The advanced auto attendant wizard runs in this order: general info, call handling hours, business-hours call flow, after-hours call flow, holidays call flow (optional), dial scope (optional), authorized users (optional). in context
• Auto attendant menu options can map keys 0-9, * and # to destinations, and the mappings need not be contiguous; the operator only works if a menu key is mapped to it. in context
• Each auto attendant has one language and one time zone, and the time zone is used to calculate business hours. in context
• If business hours are left unchanged, an auto attendant follows its business-hours call flow from 09:00 to 17:00 every day in its configured time zone; any time not set as business hours counts as after hours, and a day can have several time ranges. in context
• The auto attendant dial scope defaults to All online users, can include or exclude groups, and a new user can take up to 36 hours to appear in the directory. in context
• When menu dial keys are assigned, Microsoft recommends setting Directory search to None, because dial keys are matched first and would transfer a caller mid-entry, and putting directory search in a separate auto attendant reached by a dial key. in context
• In auto attendant Step 5 (Holidays call flow), each holiday already created is added with its own greeting and call routing options. in context
• Auto attendant menu options map the 0-9, * and # keys (not necessarily contiguous) to destinations including Operator, Person in the organization, Voice app, Resource account, Voicemail, External phone number and announcements. in context
• Microsoft recommends configuring an auto attendant Operator, which receives callers who make no selection or hit a processing error, but the operator is enabled only if an Operator key is also mapped in the menu options. in context
• In auto attendant General info, choose Through a resource account if the auto attendant is called directly, or Through a voice app (no resource account needed) if it is nested behind another voice app that has already answered the call. in context
• Auto attendants are created in the Teams admin center under Voice > Auto attendants > Add, using Quick setup or Advanced setup. in context
• The auto attendant Voicemail destination is a Microsoft 365 Group's mailbox, and that group must have Let people outside the organization email this team enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center. in context
• The auto attendant voicemail destination is the mailbox of a Microsoft 365 Group, and that group must have Let people outside the organization email this team enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center. in context
• An equivalent auto attendant diagnostic runs in the Microsoft 365 admin center against the auto attendant's resource account and returns steps to fix tenant, policy or resource account configurations that prevent it receiving calls. in context
• Auto attendant dial keys are matched before directory search, so a caller dialling a name or extension that begins with a mapped key is routed immediately; Microsoft recommends setting Directory search to None when dial keys are assigned and using a separate directory auto attendant. in context
• A new user can take up to 36 hours to be listed in the auto attendant directory, and users who are in both the include and exclude lists or are hidden from the Exchange GAL are excluded. in context
• To redirect auto attendant calls to shared voicemail (a Microsoft 365 group mailbox), the group must have 'Let people outside the organization email this team' enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center. in context
• An auto attendant sends callers to the Operator when they make no menu selection or when a call processing error occurs, such as a transfer to an invalid number, but the Operator feature is enabled only if an Operator key is also mapped in the menu. in context

Cite this source record

APA

WarmTransfer. (2026, August 31). Setup - Auto Attendant - Microsoft Teams. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/ms-learn-aa-cq-setup-auto-attendant

BibTeX

@misc{warmtransfer-ms-learn-aa-cq-setup-auto-attendant,
  title  = {Setup - Auto Attendant - Microsoft Teams},
  author = {{WarmTransfer}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/ms-learn-aa-cq-setup-auto-attendant},
  note   = {Microsoft, accessed 2026-09-24}
}