What an IVR script includes
An IVR script is the set of recorded or synthesised prompts a caller hears and the keys that move them through the call. The generator writes one prompt per node of the call flow, so nothing is missing when you record or upload it.
The call-flow tree shows the same structure: the incoming call, notices, the language menu, the working-hours check, the main menu with each key, the transfers and queue message, the retries for invalid or missing input, and what happens after hours or on a public holiday.
- Welcome with the business name, plus notices such as call recording.
- Language menu when you serve callers in more than one language.
- Main menu with options, an agent on 0 and a repeat key on 9.
- Transfer, queue, invalid-key and no-input prompts.
- Closed, holiday, voicemail or callback prompts, and a goodbye.
Bilingual Arabic and English IVR menus
Many business lines in the GCC greet callers in Arabic and English and let them choose a language first: "للعربية، اضغط 1. For English, press 2." The generator writes each line of the language menu in its own language and then the whole script in every language you select, so each caller hears one language from the menu onwards.
Arabic prompts are written in Modern Standard Arabic and handle small details that make menus sound natural, such as the للمبيعات form before options with the definite article, and Gulf working weeks from Sunday to Thursday or Saturday to Thursday.
Keep menus short and easy to follow
Callers remember only a few options at a time. Keep the main menu to about five options, put the most requested one first, always offer a way to reach a person, and let callers repeat the menu. The script checks warn you when the menu gets long or takes more than about 30 seconds to hear.
Durations are estimated from words per minute at the pace you choose, with an adjustment for languages whose words are longer on average, such as Arabic and German. They are a planning guide; the final timing depends on your voice or TTS engine.
Voice OTP script
Voice OTP calls the user and reads a one-time code when SMS is not received or the number can't receive texts. The script introduces the business, reads the code digit by digit with pauses, repeats it, states how long it is valid, warns the user never to share it and offers a key to hear it again.
Six-digit codes read at least twice are a common choice. In SSML, the generator places a short break between digits, so TTS engines read 4, 8, 2 rather than four hundred and eighty-two.
TTS-friendly text and SSML export
The plain prompts are written for text-to-speech: no symbols or emoji, ampersands spelled out, times written as people say them and digits separated where they must be read one by one. Paste them into your IVR builder or send them to a voice artist.
For engines that accept SSML, export one SSML 1.1 file per language, with each prompt as a paragraph, an optional speaking rate and lang tags for the mixed-language menu. Check your provider's documentation for the elements it supports. Before you launch, check local rules on announcing call recording.