Automated attendant system

Auto attendant is a call processor system having the functions of automatically processing incoming telephone calls. Most people are familiar with auto attendant functionality, for example, when calling a credit card company or a bank, callers are often greeted by an auto attendant. Such systems allow the caller to call and contact or leave a message for an employee at any time during the day without having to worry about the message not being received. Auto attendant systems automatically implement various actions that might be performed by a switch board operator. Auto attendant systems can be implemented from a telephone system central office or, more commonly, in customer premises telephone systems with a private branch exchange (PBX). Typically such systems take the form of a programmed personal computer with additional electronic circuitry that allows the desired interaction with a telephone system. One advantage which such call processor systems provide is to promote better interaction between the users of the telephone system and callers who are connecting into the telephone system from the outside. The most common feature of auto attendant systems is call routing. When the requested information is entered, possibly after the caller listens to part or all of a directory, the call processor forwards the call to the designated extension. Some auto attendant systems include a call screening feature and a call holding feature which operates if the designated extension is busy.