How to Record IVR Messages
The Right Way to Make a Great First Impression
Your IVR is often the first thing a customer hears when they contact your business and we all know how important first impressions are.
If your IVR greeting is confusing, low quality and not on-brand, it sets the tone for the entire experience… and not in a good way.
You could have the best contact centre agents in the world, lightning-fast resolution times, and the slickest omnichannel setup in the market. But if your IVR sounds like it was recorded on a kids FisherPrice cassette recorder in cave, that’s what customers will remember.
In this blog, we’ll unpack how to record IVR messages the right way, why it matters, and the top three ways to get it done, plus the pitfalls to avoid.
Why IVR Recordings Matter More Than You Think
Take a moment and think about it… your IVR is your 24/7 front-of-house team.
It doesn’t sleep, doesn’t take breaks, and (hopefully) doesn’t misroute callers.
But it does influence how people perceive your brand.
Done well, IVR voice messages, set expectations, guide customers to the direct department and even reinforces your brand personality.
Done badly, it leads to rocketing abandonment rates, misdirected calls, and a queue of frustrated customers who end up taking their frustrations out on your agents.
Clarity, tone of voice and audio quality aren’t just nice-to-haves - they’re essential.
So How Should You Record Your IVR Messages?
Let’s get into the 3 main ways you can record your IVR messages, and the pros and cons of each. Spoiler: just because you can record them on your mobile doesn’t mean you should.
1. Record In-House Using Professional Equipment
This option works if you’ve got access to decent kit and someone in the business with a clear, confident voice. A quiet room, a quality microphone, and audio editing software are all you need to get started.
Pros:
Cost-effective if you already have the tools.
Gives you complete creative control over the whole recording process from start to finish.
Find the right voice for tone, pacing and content.
Potentially quicker turnaround times and you can record, review and re-record as needed.
Cons:
You need a quiet, sound proofed environment; an echoey meeting room won’t sounds great if there’s reflective hard surfaces and background hum from the air-con.
Not everyone sounds good on a microphone and it’s not always the person you expect.
Editing can be time consuming if you’re not an experienced sound engineer.
If the employee leaves the business you’ll have to re-record all the messages to keep consistent messaging across your IVR.
There’s a hidden costs as employee(s) are taken away from their ‘day job’ whilst recording and editing.
Top Tip: If you’re recording in-house, make sure you record in WAV format rather than MP3. Wav files provide higher audio quality and you can then convert Wav files to the required format for you telephony system.
2. Use a Professional Voiceover Artist
The gold standard for IVR Voice Messaging is to hire a professional voice actor who reflects your brand values. Using an experience voiceover artist and professional recording studio means you get studio-grade sound, perfectly edited audio files that create the right first impression.
Pros:
High-quality audio, recorded in a professional studio.
Consistent tone and pace across all messages.
You can choose from a vast range of voice artists to find the voice that perfectly matches your brand. Choose from male, female, regional accent, warm or corporate.
Less time consuming than recording in-house.
Protection from employee’s leaving the company and having to re-record all voice messages.
Cons:
More expensive upfront.
Slightly longer turnaround depending on revisions.
You’ll need to brief the voiceover artist well to get the tone right.
You need to choose a recording studio who specialises in IVR voice messaging.
Real-World Example: A retail client of ours wanted a “fun and quirky” tone, but their script was wordy and full of internal jargon. We helped them rewrite it with the end listener in mind, then worked with a voice actor to record messages that sounded like a real conversation — not an announcement. The result? Shorter call times and better CX scores across the board.
3. Text-to-Speech (TTS) / AI Voices
AI voice technology has come a long way in a few short years. Modern TTS engines can generate fairly natural-sounding speech from written text, and some even let you tweak tone and pronunciation.
Pros:
Fast and scalable, generate new messages in minutes.
Ideal for dynamic content (e.g., personalised prompts or updates).
More affordable for frequent changes.
Cons:
Still lacks the warmth and nuance of a real human voice.
Risk of robotic or “flat” delivery.
Limited emotional impact and connection.
If you have a tricky brand name or product titles AI voices can struggle with this.
AI voices can work well for functional messages, things like
“Your balance is £142.89”
But when it comes to welcome messages, in-queues message or anything brand-related an on-brand human voices still win hands-down.
If you’re going down the TTS route, test, test and test again. AI is fine until it frustrates customers then the damage is done.
Don’t Forget These Essentials When Recording IVR
Regardless of which recording method you choose, there are a few universal rules:
Keep it short. Nobody wants to listen to a 40-second menu readout, no matter how nice the voice is. Focus on the essentials. Prioritise the most common options. And never say “Please listen carefully as our options have changed” unless they actually have.
Speak like a human. Avoid jargon or robotic phrasing.
Say, “To speak to customer service press 1” not “Please select option 1 to be routed to a customer service agent.”Use consistent voices. Switching from a female voice on the welcome message to a male voice for menu options then back to a female voice in-queue is jarring. Stick to one voice throughout unless there’s a good reason to use a different voice.
Audio quality matters. Background noise, echo, and hiss are your enemies. Over a phone line, even minor sound imperfections get amplified, putting the caller under pressure to listen harder to select the right option.
Don’t rush. Whoever records your IVR Messages it’s essential they speak clearly, allow brief pauses between options, and maintain a steady pace.
What’s the Best Option for You?
If you’ve got the time and the resources, using a professional voiceover is almost always the best route. It’s an investment in your customer experience, that provides brand consistency and is likely to reduce caller frustration. However for smaller businesses or rapidly evolving IVRs, in-house or AI options can work as long as you maintain quality standards.
At iNarrtor, we help businesses choose the right approach for their needs. Whether you need help writing your IVR scripts, sourcing the right voice talent, or building a modular IVR you can update easily, we can help make sure your IVR plays a positive role in your customer journey.
IVR recordings are more than a technical task, they’re a CX touchpoint. As a brand they reflect your professionalism, your attention to detail, and your respect for the customer’s time,
So don’t treat them as an afterthought!
A positive first impression that leads to better conversations, fewer complaints, and a stronger brand experience.
