Announcer applet

1 Overview
2 Configuring announcements
- 2.1 Announcement types
- 2.2 Other options
3 Customizing announcements
4 Recordings used by the Announcer applet
5 Next applets

Overview

Using the Announcer applet, you can configure announcements to be read to the caller based on data that the applet locates from a specified data source. Depending on their needs and preferences, users can select different announcement types. To learn more about different announcement types and their configuration, see the Announcement types section.

It is possible to record and prepare audio files for your announcements. For more information, see Recording and preparing audio used in applets.

Note
This applet supports call routing only; it is not compatible with other interaction types, such as chat or email.

Configuring announcements

Announcement types

Announcement type	Description	Configuration	Additional information

Announcement type	Description	Configuration	Additional information
Audio file (uploaded)	Use this announcement type for announcements played from audio files added from your PC.	To add an audio file: Press the Browse button. Select the file. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See the Other options subsection to learn more about this feature.	Maximum audio file size The size of the audio that a customer provides can be a maximum of 10 MB (approximately 10 minutes).
Dynamic audio file	Use this announcement type to play audio files stored in Amazon S3. Requires a data source that identifies the specific file path.	To add a dynamic audio file: Select Dynamic audio file from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source for the announcement. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See the Other options subsection to learn more about this feature.	For detailed information on dynamic audio files, see Using dynamic announcements.
Text to speech	Use this announcement type to write a message that the system reads to the caller. You can use a combination of text, digits, and data sources in this field. For information about text-to-speech in announcements, see Using text-to-speech in announcements.	To configure your text-to-speech announcement: Select Text to Speech from the dropdown menu. Enter the Voice. You must use a registered Polly Amazon Voice. Enter the text that is read to the caller. During the configuration, you can press Play/Download to check/save your announcement to your PC.	Data sources Use the following format to specify a placeholder for a data source: `$(DataSource)` Example "Welcome to `$(CompanyName)` customer support.” To learn more about data sources, see the Data Source Mappings section.
			Provisioned features If enabled for your account, the Announcer applet supports Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML). For more information on SSML, see Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML).
			Maximum number of characters The maximum number of characters is 1500.
			Using text-to-speech See Using text-to-speech in announcements.
Characters	Use this announcement type for character-by-character playback, where the system reads the string as individual letters or digits rather than as a complete word	To configure character-by-character playback for your announcement: Select Characters from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source from which the system will retrieve the data. See Other options to learn more about delivery options. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	N/A
Date	Use this announcement type to announce a date.	To configure a date for your announcement: Select Date from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source from which the system will retrieve the data. See Other options to learn more about delivery options. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	Data stored in non-date fields For date or time announcement types, the applet will attempt to interpret data even if it is stored in non-date fields. The applet can successfully announce the information, provided the data is in a supported format.
			Source of data You can only use data from a data source in the case of this announcement type.
			Limitations Only works for dates after 1st January 2000.
Day of week	Use this announcement type to announce the day of the week. You can use Data Sources for your announcements or, if needed, configure the announcement to use relative terms, such as as 'yesterday', 'today', or 'tomorrow', based on the retrieved data.	To configure a day of the week for your announcement: Select Day of week from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source from which the system will retrieve the data. See Other options to learn more about delivery options. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	For detailed information, see Using 'yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow' in announcements.
Number	Use this announcement type to announce a number.	To configure a number for your announcement: Select Number from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source from which the system will retrieve the data. See Other options to learn more about delivery options. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	Format Use only whole, positive numbers. The system ignores anything entered after a decimal point. For example, the system views 21.9 as 21.
Time	Use this announcement type to announce a time.	To configure a time for your announcement: Select Time from the dropdown menu. Select the Data Source from which the system will retrieve the data. See Other options to learn more about delivery options. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	N/A
Template	Use this announcement for the initial message in WhatsApp Outbound interactions to meet Meta’s compliance requirements.	Provisioned feature The template may not be enabled for all accounts. Access depends on your current license level or specific account configuration. To configure the template for your announcements: Select Template from the dropdown menu. Set WhatsApp as the message format. In the From field, enter the originating phone number. While this does not impact the live execution, it is required to fetch and display the correct list of templates associated with that specific number. Choose your Meta-approved template. The template you select is what the applet will send during the interaction. Select Enable barge-in if needed. See Other options to learn more about delivery options.	Meta compliance This announcement type ensures compliance with Meta's requirements. According to those requirements, the first message in a WhatsApp outbound interaction must use a pre-approved template. This option allows users to select these templates directly. The From number acts as a filter, pulling the correct templates associated with that specific WhatsApp account.
			Default format value The message format currently defaults to WhatsApp. It specifies the channel for the templated message.
			Formatting The 'From' field requires the E.164 format.

Other options

Parameter	Description

Parameter

Description

Enable barge-in

This parameter determines whether the caller can interrupt the announcement by pressing a key.

Menu applet as a next step

If you enable barge-in and the next step is a Menu applet, callers can press any key to skip the announcement. The system logs the keypress and passes it directly to the Menu.

Chain of announcements

If you enable barge-in for a chain of announcements between this and the Menu applet, callers skip these announcements as well. However, if barge-in is not enabled for intermediate announcements, the caller's keypress is not passed to the Menu applet and is lost.

Announce from

This parameter applies to announcements that originate from Data Sources.

Data format

The data pulled from the Data Source must be in a recognized format for the specified announcement type. If the data is not in the required format, the applet fails.

Data stored in non-date fields
For date or time announcement types, the applet will attempt to interpret data even if it is stored in non-date fields. The applet can successfully announce the information, provided the data is in a supported format

IVR slots

The Announce from field contains both IVR slot and data source names. IVR slot names are prefixed with 'IVR Slot|'.

Time zone

The applet uses the timezone of the data center hosting the plan to define ‘yesterday’, ‘today’, and 'tomorrow'. If the caller is in a different timezone, these relative dates may be inaccurate.

Customizing announcements

Provisioned feature

This feature must be enabled for your account.

By default, the Announcer applet uses a British English female voice to read characters, dates, times, days of the week, and numbers. If you want the applet to use a different language, accent, or gender, you can replace these default system files with your own recordings.

How to customize:

Prepare the library: Create a set of audio files (e.g., all days of the week, numbers 1–60, etc.) in your chosen voice.
To learn how to create your own audio, see Recording and preparing audio used in applets.
Check requirements: See the Recordings List below for the exact phrases and formats required.
Submit for Upload: Once your files are ready, send them to the Vonage Contact Center support team to be enabled for your account.

Recordings used by the Announcer applet

The following table contains the names of the recordings that the Announcer applet uses when you choose to announce characters, dates, times, numbers, or days of the week.

To use a specific voice for these recordings, you must rerecord the audio files in the chosen voice.

Language note

This list includes only requirements for the announcements in British English. If you want to use different languages in the applet, contact your account manager for help.

Naming convention

To ensure the applet recognizes your custom audio, use the following naming standards:

All files must be saved with the .wav extension (e.g., and.wav).
Lists shown as A...Z or 1...60 require an individual file for every character or number in that range (e.g., A.wav, B.wav, C.wav, etc.).
Filenames shown in quotes (e.g., ‘million’) must match that word exactly (e.g million.wav, hour.wav)

Recording	Type of announcement	Additional information

Recording	Type of announcement	Additional information
A ... Z	Character	N/A
0 (zero) ... 20	Character	Requires 0 (zero) ... 9.
	Number	Requires 0 (zero) ... 19.
	Date	Requires 1 ... 19.
	Time	Requires 1 ... 20.
space	Character	space.wav consists of a brief pause. You do not need to rerecord this audio file to use a different voice.
20, 30, 40 ... 90	Number	N/A
	Date	N/A
	Time	Requires 30, 40, 50.
'hundred'	Number Date	N/A
'thousand'	Number Date	N/A
'million'	Number	N/A
'billion'	Number	N/A
Monday ... Sunday	Date	N/A
the 1st ('the_1st')	Date	N/A
1st ... 20th	Date	N/A
'30th'	Date	N/A
January ... December	Date	N/A
'and'	Number Date	N/A
'of'	Date	N/A
'am'	Time	N/A
'pm'	Time	N/A
'oh'	Time	For example, 3 oh 7 pm.
100, 200 ... 900	Date	N/A
'yesterday'	Date	Only if the days of the week feature is enabled for your account.
'today'	Date	Only if the days of the week feature is enabled for your account.
'tomorrow'	Date	Only if the days of the week feature is enabled for your account.
'hour'	Time	N/A
'hours'	Time	N/A
'minute'	Time	N/A
'minutes'	Time	N/A
'recenttime'	Time	N/A
'recenttimeimmediate'	Time	N/A
'second'	Time	N/A
'seconds'	Time	N/A
'targettime'	Time	N/A

Next applets

Field	Options	Description

Field	Options	Description
On success	List of available applets	The applet that the call is routed to if the Announcer successfully locates and announces the specified data.
On failure	List of available applets	The applet that the call is routed to if the Announcer cannot locate or announce the specified data. The applet cannot announce the data if the data is not in the required format.