MS Teams Call Queue vs Auto Attendant Explained

How Virtual Front Desk Connects to Microsoft Teams

Call Queue vs Auto Attendant Explained

When integrating Virtual Front Desk (VFD) with Microsoft Teams Phone using Azure Communication Services (ACS), you must decide how Teams will handle incoming kiosk calls.

Inside Microsoft Teams, there are two main routing options:

• Call Queue
• Auto Attendant

This guide explains the difference, when to use each, and what we recommend for most VFD deployments.

How the Call Flow Works

When a visitor taps a button on a VFD station:

Visitor → Virtual Front Desk → Azure Communication Services → Microsoft Teams

At that point, Microsoft Teams determines who receives the call. That routing decision is handled by either a Call Queue or an Auto Attendant.

Option 1: Call Queue (Recommended for Most Deployments)

What is a Call Queue?

A Call Queue distributes incoming calls to a group of users in Microsoft Teams.

It ensures:

• Calls go only to available users
• Calls are distributed fairly (round robin, longest idle, etc.)
• Overflow rules can be applied
• Hold music and queue logic are supported

When to Use a Call Queue

Use a Call Queue when:

• Multiple receptionists or agents can answer
• You want presence-based routing
• You need scalable team answering
• You want enterprise-grade distribution

Example in Virtual Front Desk

A lobby kiosk has a button labeled “Customer Service.”

When pressed, VFD calls the Call Queue resource account in Teams. Teams then distributes the call to any available agent in the assigned group.

This is the most common and recommended architecture for Virtual Front Desk.

Option 2: Auto Attendant

What is an Auto Attendant?

An Auto Attendant is a voice-based menu system. It answers calls and plays a greeting such as:

“Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support.”

It routes calls based on keypad or voice selection.

When to Use an Auto Attendant

Auto Attendants are typically used when:

• You are routing a public phone number
• You need business hours vs after-hours logic
• You need language selection
• You want multi-level menu routing

Important for Virtual Front Desk

In most kiosk deployments, an Auto Attendant is unnecessary.

Why?

Because Virtual Front Desk already provides a visual menu interface. Instead of “Press 1 for Sales,” the visitor simply taps a Sales button on the screen.

Using an Auto Attendant from a kiosk often duplicates logic that VFD already handles more intuitively.

When an Auto Attendant Makes Sense with VFD

An Auto Attendant may be appropriate if:

• You want the kiosk to behave exactly like the company’s main phone number
• You need centralized time-based routing controlled by IT
• You are integrating into an existing complex phone system

In these cases, you might use:

Public phone number → Auto Attendant → Call Queue
VFD station → Call Queue directly

This is a clean hybrid architecture.

Call Queue vs Auto Attendant Comparison

Call Queue
• Distributes calls to multiple agents
• Presence-aware
• Ideal for department routing
• Best choice for kiosk buttons

Auto Attendant
• Provides menu prompts
• Handles time-of-day routing
• Routes to queues or users
• Best for public phone numbers

For most Virtual Front Desk installations, the Call Queue is the correct and simplest target.

Licensing Requirements

Both Call Queues and Auto Attendants require:

• A Microsoft Teams Resource Account
• A Teams Phone Standard license assigned to that Resource Account
• Proper voice routing configuration (Calling Plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing if PSTN is involved)

If calls remain internal and do not use PSTN numbers, a calling plan may not be required.

Always verify licensing requirements with your Microsoft administrator.

Best Practice for Virtual Front Desk

For the vast majority of deployments:

Virtual Front Desk button → Call Queue → Available agents

This ensures:

• Clean visual routing at the kiosk
• Fair distribution across staff
• Enterprise scalability
• Simplified administration

Auto Attendants should only be used when replicating an existing phone system structure or when advanced routing logic is required.

Final Recommendation

For approximately 95 percent of deployments, Virtual Front Desk should target a Call Queue in Microsoft Teams.

Auto Attendants are useful in traditional phone system scenarios, but rarely necessary for kiosk-based visual routing.

If you need assistance configuring Call Queues or Auto Attendants for your Virtual Front Desk deployment, contact our support team.