Using Outlook Voice Access

Applies to: Office 365 for enterprises, Microsoft Exchange

Outlook Voice Access is a feature that lets you retrieve e-mail messages from your mailbox by using an analog, digital, or mobile phone. You can then interact with your Outlook Web App mailbox by using touchtone or voice commands.

Outlook Voice Access lets you:

• Retrieve, listen to, reply to, create, and forward voice or e-mail messages.
• Listen to or change calendar information.
• Change personal options, such as changing your PIN.
• Call or send a voice message to a personal contact.

Reading and Reviewing E-Mail

You can listen to, reply to, create, and forward unread e-mail messages using the phone. For example, if you're expecting an important e-mail message and don't have access to the Internet, you can use a mobile phone to dial the number you use to access Outlook Voice Access. After you enter your PIN and say, "E-mail", the voice mail system will access your mailbox and read you your unread e-mail. While an e-mail message is being read back to you, you can say one of the following:

• "Reply" to reply to the sender.
• "Reply all" to reply to all recipients of the message.
• "Forward" to forward the message to someone.
• "Flag" to flag the message for follow-up.
• "Hide" to hide the conversation.

Listen to E-Mail Messages

To listen to e-mail messages using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 1:

1. Say "E-mail" to access e-mail.
2. Outlook Voice Access will read the name, subject, time, and priority of the first unread e-mail message.
3. You can then say one of the following:
   • "Next message" to mark the message as Read and go to the next e-mail message.
   • "Mark Unread" to keep the message marked as Unread and go to the next message.
   • "End" to jump to the end of the message.
   • "Delete" to delete the message.

To listen to e-mail messages using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 2:

1. Press 2 to access e-mail.
2. Outlook Voice Access will read the name, subject, time, and priority of the first unread e-mail message.
3. You can then press one of the following options:
   • The pound (#) key to mark the message as Read and go to the next e-mail message.
   • 9 to keep the message marked as Unread and go to the next message.
   • 33 to jump to the end of the message.
   • 7 to delete the message.

Reply to E-Mail Messages

To listen to e-mail messages and then reply using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 3:

1. Say "E-mail" to access e-mail.
2. Say "Next message" repeatedly until you reach the e-mail message you want to reply to.
3. Listen to the message or say "End" to go to the end of the message.
4. Say one of the following:
   • "Reply" to reply to the sender.
   • "Reply all" to reply to the sender and all other recipients.
   • "Forward" to forward the message to another user or group.
5. Record a reply, and then hang up, remain silent, or press any key. To accept the reply message and send it, say "Send it".

To listen to e-mail messages and then reply using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 4:

1. Press 2 to access e-mail.
2. Press # repeatedly until you reach the e-mail message you want to reply to, and then press 9 to mark the message as Unread.
3. Listen to the message or press 33 to go to the end of the message.
4. Press 8 to reply to the sender, press 88 to reply to the sender and all other recipients, or press 6 to forward the message to another user or group.
5. Record a reply, and then press #. To accept the reply message and send it, press 1.

Listen to the Next Unread E-Mail Message

To listen to an e-mail message and then go to the next unread message using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 5:

1. Say "E-mail".
2. Say "Next Unread".
3. You can then say "Mark Unread" if you want to mark the message as Unread.

To listen to an e-mail message and then go to the next Unread message using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 6:

1. Press 2 to access e-mail.
2. Press ## to listen to the next unread message, or press 9 to mark the message as Unread.

Flag an E-Mail Message for Follow Up

To listen to e-mail messages and flag messages for follow up using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 7:

1. Say "E-mail" to access e-mail.
2. Say "Next message" repeatedly until you reach the e-mail message you want to flag for follow up, and then say "Mark Unread" to mark the message as Unread.
3. Listen to the message, or say "End" to go to the end of the message.
4. Say "Flag" or "Flag for follow up" to flag the message for follow up.

To listen to e-mail messages and flag messages for follow up using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 8:

1. Press 2 to access e-mail.
2. Press # repeatedly until you reach the e-mail message you want to flag for follow up, and then press 9 to mark the message as Unread.
3. Listen to the message or press 33 to go to the end of the message.
4. Press 0 (zero) twice to access more options.
5. Press 44 to flag the message for follow up.

Hide a Conversation

To listen to e-mail messages and hide a conversation so that Outlook Voice Access won't continue to read other e-mail messages that are in the same e-mail conversation using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 9:

1. Say "E-mail" to open e-mail.
2. Say "Next message" repeatedly until you reach the e-mail message you want, and then say "Mark Unread" to mark the message as Unread.
3. Listen to the message, or say "End" to go to the end of the message.
4. Say "Hide" or "Hide conversation" to hide the conversation. The next e-mail message will be read.

To listen to e-mail messages and hide a conversation so that Outlook Voice Access won't continue to read other e-mail messages in the same e-mail conversation using the touchtone interface, you dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 10:

1. Press 2 to access e-mail.
2. Press # until you reach the e-mail message that you want to hide, and then press 9 to mark the message as Unread.
3. Listen to the message, or press 33 to go to the end of the message.
4. Press 99 to hide the conversation. The next e-mail message will be read.

Managing Calendar Items

You can listen to, reply to, create, and forward items in your calendar over the telephone.

For example, you have a meeting at 10:00 A.M. However, because of some unexpected delays, you'll be 15 minutes late. You can inform the other meeting attendees that you'll be late by calling the telephone number for Outlook Voice Access and then accessing the list of meetings for that day in your calendar. After Outlook Voice Access reads the meeting request for the 10:00 A.M. meeting, you can use the "I'll be late" feature to inform all the meeting attendees that you'll be 15 minutes late. Each attendee will receive an e-mail message that informs them that you'll be 15 minutes late. You also have the option to attach a voice mail message.

In another example, you may have an important client who decides to schedule an all-day meeting on very short notice. You need to cancel all your other meetings for that day in the simplest possible way. By using the "Clear my calendar" feature, you can quickly and easily clear your calendar for the whole day.

Send an I'll Be Late Message

To send an "I'll be late" message to meeting participants using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 11:

1. Say "Calendar for today".
2. Listen to the meeting request.
3. After the meeting request has been read, say "I'll be late".
4. When Outlook Voice Access asks "How late?", say, for example, "10 minutes" if you are going to be 10 minutes late to your meeting.
5. When Outlook Web App asks "Do you want to record a message?", say "Yes". Record the message, and then say "Send it".

To send an "I'll be late" message to meeting participants using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 12:

1. Press 3 to access your calendar.
2. Listen to the meeting requests to locate the meeting for which to send an "I’ll be late" message.
3. After the meeting request has been read, press 3.
4. When Outlook Voice Access voice mail asks "How late?", enter 10 on the telephone key pad.

Cancel a Meeting

To cancel a meeting, you need to be the meeting organizer. To cancel the meeting using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 13:

1. Say "Calendar for today" to access your calendar.
2. Listen to the meeting request.
3. After the meeting request has been read, say "Cancel meeting".
4. Confirm the meeting cancellation by saying "Yes".
5. After Outlook Voice Access asks whether the meeting organizer wants to attach a recorded message, say "Yes". Record the message, and then say "Send it".

To cancel a meeting, you need to be the meeting organizer. To cancel the meeting using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 14:

1. Press 3 to access your calendar.
2. Listen to the meeting requests to locate the meeting to cancel.
3. Press 7 to cancel the meeting.
4. If you choose to send a voice message, you can then press one of the following options:
   • # to stop recording the message.
   • 1 to accept the recorded message.

Clear a Calendar

To clear your calendar using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 15:

1. Say "Calendar for today" to access your calendar.
2. Say "Clear my calendar".
3. Enter the time or the number of days to be cleared.
4. After Outlook Voice Access asks whether you want to attach a recorded voice message, say "Yes", record the message, and then say "Send it". If you don't want to send an attached recorded voice message, say "No".

To clear your calendar using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 16:

1. Press 3 to access your calendar.
2. Press 00 to go to the More Options menu.
3. Press 77 to clear your calendar.
4. Enter the number of hours to clear from the calendar.
5. You can then record a voice message to attach when prompted. Press # to stop recording the message, and then press 1 to accept the recorded message.
6. If you don't want to send a voice message, press #.

Accept a Meeting Request

To accept a meeting request using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 17:

1. Say "E-mail" to access your e-mail.
2. Listen to the e-mail message that contains a meeting request.
3. Say "Accept" to accept the meeting request.

To accept a meeting request using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 18:

1. Press 2 to access your e-mail.
2. Listen to the e-mail message that contains a meeting request.
3. Press 4 to accept the meeting request.

Reply to a Meeting Request

To reply to a meeting request using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 19:

1. Say "Calendar for today".
2. Listen to the meeting requests to locate the meeting request to reply to.
3. Say "More options" to open the More Options menu.
4. Say "Reply" to reply to the meeting organizer.
5. Record a message.
6. Say "Send it".

1. To reply to a meeting request using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 20:
2. Press 3 to access your calendar.
3. Listen to the meeting requests to locate the meeting request to reply to.
4. Press 00 for more options.
5. Press 8 to reply to the meeting organizer.
6. Record a message, and then press #.
7. Press 1 to accept the recording and send the message.

Managing Personal Options and Contacts

You can manage your personal options and contacts by using Outlook Voice Access. You can:

• Call a personal Contact
• Locate and call someone in the directory
• Configure personal options, such as changing your PIN over the telephone.

When you first access your mailbox and set up voice mail, you're prompted to create personal and Out of Office greetings that callers will hear when you're unable to answer your telephone. If, for example, you realize that you have forgotten to turn on an Out of Office voice greeting that will give callers an alternative number to call if they have an immediate issue, you can use Outlook Voice Access to access your personal options and record and turn on an Out of Office greeting from any telephone.

If you have to contact an account manager with important information about a client, you can call the number that's used for Outlook Voice Access, use the directory search feature to locate the account manager, and then place the call.

Record a Personal Greeting

To record a personal greeting using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 21:

1. Say "Personal options" to access Personal Options.
2. Press 2 to record greetings.
3. Press 1 to record a personal greeting.
4. Press # to stop recording the personal greeting.
5. If you have to re-record your personal greeting, press 2.
6. Press 1 to accept the personal greeting.

1. To record a personal greeting using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 22:
2. Press 6 to access personal options.
3. Press 2 to record greetings.
4. Press 1 to record a personal greeting.
5. Press 2 to re-record the personal greeting.
6. Press # to stop recording the personal greeting.
7. Press 1 to accept the personal greeting.

Send a Voice Message to a User

You can locate and send a voice message to another user. To send a voice message to another user by using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 23:

1. Say "Directory".
2. Say the name of the person to locate.
3. Select the correct person from the list.
4. Say "Send a message", and then record the voice message.
5. Say "Send it" to send the message.

1. You can locate and send a voice message to another user. To send a voice message to another user by using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 24:
2. Press 4 to search for a contact.
3. Press 00 to locate the person in the directory.
4. Spell the name of the person to locate by using the telephone keypad.
5. Select the correct person from the list.
6. Press 3 to send a voice message to the person.
7. Record the voice message, and then press # to stop recording.
8. Press 1 to accept the voice message and send it.

Change Your PIN

To change your PIN using the voice user interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 25.

1. Say "Personal Options".
2. Press 3 to change the PIN.
3. Enter the new PIN, and then press #.
4. Press # to confirm the new PIN.

1. To change your PIN using the touchtone interface, dial the Outlook Voice Access phone number, enter your PIN, and then do the following, as shown in Figure 26.
2. Press 6 to change Personal options.
3. Press 3 to change the PIN.
4. Enter the new PIN, and then press #.
5. Press # to confirm the new PIN.

What else do I need to know?

• If you delete the last message in your inbox using Outlook Voice Access, you won't be able to undelete the message. If you need to access the e-mail message after you've deleted it using Outlook Voice Access, you can use Outlook Web App or Outlook to move the e-mail message back into the appropriate folder from the Deleted Items folder. You can't use Outlook Voice Access to access the deleted items folder.
• You can’t change the language that Outlook Voice Access uses to speak to you and to reply to you when you speak to it. The voice mail system will try to find and use the best match for the language you chose when you first signed in to Outlook Web App or the language that you’ve chosen on the Regional tab in Outlook Web App. If the language you choose isn’t supported by Outlook Voice Access, the voice mail system will use the same language that callers hear when they’re prompted to leave a voice message for you.
• The Outlook Voice Access Quick Start Guide includes a graphic representation of all the Outlook Voice Access menu options and how to navigate the menu system. To download a copy of the Quick Start Guide, see the Microsoft Download Center.
• You can use Outlook Voice Access to send or forward a voice message, an e-mail message, or a meeting request. You can send or forward the message or meeting request to any of the following:
  • A person in your personal Contacts folder
  • A person in your organization’s shared address book
  • A group you’ve created in your personal Contacts folder
  • A public group included in your organization’s shared address book