When deploying a Virtual Front Desk (VFD) kiosk solution integrated with Microsoft Teams Phone via Azure Communication Services (ACS), one of the most important configuration decisions is how incoming calls are routed inside Microsoft Teams. The two primary routing mechanisms available are Call Queues and Auto Attendants, and choosing the right one can significantly impact the visitor experience and operational efficiency.
A Call Queue distributes incoming calls to a group of available agents, supporting presence-based routing, fair distribution algorithms, and overflow handling. An Auto Attendant, by contrast, functions as a voice-based menu system — greeting callers and directing them based on keypad or voice input. While both are standard Microsoft Teams Phone features, they serve very different purposes in the context of a kiosk deployment.
This article explains the key differences between Call Queues and Auto Attendants, outlines when each option is appropriate for Virtual Front Desk deployments, and provides best practice recommendations to help administrators make the right architectural choice for their environment.
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:
This guide explains the difference, when to use each, and what we recommend for most VFD deployments.
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.
A Call Queue distributes incoming calls to a group of users in Microsoft Teams.
It ensures:
Use a Call Queue when:
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.
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.
Auto Attendants are typically used when:
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.
An Auto Attendant may be appropriate if:
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
Auto Attendant
For most Virtual Front Desk installations, the Call Queue is the correct and simplest target.
Both Call Queues and Auto Attendants require:
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.
For the vast majority of deployments:
Virtual Front Desk button → Call Queue → Available agents
This ensures:
Auto Attendants should only be used when replicating an existing phone system structure or when advanced routing logic is required.
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.
For the vast majority of Virtual Front Desk deployments, a Call Queue is the correct and recommended routing target in Microsoft Teams. Because VFD already provides a visual menu interface on the kiosk screen — allowing visitors to tap buttons for specific departments — the voice-based menu logic of an Auto Attendant is redundant and adds unnecessary complexity. Pointing each kiosk button directly to a Call Queue ensures clean routing, presence-aware distribution, and enterprise scalability with minimal configuration overhead.
Auto Attendants remain a valid option in specific scenarios, such as when replicating an existing phone system structure, enabling time-of-day routing controlled by IT, or integrating into a complex multi-level routing architecture. In these cases, a hybrid approach — where a public phone number routes through an Auto Attendant to a Call Queue, while the VFD station targets the Call Queue directly — is a clean and supported architecture. Regardless of the approach chosen, both options require a Microsoft Teams Resource Account with a Teams Phone Standard license, and licensing requirements should always be verified with your Microsoft administrator.