Agents can make phone calls on your behalf using Twilio. Ask an agent to call a business, check on an order, schedule an appointment, or navigate automated phone menus. The agent handles the conversation and reports back.
What you can ask agents to do
- "Call +15551234567 and ask about their business hours"
- "Call my dentist and schedule an appointment for next week"
- "Call this number and navigate to the billing department"
- "Call Acme Support and check on order #12345"
How it works
- You ask an agent to make a call (or the Assistant delegates to the Receptionist)
- The agent places an outbound call through Twilio
- During the call, the agent speaks and listens using speech synthesis and recognition
- If it needs to navigate a phone menu, it sends touch-tone signals (DTMF)
- When the call ends, the agent summarizes what happened in the chat
You see the call progress in your chat: when it connects, what's being discussed, and the final summary.
The Receptionist agent
The built-in Receptionist agent is pre-configured for voice calls. It has the right tools and system prompts for phone interactions. When you ask the Assistant to make a call, it typically delegates to the Receptionist.
You can also talk to the Receptionist directly by selecting it from the sidebar.
Tips
- Include the objective. "Call and ask about business hours" is better than just "Call this number."
- Provide context. If the agent knows your account number, order ID, or other details (from memory), it can reference them during the call.
- Phone numbers must be in E.164 format, e.g.,
+15551234567(country code + number, no spaces or dashes). - Speech recognition hints. For technical terms or unusual names, the agent can be given hints to improve recognition accuracy.
Requirements
Voice features require Twilio to be configured. See Deployment for setup.
Next steps
- Agent Types. Learn about the Receptionist and other built-in agents.
- What Agents Can Do. Full list of agent capabilities.