Agent Phone Integration

Enable phone call functionality for your agents using Twilio integration

Overview

Agent Phone Integration allows you to connect your conversational AI agents to phone numbers, enabling customers to call and interact with your agents directly. This feature uses Twilio as the phone service provider to handle incoming calls and route them to your configured agents.

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Prerequisites

Before setting up phone integration, ensure all prerequisites are met to avoid configuration issues.

Before setting up phone integration for your agents, ensure you have:

1. Twilio Phone Provider Integration

   A configured Twilio integration in your organization settings with active credentials

2. Active Agent

   At least one agent created and configured in your app with proper training instructions

3. Twilio Phone Number (Optional)

   A phone number provisioned in your Twilio account - you can also provision through the platform

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Setting Up Phone Integration

1. Configure Phone Provider

   Navigate to your Organization Settings and ensure you have a Twilio phone provider configured:

   1. Go to Organization Settings → Integrations → Phone
   2. If no phone providers are configured, click “Phone Provider” to add Twilio credentials
   3. Verify your Twilio integration shows as active

   Your Twilio integration must show as “Active” before proceeding to the next step.

2. Provision a Phone Number

   In your App Details, you can provision a phone number for agent interactions:

   How to Access:

   • Navigate to your App
   • Go to App Details → Phone Numbers

   Platform Provisioning

   Let Elementum provision a new number for you:

   1. Click “Add Phone Number”
   2. The platform will provision a new number through your Twilio integration
   3. Configure the phone service settings (see next step)

   Platform provisioning is the easiest option and handles all Twilio configuration automatically.

3. Configure Phone Service

   When provisioning a phone number, you’ll create a phone service with the following configuration:

   Basic Configuration

   Required Fields:

   • Area Code: The geographic area code for the phone number (if provisioning new)
   • Phone Provider: Select your configured Twilio provider from the dropdown
   • Agent: Choose which agent will handle incoming calls

   Advanced Options

   Optional Settings:

   • Expand Languages:
     • Enable support for additional languages beyond English
     • See Supported Languages for the complete list of available languages

   Enabling additional languages may decrease phone service performance.

   • Generate First Message:
     • Automatically generate an initial greeting when the agent answers
     • The agent will speak this message when calls connect

   Configuration Steps:

   1. Fill in the Area Code (if provisioning new number)
   2. Select your Phone Provider from the dropdown
   3. Choose the Agent that will handle calls
   4. Toggle “Expand Languages” if multilingual support is needed
   5. Toggle “Generate First Message” for automatic greetings
   6. Click “Save” to create the phone service
4. Configure Agent for Phone Calls

   Once your phone service is created, configure how your agent behaves during phone conversations:

   Training Instructions

   Specific guidance for phone interactions (e.g., “Keep responses concise for phone calls”)

   First Message

   Custom greeting message (if not using auto-generation)

   Conversation Timeout

   Set timeout duration for inactive calls

   End Call Training

   Instructions for how the agent should end conversations

   Best Practices for Phone Agent Training:

   • Keep responses shorter than text-based interactions
   • Include verbal cues and confirmations
   • Train the agent to ask for spelling of names or important details
   • Provide clear next steps at the end of calls
   • Include hold music or transfer instructions if needed

Agent Tools for Phone Calls

EndConversation Tool

Agents have access to a special endConversation tool specifically designed for phone interactions.

Purpose:

• Allows agents to proactively end phone calls when appropriate
• Provides clean closure for support interactions
• Prevents calls from remaining open unnecessarily
• Ensures proper conversation lifecycle management

Critical Configuration: Train your agents on when and how to use the endConversation tool for optimal user experience.

Example Training Instructions

When you have fully resolved the caller's question or completed the requested task, 
use the endConversation tool to end the call. Always provide a brief summary 
of what was accomplished and any next steps before ending the conversation.

When to Use endConversation

Use the endConversation tool when:

• Support issue has been fully resolved
• Caller’s question has been completely answered
• Required information has been collected
• Follow-up actions have been clearly communicated
• Caller confirms satisfaction with the resolution

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Supported Languages

Agent Phone Integration supports multiple languages for enhanced accessibility. By default, phone services operate in English, but you can enable additional language support in the Advanced Options during phone service configuration.

English is always available and doesn’t require enabling “Expand Languages”. Additional languages require toggling the “Expand Languages” option in your phone service configuration.

Available Languages

🇧🇬 Bulgarian

🇪🇸 Catalan

🇨🇳 Chinese (Mandarin)

Simplified & Traditional

🇭🇰 Chinese (Cantonese)

Traditional

🇨🇿 Czech

🇩🇰 Danish

🇪🇪 Estonian

🇫🇮 Finnish

🇧🇪 Flemish

🇫🇷 French

Including Canadian

🇩🇪 German

Including Switzerland

🇬🇷 Greek

🇭🇺 Hungarian

🇮🇩 Indonesian

🇰🇷 Korean

🇱🇻 Latvian

🇱🇹 Lithuanian

🇲🇾 Malay

🇳🇴 Norwegian

🇵🇱 Polish

🇵🇹 Portuguese

Brazilian & European

🇷🇴 Romanian

🇸🇰 Slovak

🇪🇸 Spanish

Including LATAM

🇸🇪 Swedish

🇹🇭 Thai

🇹🇷 Turkish

🇺🇦 Ukrainian

🇻🇳 Vietnamese

Performance Considerations

Important: Enabling additional languages may impact phone service performance. Only enable multilingual support if your use case specifically requires it.

Best Practices:

• Use single language mode when possible for optimal performance
• Test thoroughly when enabling multiple languages
• Monitor call quality and response times after enabling additional languages

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Managing Phone Services

Viewing Active Phone Services

In your App Details under Phone Numbers, you can:

• View all provisioned phone numbers
• See which agent is assigned to each number
• Check the status of each phone service
• Monitor call activity and logs

Editing Phone Services

To modify an existing phone service:

1. Navigate to App Details → Phone Numbers
2. Click on the phone number you want to edit
3. Update configuration settings
4. Click “Save” to apply changes

Removing Phone Numbers

To remove a phone number:

1. Navigate to App Details → Phone Numbers
2. Find the phone number you want to remove
3. Click the “Delete” option
4. Confirm removal

Note: Removing a phone number from the platform doesn’t automatically release it from your Twilio account. You’ll need to manage number releases directly in Twilio if desired.

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Testing Your Phone Integration

Testing Call Flow

1. Make a Test Call: Dial your provisioned phone number
2. Verify Connection: Ensure the call connects and the agent responds
3. Test Agent Responses: Interact with the agent to verify it follows training instructions
4. Check Call Logs: Review call logs in your app to ensure data is captured correctly

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Call Not Connecting

Common Solutions:

• Verify Twilio integration is active
• Check that the phone number is properly registered
• Ensure your Twilio account has sufficient credits

Agent Not Responding

Common Solutions:

• Verify the agent is properly configured and active
• Check that the LLM model is available
• Review training instructions for phone-specific guidance

Poor Call Quality

Common Solutions:

• Consider disabling “Expand Languages” if not needed
• Review agent training to ensure responses are concise
• Check Twilio service status

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Integration with Workflows

Phone calls can be integrated into your existing workflows:

Call Data Capture

When a phone call is received, a record is automatically created in your app with basic call information:

• Caller phone number
• Call start time
• Call duration
• Agent assigned to the call

The system captures this call metadata automatically - no additional configuration is required.

Workflow Triggers

Use the Agent Conversation Ended trigger in your automations to process phone call outcomes:

What You Get:

• Complete call transcript
• Conversation duration and metadata
• Agent responses and customer interactions
• Call outcome and resolution status

Automation Examples:

• Create support tickets based on call content
• Send follow-up emails with call summary
• Route urgent issues to appropriate teams
• Update CRM systems with conversation details
• Generate call reports for management

The Agent Conversation Ended trigger provides the full context of the phone interaction, allowing your automations to take intelligent action based on what was discussed during the call.

Viewing Phone Conversations

After a phone call ends, you can view the complete conversation in the record details:

Conversation Interface:

• Navigate to the automatically created record for the phone call
• Access the Chat/Conversation interface in the record details
• View the conversation marked as a Voice conversation type
• Review the complete transcript of the agent-customer interaction
• See timestamps, agent responses, and customer inputs

This provides full visibility into phone interactions alongside other communication channels in a unified interface.

Call Analytics

Create custom analytics and metrics using automations triggered by Agent Conversation Ended:

Metrics You Can Build:

• Call Volume Tracking: Count daily/weekly/monthly call volumes by creating records for each completed call
• Response Time Analysis: Calculate and track average agent response times using conversation timestamps
• Customer Satisfaction Scoring: Use AI Classification to analyze call sentiment and satisfaction levels
• Resolution Rate Monitoring: Track conversation outcomes and successful issue resolutions
• Agent Performance Metrics: Monitor individual agent call handling and success rates

Implementation Approach: Use the Agent Conversation Ended trigger to automatically capture call data, then process it through AI actions and data calculations to generate your desired metrics and reports.

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Security and Compliance

Data Protection

• All phone conversations are processed according to your data retention policies
• Sensitive information handling follows your organization’s security guidelines
• Call recordings (if enabled) are stored securely

Compliance Considerations

• Ensure your phone interactions comply with local regulations
• Consider call recording consent requirements
• Review data processing agreements with Twilio

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Best Practices

Agent Training for Phone Interactions

• Be Concise: Phone conversations require shorter, clearer responses
• Confirm Information: Always repeat back important details
• Use Verbal Cues: Include phrases like “Let me help you with that” or “I understand”
• Provide Clear Next Steps: End calls with specific action items
• Use endConversation: Train agents to properly close calls using the endConversation tool when resolution is complete

Performance Optimization

• Single Language: Use single language mode for better performance unless multilingual support is essential
• Specific Training: Provide phone-specific training instructions separate from chat training
• Regular Testing: Periodically test your phone integration to ensure quality

Monitoring and Maintenance

• Regular Review: Check call logs and agent performance regularly
• Update Training: Refine agent training based on call outcomes
• Twilio Management: Monitor Twilio usage and costs
• Backup Numbers: Consider having backup phone numbers for high-availability scenarios

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By following this guide, you can successfully integrate phone functionality with your agents, providing customers with another channel to access your AI-powered support and services.