Prompts & policy
Instructions and Policy steps — system prompt, dynamic runtime prompt, post-call analysis, QC, auto dispositions, and the policy engine.
Voice pipeline
Speech-to-Text, the language model, and the voice (Text-to-Speech) engine.
Tools & integrations
End call, transfer, voicemail detection, custom tools, pre-call fetch, and post-call push.
Before you start
Have these ready so you can fill the wizard in one pass:- The bot’s name and the exact opening line you want customers to hear.
- Any customer data fields (CRM or call variables) you plan to reference in the greeting.
- Your call window: which days and hours the bot should accept calls, and in which timezone.
How the wizard works
Open Bots in the left navigation and click Create Bot. This opens the creation wizard at a fresh, blank bot. The wizard has six steps, shown in order along the top:- Identity
- Instructions
- Policy
- Voice Pipeline
- Behavior
- Tools & Integrations
The same wizard is used to edit an existing bot. When you open a bot and choose to edit it, you see these identical steps pre-filled with the bot’s current settings. Everything below applies to both creating and editing.
The step indicator
Across the top of the wizard is a numbered stepper bar — a row of circles, one per step, joined by connectors.| State | What it looks like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Future step | Light circle | You have not reached this step yet. |
| Active step | Circle in the primary brand color | This is the step you are on now. |
| Completed step | Checkmark inside a primary-color circle | You have moved past this step. |
Wizard header buttons
These controls move you through the wizard and submit (or abandon) the bot.| Button | What happens when you click it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Previous | Moves back one step. | Disabled while you are on the first step (Identity), since there is nothing before it. |
| Continue | Moves forward one step. | Available on steps 1 through 5. |
| Create Bot | Submits the whole bot. Appears on the final step (Tools & Integrations). On success, you are taken to the new bot’s detail page. | See the validation note below. |
| Cancel | Abandons the wizard and returns you to the previous page. Nothing is saved. | Available throughout. |
There is no separate Save button mid-wizard. A new bot is committed only when you click Create Bot on the last step. If you click Cancel or leave the page before then, your work is discarded.
Identity step
The Identity step is where the bot gets its name and its first spoken line, plus optional behavior for handling silent customers.Fields
| Field | What to enter | Required | Default / validation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bot Name | A clear, unique name for the bot, for example My Voice Bot. Use a name your team will recognize in lists and reports — client, use case, and language are all helpful. | Yes | Length limit enforced by the backend. |
| Opening Message | The first thing the bot says when a call connects, for example Hello! How can I help you today?. Keep it short and natural. You can include customer variables (see below). | Yes | Required fields are marked with an asterisk. |
| Re-engagement | A toggle. Turn it on if you want the bot to nudge a customer who has gone quiet before the call is given up. Off by default. | No | When off, the fields below are hidden. |
| Field | What to enter | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages | One or more short lines the bot can say to coax a silent customer back into the conversation. A line is picked at random on each attempt — add two or more for variety. | No | — |
| First Attempt Gap | Seconds of silence to wait before the first re-engagement nudge, for example 8. | No | 8 seconds |
| Subsequent Gap | Seconds of silence to wait before the next attempt; after this the call is disconnected, for example 5. | No | 5 seconds |
| Max Retries | How many times the bot will nudge before hanging up. | No | 2 |
Re-engagement message buttons
The Messages list is built one line at a time.| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add message | Adds a new, empty re-engagement message line you can type into. |
| Remove | Deletes that message line from the list. |
Writing the opening message
The opening message is the customer’s first impression, so make it warm and brief. You can drop in customer-specific values using variables in double curly braces:The Re-engagement section is collapsed by default. If a required field fails validation, the error message appears inline directly under that field.
Behavior step
The Behavior step controls how the bot listens, how long calls can run, and when the bot is allowed to take calls. It also lets you add subtle background sound so the bot feels more lifelike.Listening sensitivity (voice activity detection)
These four sliders tune how the bot detects when the customer is speaking versus silent. Each slider shows its current value as you drag it.| Field | What it controls | Range / step |
|---|---|---|
| VAD Confidence | How certain the system must be that it is hearing real speech before it reacts. | 0 to 1, step 0.05 |
| VAD Start Secs | How long the customer must be speaking before the bot treats it as the start of speech. | 0 to 1, step 0.05 |
| VAD Stop Secs | How long the customer must be silent before the bot decides they have finished talking. | 0 to 2, step 0.1 |
| VAD Min Volume | The minimum audio loudness that counts as speech, which helps filter out background noise. | 0 to 1, step 0.05 |
Interruptions
| Field | What to enter | Range / step |
|---|---|---|
| Min Words to Interrupt | The number of words the customer must speak before they are allowed to cut the bot off mid-sentence. A higher number stops the bot from being interrupted by short noises like “hmm” or “okay”. | 1 to 10, step 1 |
Call duration and timezone
| Field | What to enter | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Call Duration | The longest a single call may run, in seconds, before the bot automatically hangs up. This is a safety cap against runaway calls. | No | 600 seconds (10 minutes) |
| Timezone | The timezone identifier used for all timestamps the bot reports after a call, for example UTC or Asia/Kolkata. Set this to match the customer base so post-call times read correctly. | No | UTC |
Active hours
| Field | What to enter | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Hours | A toggle. Turn it on to restrict the hours during which the bot will accept calls. Calls that arrive outside the window are rejected immediately. | No | Off |
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Start Time | The time the call window opens, in HH:MM 24-hour format, for example 09:00. |
| End Time | The time the call window closes, in HH:MM 24-hour format, for example 18:00. |
| Active Days | Which days of the week the bot accepts calls. |
| Button | What it does | State |
|---|---|---|
| Day button (Mon–Sun) | Click a day to switch it on or off. | A selected day shows the primary brand color background with matching text; an unselected day shows a light background with muted text. |
The Start Time, End Time, and Active Days controls only appear once Active Hours is switched on. The window and day rules are evaluated using the Timezone you set above.
Background ambience
A small amount of background sound can mask the brief pauses while the bot thinks, making it feel more like a real call center.| Field | What to enter | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background Ambience | A toggle. Turn it on to mix a subtle ambient sound under the bot’s voice. | No | Off |
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Sound Type | Choose the ambience: Office (keyboard and air-conditioner hum), Café (soft chatter and cups), or Comfort Noise (a minimal background hiss). |
| Volume | How loud the ambience plays, as a percentage from 1% to 30%. The slider shows the current percentage. |
Save and test
Once you reach the final step and click Create Bot, the bot is created and you land on its detail page. Before pointing real campaigns at it:Run a test call
Use the test call control on the bot detail page and confirm the bot speaks the right opening message.
Check variables render
Make sure any
{{...}} variables in the opening message fill in with real values.Check listening behavior
Speak softly and pause to confirm the bot hears you, waits the right amount of time, and re-engages if you go quiet.
Confirm the call window
If you set Active Hours, test that calls inside the window connect and that the bot rejects calls outside it.