Features
Call Management
Configure interruption handling, timeouts, and call flow control for natural conversations
What is Call Management?
Call Management controls the conversation flow during phone calls. It’s separate from AI Configuration (which handles what the AI says) - this section controls when and how the AI responds to callers.🚦 Call Management = Conversation Traffic Control
Just like traffic lights control car flow, these settings control conversation flow between your AI assistant and callers.
Interruption Settings
Interruption Threshold
What does 'Interruption Threshold' mean?
What does 'Interruption Threshold' mean?
Simple Explanation: How many words a caller needs to say before the AI stops talking and listens.Technical Details:
- Measured in: Number of words
- Default: 3 words
- Range: 1-10 words (recommended)
- Threshold = 3: Caller says “Wait, I have a…” → AI stops talking
- Threshold = 1: Caller says “Um…” → AI stops talking (very sensitive)
- Threshold = 5: Caller says “Actually, I need to tell you…” → AI stops talking
- Lower (1-2 words): For very responsive, human-like conversations
- Higher (4-5 words): For formal business calls where AI should finish sentences
- Much higher (6+ words): For presentations or when AI shouldn’t be interrupted
Min Speaking Time
What is 'Min Speaking Time'?
What is 'Min Speaking Time'?
Simple Explanation: How long the AI must talk before it can be interrupted.Technical Details:
- Measured in: Seconds (decimals allowed like 0.5)
- Default: 0.5 seconds
- Range: 0.1-3.0 seconds (recommended)
- Min Speaking Time = 0.5s: AI says “Hello, how can I—” → Caller can interrupt
- Min Speaking Time = 2.0s: AI says “Hello, how can I help you today? I’m here to assist with—” → Now caller can interrupt
- Lower (0.1-0.3s): For very natural, back-and-forth conversations
- Higher (1-2s): For business calls where AI should complete thoughts
- Much higher (2-3s): For announcements or important information delivery
Interruption Cooldown
What is 'Interruption Cooldown'?
What is 'Interruption Cooldown'?
Simple Explanation: How long to pause after a caller interrupts before the AI starts talking again.Technical Details:
- Measured in: Seconds (decimals allowed)
- Default: 2.0 seconds
- Range: 0.5-5.0 seconds (recommended)
- Cooldown = 2.0s: Caller interrupts → AI pauses for 2 seconds → AI responds with buffered speech
- Cooldown = 0.5s: Very quick responses (might feel rushed)
- Cooldown = 4.0s: Longer pauses (might feel awkward)
- Lower (0.5-1s): For fast-paced conversations or tech support
- Higher (3-4s): For emotional or sensitive conversations
- Much higher (5s+): For elderly callers or those needing processing time
💡 Interruption Settings Quick Guide
Natural Conversations: Threshold=2, Speaking=0.3s, Cooldown=1.5sBusiness Formal: Threshold=4, Speaking=1.0s, Cooldown=2.5sCustomer Support: Threshold=3, Speaking=0.5s, Cooldown=2.0s (default)
Timeout Settings
Idle Timeout
How does 'Idle Timeout' work?
How does 'Idle Timeout' work?
Simple Explanation: How long to wait for the caller to respond before asking “Are you still there?”Technical Details:
- Measured in: Seconds
- Default: 30 seconds
- Range: 10-120 seconds (recommended)
- Timeout = 30s: AI asks question → 30 seconds of silence → AI says idle message
- Timeout = 10s: Very short patience (good for quick interactions)
- Timeout = 60s: Very patient (good for complex questions)
- Lower (10-20s): For simple, quick interactions
- Higher (45-60s): For complex questions or elderly callers
- Much higher (90s+): For forms or detailed information gathering
Max Idle Messages
What are 'Max Idle Messages'?
What are 'Max Idle Messages'?
Simple Explanation: How many “Are you still there?” messages to send before ending the call.Technical Details:
- Measured in: Number of messages
- Default: 3 messages
- Range: 1-5 messages (recommended)
- Max = 3: AI asks “Are you there?” → Silence → AI asks again → Silence → AI asks again → Silence → Call ends
- Max = 1: AI asks once, then ends call (not very patient)
- Max = 5: AI is very patient (might annoy callers)
- Lower (1-2): For business efficiency or when call time is expensive
- Higher (4-5): For customer service or when you don’t want to lose calls
⏰ Timeout Settings Quick Guide
Quick Service: Idle=15s, Max Messages=2Standard Support: Idle=30s, Max Messages=3 (default)Patient Service: Idle=45s, Max Messages=4
Call Control Messages
End Call Message
What is the 'End Call Message'?
What is the 'End Call Message'?
Simple Explanation: The last thing callers hear when the call ends (either by AI decision or timeout).Default: “Thank you for calling. Goodbye!”Examples:
- Business: “Thank you for calling [Company]. Have a great day!”
- Support: “Your issue has been resolved. Thank you for calling!”
- Appointment: “Your appointment is confirmed. We’ll see you soon!”
- Keep it under 10 words for clarity
- Include your company name if branding is important
- Match the tone of your assistant’s personality
Transfer Call Message
What is the 'Transfer Call Message'?
What is the 'Transfer Call Message'?
Simple Explanation: What the AI says when transferring a caller to a human agent.Default: “Please hold while I transfer your call.”Examples:
- Professional: “Let me connect you with a specialist who can help.”
- Urgent: “I’m transferring you to our emergency support team now.”
- Specific: “Connecting you to our billing department. Please hold.”
- Explain WHO they’re being transferred to
- Keep them calm with reassuring language
- Include estimated wait time if known
Idle Message
What is the 'Idle Message'?
What is the 'Idle Message'?
Simple Explanation: What the AI says when there’s been silence for too long.Default: “Are you still there? I’m here to help if you need anything.”Examples:
- Friendly: “Hello? I’m still here if you have more questions!”
- Professional: “Are you still on the line? I’m ready to assist.”
- Helpful: “Take your time. Let me know when you’re ready to continue.”
- Sound patient, not annoyed
- Offer help or reassurance
- Keep it conversational and warm
Recording Settings
🎙️ Automatic Call Recording
Always Enabled: All calls are automatically recorded by Twilio and stored securely in S3 as high-quality MP3 files.This is built-in and cannot be disabled - it ensures you have records for quality, compliance, and training purposes.
Common Configuration Scenarios
Goal: Helpful but efficient supportWhy: Balanced responsiveness with professional patience
Troubleshooting Common Issues
🚨 AI keeps getting cut off / sounds robotic
🚨 AI keeps getting cut off / sounds robotic
Problem: Interruption threshold too low or min speaking time too shortSolutions:
- Increase interruption threshold to 4-5 words
- Increase min speaking time to 1.0-1.5 seconds
- Callers won’t interrupt as quickly
😴 AI takes forever to respond / feels unresponsive
😴 AI takes forever to respond / feels unresponsive
Problem: Interruption cooldown too long or threshold too highSolutions:
- Decrease interruption cooldown to 1.0-1.5 seconds
- Decrease interruption threshold to 2-3 words
- AI will feel more responsive and natural
📞 Calls ending too quickly
📞 Calls ending too quickly
Problem: Idle timeout too short or max idle messages too lowSolutions:
- Increase idle timeout to 45-60 seconds
- Increase max idle messages to 4-5
- Give callers more time to think and respond
⏰ Calls dragging on too long
⏰ Calls dragging on too long
Problem: Idle timeout too long or max idle messages too highSolutions:
- Decrease idle timeout to 15-20 seconds
- Decrease max idle messages to 1-2
- Calls will end more efficiently
Best Practices
🎯 Golden Rules for Call Management
- Start with defaults and adjust based on real call feedback
- Test with real users - your perception differs from callers’
- Match your business style - formal vs casual affects all settings
- Monitor call recordings to see where conversations break down
- Adjust gradually - small changes have big impacts on conversation feel
➡️ What's Next?
Ready to fine-tune your AI’s brain? Check out AI Configuration to optimize your LLM, TTS, and STT settings.Need live monitoring? See Live Transcript WebSocket for real-time call monitoring and transcript streaming.Need more technical control? See Advanced Settings for speech processing and audio settings.