Call settings
Decide how a voice call starts, when your agent is allowed to call, what happens when the caller goes quiet, and how long a call can last.
Call settings are in the voice agent builder: First Message Mode and First Message Field at the top, and Calling Hour Config and Call Timeout Settings in the right-hand column.
How does the call start?
Choose a First Message Mode:
| Mode | What happens | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant speaks first | The agent opens with the exact text in First Message Field, as soon as the call connects. | You are calling out and want a fast, predictable opening. |
| User speaks first | The agent waits for the caller to speak, for example “Hello, who is this?”. | You are answering inbound calls, or callers expect to speak first. |
| Assistant speaks first with model generated message | The agent writes its own opening from the prompt and the call’s details. This is the default. | The opening needs to vary from call to call. Expect a few seconds of extra delay before the agent speaks. |
The first message can include variables from the call, for example:
Hello, I'm calling from Acme about your recent order. Am I speaking with {customer_name}?The values come from the call’s user info. See Triggering calls.
How do calling hours work?
Calling hours limit when a voice agent places calls started from a workflow. Pick a configuration under Calling Hour Config. Configurations are created in Settings → Channels → Voice, see Voice settings.
Each configuration sets:
- Days and times: for example Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
- Timezone mode: Fixed Timezone uses one timezone for every call. Customer’s Local Timezone uses each customer’s local time. (Shown as Fixed TZ / Customer TZ.)
Then choose what happens to calls that fall outside those hours with Queue call requests outside calling hours:
- On: the call is moved to the start of the next calling window. This needs retries turned on in the workflow step, and retries only happen while this setting is on.
- Off: the call is skipped and not attempted later, and failed calls are not retried.
A call request that is still waiting for a retry 48 hours after it was created is cancelled.
What happens when the caller goes silent?
Robylon can remind the caller, and ends the call if the silence goes on too long. Set this under Call Timeout Settings.
| Setting | What it does | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Enable user silence setting | Turns on a reminder when the caller stops talking. | On or off |
| Silence speak message after | Seconds of silence before the reminder. | 0 to 3600 seconds |
| Should we speak during user silence | Contextual: the agent writes a reminder that refers back to the conversation, following your instructions. Fixed message: the agent says your exact text. Off: no reminder. | |
| Message to say during user inactivity | The reminder text, or the instructions for a contextual reminder. | Text |
| Silence Timeout | Seconds of total silence before the call is ended, to free the line if the caller has gone. | 0 to 3600 seconds, default 60 |
| Maximum Duration | A hard limit on the length of the whole call, in seconds. | 0 to 3600 seconds, default 200 |
For example, with a 10 second delay and a fixed message, the agent asks “Hello, are you still there?” after 10 seconds of silence. With a 30 second silence timeout, it hangs up if the caller stays silent.
How do I pick the right timeout values?
- Silence speak message after: the default of 20 seconds gives callers time to think or look something up.
- Silence Timeout: longer than the reminder delay, so the agent always tries once before hanging up.
- Maximum Duration: a little above your longest normal call. Time a few test calls and add a margin.