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Agent builder fields

For BuildersChecked against the app on October 1, 2026

Every field on every step of the agent builder, in the order of the step rail. Where the builder explains a field behind its ⓘ icon, What it does gives that explanation in the builder's own words. Starts as is what a new agent has on HiloVoice's general starting point; an agent drafted for your business with Create it for me may start differently. A limit is the most a box takes: it counts your text once you're close, and Review & Go Live won't go live until a box over its limit is shortened.

For how the builder saves, undoes and publishes, see How the builder works. Each step's own topic is linked under its table.

The steps of each kind of agent

Kind	Steps	Under Optional
Receptionist	Business Information, Voice & Purpose, Hours of Operation, Caller Handling, Intake Questions, Knowledge Base, Conversation Style, Phone Number	Lead Capture, Appointment Booking, Call Transfers, Caller Screening, Data Lookups
Confirmations, Detail checks	Business Information, Voice & Purpose, Opening, Details, Knowledge Base, Conversation Style, Calling Hours, Caller ID	Appointment Booking, After the Call, Call Transfers, Data Lookups
Feedback	Business Information, Voice & Purpose, Opening, Questions, Knowledge Base, Conversation Style, Calling Hours, Caller ID	Appointment Booking, After the Call, Call Transfers, Data Lookups
Follow-ups	Business Information, Voice & Purpose, Goal, Opening, Knowledge Base, Conversation Style, Calling Hours, Caller ID	Questions, Appointment Booking, After the Call, Call Transfers, Data Lookups

Every kind ends with Review & Go Live. Below, the steps follow that order, with the steps only some kinds have placed where they fall in the rail.

New agent

New agent, on Agents, asks three things in turn.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
What kind of business is this?	Choose the closest match — you can add your services and specialisms on the next step.	Empty. Pick from the list, or type your own (up to 100 characters). Create it from our website reads it off your site instead; Skip — I'll set it up myself starts from HiloVoice's general starting point.
What should it handle?	The kind of agent: Receptionist, Confirmations, Follow-ups, Feedback or Detail checks. For Follow-ups: Follow up on quotes, missing documents, incomplete applications, payments, no-shows, renewals, and other open tasks.	None picked. Fixed once the agent is made. Follow-ups is locked on a plan without follow-up agents.
What should we call it?	How it appears in your list of agents — not what it says on the phone.	The kind's name, such as `Appointment confirmations`, until you type your own.

Copy one of your agents opens Start from an existing setup instead: Copy which agent, Name (it starts as Copy of and the agent's name) and Bring along, with Questions, Knowledge, After-call actions, Voice and Lookups, all ticked. See Start a new agent from one you have.

Business Information

What is the business, and what does it do? Every kind. The step has a tick once Business name is filled in with something other than Your Company.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Business name	Callers hear this in the greeting, so use the name they'd recognise — the trading name, not the legal entity.	Your organization's name. Up to 100 characters.
Does the voice say “…” wrong? Tell it how. (the line under Business name)	Opens Pronunciations: Names and words the voice says wrong, and how to say them. Every one of your agents uses this list, and live agents start saying a change as soon as you save it.	Up to 100 words. Saved with Save, not as you go.
Industry	Be specific — 'personal injury law' produces better questions than 'legal'.	What you chose on New agent. Up to 100 characters. The step then says Works in and the industry.
Services you offer (optional)	The specific services or specialisms you handle. Helps the agent recognise what a call is about.	None. Choose services offers the ones common for your industry; Add your own for the rest. Each up to 100 characters.
Areas you cover (optional)	Cities, counties, states or regions. The agent uses these to tell people whether they're in range.	None. Each up to 100 characters.

Buttons on the step:

Create it for me writes a first draft for the industry. It needs an industry. On an agent that's partly filled in it asks first: Recreate this agent for your industry?
Create it from our website reads your site and drafts the agent from it (below). Once your organization has read a site, it's Use details from <site>, which uses what was found without reading it again, beside Another website.
Start from a previous setup appears once your organization has a setup for this kind of agent. It opens Your previous setups; picking one asks Replace your current setup? first when the agent has questions or answers.

Pronunciations, one row per word:

Field	What it does	Limits
How “…” is said (your business name) and How “…” is said (any other word)	Write each one the way it sounds: capitals on the part you stress, hyphens between syllables — “AH-jet”, “shi-VAWN”. Press Hear it and adjust until it sounds right. Callers still see the real spelling in anything written, and the agent spells it the real way if asked.	Up to 100 characters. Suggest offers a spelling; Hear it plays it.
The word as it's written	The word as you spell it.	Up to 100 characters. Add a name or word adds a row.

Create it from our website takes your address (Read it), or the text of your pages (Paste the text from your site instead, up to 80,000 characters). It then shows Here's what we found on your site, to check before Create the agent. Details kept from an earlier read say when the site was read, with Read it again to read it fresh.

Field	What it does
Industry	Needed to create it — it decides the questions the agent starts with.
Business name	What the site calls the business. Up to 100 characters.
Services	The services found. Remove any that are wrong.
Opening hours	In the time zone found on the site; with none, No time zone found — set it on the Hours of Operation step.
Areas you cover	The areas found.
People to put calls through to	Each one ticked becomes a transfer on the Call Transfers step: a caller who asks for them is put through to their own number.
Booking page	Offered on the Appointment Booking step, which checks the link before the agent uses it.
Answers the agent can give	Your website, phone and email come first, so the agent never has to make them up.
How it answers the phone	Written from how your site speaks to clients, for an agent that answers calls: {{agent_company_name}} is your business's name, {{agent_name}} the agent's. Change it on the Conversation Style step. Up to 500 characters.
Personality	How your site comes across. Change it on the Voice & Purpose step.
Keep the site's text as a document the agent can answer from	Ticked to start: the site's text goes on Knowledge Base as a document.

See Describe the business.

Voice & Purpose

Who is the agent, and what is a good call? Every kind. The step has a tick once the agent has a name, a voice and, except on Follow-ups, a purpose.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Name it gives callers	A real first name works better than a job title — people talk more naturally to "Riley" than to "Virtual Assistant". Picking a voice fills in its name; type over it to use your own. Add another and each call is taken by one of them, a different one each time: the greeting says whoever it is, and the call's page shows who spoke. Press play to hear the greeting as them.	`Assistant`; an agent drafted for your business is named after its voice. Up to 60 characters. Up to 6 people, with Add another.
The voice (beside each name)	Pick from HiloVoice's voices. Search, or narrow the list with All, Female or Male; the play button beside a voice plays the greeting in it.	None; an agent drafted for your business has one.
Purpose (not Follow-ups)	One sentence on what a good call achieves. The agent comes back to it whenever a conversation wanders.	The starting point's purpose. Up to 300 characters. Write it for me or Improve it for me drafts it. A Follow-ups agent's purpose is its goal.
Personality (optional)	How the agent sounds to callers — tone and choice of words only. Pick up to three; opposites replace each other. Nothing picked is a plain, warm receptionist.	None. Up to 3. Suggest picks some for your business.

The Personality traits, with what each does when you point at it. Formal and Casual, Upbeat and Calm, and Direct and Gentle replace each other.

Trait	What it does
Warm	Sounds glad they called, and interested in them as a person.
Professional	Composed and courteous, never chummy.
Formal	Full sentences, no slang, titles and surnames where it has them.
Casual	Relaxed and conversational, first names, everyday words.
Upbeat	Energetic and positive, without being loud about it.
Calm	Unhurried and steady, an even voice however the caller sounds.
Direct	Gets to the point, says things once, no padding.
Gentle	Soft and careful with people who are worried, upset or grieving.
Patient	Gives people time, and repeats itself without a hint of irritation.
Reassuring	Lets them know they are in the right place and it will be handled.
Efficient	Brisk and organised, respectful of the caller's time.
Playful	Light, a little humour where it fits, never at the caller's expense.

Voice settings, beside Name it gives callers, opens what's the same for every voice the agent speaks in. Each change saves as you make it.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Language	What the agent speaks. A caller who starts in another language is followed for the rest of the call. Answers are still recorded the same way, so nothing else changes.	English. Also Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Swedish.
How it speaks	The speech model and its dials. The defaults suit almost every agent; change them only when you have heard something you want different — then press "Hear it" to check.
Voice quality	Naturalness costs answering time. On a phone call a pause before each reply is what callers notice most, so the fastest is the default.	Fastest (Answers the quickest. The usual pick for a phone line.), Balanced (A touch more natural; a little slower to answer.) or Most natural (The most expressive, and noticeably slower to answer. Best for languages other than English.). Doesn't apply while Expressive voice is on.
Delivery	Towards expressive, the voice varies more from line to line — livelier, occasionally uneven. Towards steady, it stays even — calmer, occasionally flat.	Default, between Expressive and Steady.
Stick to the voice	Closer sounds most like the recording; looser smooths out rough edges.	Default, between Looser and Closer.
Pace	How fast it talks. A little slower helps callers writing something down; much faster starts to sound rushed.	Default, from 30% slower to 20% faster. Can't be changed while Expressive voice is on. Back to the defaults resets all four.
Background sound	A voice against complete silence is the quickest giveaway that nobody is in the room; a little office sound is what callers expect. Plays quietly under the whole call. Silence is the default. The room the agent seems to sit in. Quiet office is the usual pick.	Quiet office for a new agent (A little room noise — the usual pick.). Also Silence (Just the voice.), Busy office (Voices and movement in the background.), Keyboard (Someone typing nearby.), Restaurant (Cutlery and chatter.), City street (Traffic and passers-by.) and Soft music (Quiet instrumental.).
Volume (with a background sound)	Normal is the default and sits well under the voice. Faint is barely there.	Normal. Also Faint and Present.

See Name the agent and give it a purpose.

Goal

What should HiloVoice help complete? Follow-ups only: HiloVoice calls, works toward the goal, records where it got to, and calls again until the job is done or it has run out of attempts. It is done only when the success condition is met, never because a call went well. A good call that did not reach the goal is progress, and the next call picks up from it. The step has a tick once it has a goal and a success condition.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
The goal	The outcome the calls are for, in your own words: “the signed agreement is back”, “the quote is answered”, “their application is complete”. The agent is told this is the job and works toward it on every call. A campaign can give each person their own goal in a “goal” column of the list; this one is used for anyone without.	`The open item is completed`. Up to 500 characters. The buttons that draft the next three boxes wait until there's a goal.
How HiloVoice knows it succeeded	The one test the agent applies before it may record the follow-up as done. A friendly call, a promise to get to it, a “yes, soon” — none of these count. Only this does. Anything short of it is progress, and the next call picks up from where this one got to.	They confirm it's done. One of seven (below).
The thing it names (What they confirm, The document, …)	Names the thing, so the agent says “the signed agreement” rather than “the document”. Optional; the goal often says it already.	Empty. Up to 1,000 characters. Name it for me drafts it.
If they can't complete it now	What the agent finds out and offers when the answer is “not yet”. Left empty, it asks what is in the way and when it could happen, agrees the next step, and writes both down for the next call. Say here what else to offer — a link, an extension, a call from a colleague — and it will.	Empty. Up to 1,000 characters.
When a team member takes over	The situations where the agent stops and hands the job to a person rather than pressing on. It is then marked “needs a person” on the campaign until someone deals with it. Someone upset, a complaint or a mention of legal action always hands over, whatever is written here. Left empty, a dispute or a question it can't answer does too.	Empty. Up to 1,000 characters.
Attempts	What a campaign for this agent starts with. Each campaign can change it before it launches, and a person who asks to be called at a particular time is called then. A wrong number, someone who says no, or someone who asks not to be called again is never called back, whatever is set here. A call that failed on the line is retried without counting against these.
Attempts per person	How many calls HiloVoice makes before it gives up on someone — the calls that reached the person or rang out, not the ones that failed on the line.	4. From 1 to 10.
Time between attempts	The wait before the next call — after the first attempt, then the second, and so on. Inside the calling window, in the person's own hours when the campaign says so.	A day, then two, then three. Also Every day, Every two days, Every week and A few hours apart.
Voicemail	What the agent does when a machine answers. Leave a short message: Who is calling, on behalf of whom, that it's about a follow-up item, and that it will try again — never what the item is, which a shared answering machine plays to anyone. HiloVoice detects the machine and leaves the message itself. Hang up without a message: Nothing is left. The attempt still counts and the next is scheduled as usual.	Leave a short message. Or Hang up without a message.
The message (with Leave a short message)	What the machine records. Say who called, on behalf of whom, and that you'll try again — never the matter itself, which a shared answering machine plays to anyone. Type {{ to drop in a detail from the list, like their first name. Empty, HiloVoice leaves the message shown.	Empty: the message shown in the box is left. Up to 600 characters.

The seven tests under How HiloVoice knows it succeeded, each with the box it adds:

Choice	What it does	The box under it
They confirm it's done	The person says, in their own words, that the thing is done. The right choice for most follow-ups — a quote answered, a decision made, a form returned.	What they confirm
A document has been sent	They confirm they have sent or uploaded it, or the tool that receives it says it arrived.	The document
Information has been given	Every piece of information asked for has been given and recorded. Add what to ask for on the Questions step.	The information
An appointment is booked	An appointment is booked or moved on the call through the booking tool, and the tool reports it booked. Needs Appointments switched on.	The appointment
They agree to pay	They confirm they will pay and agree to the way of paying offered. The agent never takes a card number on the call.	What is owed
They're put through to a person	The call is transferred to someone on the team and the transfer connects. Set up who on the Call Transfers step.	Who they're put through to
Someone on the team marks it done	The agent never marks it done itself; a person closes each one from the campaign page once they have checked.	What counts as done

See Set a follow-up's goal.

Opening

What does it say when someone picks up? Confirmations, Detail checks, Feedback and Follow-ups. A Receptionist's first words are its Greeting, on Conversation Style. The step has a tick once it has an opening line.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Opening line	You called them, so the agent speaks first. Someone who answers wants three things at once: who is this, why are they calling me, how long will it take. Name the company early, ask permission ("Do you have a moment?"), and keep it to a sentence or two — a long opening gets interrupted. Type {{ to drop in a detail you already hold, like their first name — or, when calling a business, its name from the list: "Hi, is this {{business_name}}?" On Follow-ups, also: Ask for the person by name and say only that it's about a follow-up item — not what the item is. The number may reach someone else; the agent says what it's about once it has the right person.	The starting point's line, such as Hi, this is Assistant calling from your business about your upcoming appointment. Is now a good time? Up to 500 characters. Empty, the agent only introduces itself.
Saying it's automated	Say so if asked: The agent answers honestly when someone asks whether it's a person. Say so upfront: The call opens by saying it's automated, right after the recording notice and before your opening line. The agent still answers honestly if asked.	Say so if asked.
Who this call reaches	A person: the agent asks for them by name and treats anyone else as someone else. A business: whoever answers is the way in — the agent asks for the role you name, holds or takes a transfer, and says the matter to whoever handles it.	A person.
Ask for (with A business)	The role or department that handles the matter — “accounts payable”, “the office manager”, “whoever handles vendor invoices”. Left blank, the agent asks for whoever can help with what the call is about. Once it has spoken to someone, it records who to ask for next time.	Empty. Up to 200 characters.
Confirm it's them before saying why (with A person)	The agent asks for the person by name and says what the call is about only once it has them. Off, it takes whoever answers as the person unless they say otherwise. On Detail checks: Always on for a detail check: nothing on the record is said to anyone but the person it's about. On Follow-ups: Always on for a follow-up: what it's about is said only to the person themselves.	By kind (below).
If someone else answers, say	What the agent may tell someone who isn't the person. "Only that it's a follow-up item" gives nothing away. "Who's calling and what kind of call" names the business and says it's about an appointment (their record, feedback on a recent visit, a follow-up item), with no detail. The third also asks them to let the person know to call back.	By kind. Only that it's a follow-up item, Who's calling and what kind of call, or That, and ask them to pass on a callback.
Someone else may answer for them (Confirmations, Feedback)	On Confirmations: A household member or colleague can confirm, move or cancel the appointment on the person's behalf. The notes say who did. On Feedback: Someone who was there too can give the feedback in the person's place. The answers are recorded as theirs, with a note of who gave them.	Off.
Then	What the agent does once someone else has answered and can't take the call for the person. Asking when to reach them gives the next attempt a time to aim for.	By kind. Ask when to reach them or Thank them and end the call.
Voicemail (not Follow-ups)	What happens when a machine answers. Leave a short message: who called, on behalf of whom, what kind of call in a word, and that we'll try again — never the matter itself, which a shared answering machine plays to anyone. Hang up: nothing is left. Either way the call is recorded as reaching voicemail; whether they're called again is up to the campaign's Try again after settings.	By kind. A Follow-ups agent's is on Goal.
The message (with Leave a short message)	As on Goal.	Up to 600 characters.

Who can take the call starts like this for each kind:

Setting	Confirmations	Detail checks	Feedback	Follow-ups
Confirm it's them before saying why	On	Always on	Off	Always on
If someone else answers, say	Who's calling and what kind of call	Only that it's a follow-up item	Who's calling and what kind of call	Only that it's a follow-up item
Someone else may answer for them	Off	Not offered	Off	Not offered
Then	Ask when to reach them	Ask when to reach them	Thank them and end the call	Ask when to reach them
Voicemail	Leave a short message	Leave a short message	Hang up without a message	On Goal

Typing {{ in Opening line or The message lists what you can drop in: each detail set to We already know it, then The agent's name (whoever is speaking), The agent's company name, and, with A business, The business's name.

Warning: Some places require automated calls to identify themselves upfront. Check what applies where you're calling; meeting those rules is your responsibility.

See Write an outbound agent's opening.

Hours of Operation and Calling Hours

A Receptionist has Hours of Operation, When are you open?, third in its rail. The four outbound kinds have Calling Hours, When may it call?, after Conversation Style, with the note Every new campaign starts from this window; a campaign can set its own. The two share their fields. The step has a tick once a day has hours.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Timezone	On a Receptionist: The hours below are in this timezone. On an outbound agent: The times below are interpreted in this timezone — normally the one the people you're calling are in.	Your organization's time zone, until you choose one.
The days, Sunday to Saturday	Each day open has one opening and one closing time. + opens a day; X makes it Unavailable again.	Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. The closing time has to be later than the opening time, so hours can't run past midnight. Empty, a Receptionist says No hours set — the agent won't mention them.; an outbound agent says No window set — a new campaign calls on weekdays, 9 AM to 6 PM.
Quick fill	Weekdays, 9 to 5, Every day, 9 to 5 or Around the clock replaces the whole week. Same as Monday, Tuesday to Friday copies Monday.
After hours (Receptionist)	Handle calls normally: The agent takes the call exactly as it would during opening hours. Take a message: Collect their details and let them know someone will follow up.	Take a message.

Warning: Calling outside reasonable hours is restricted in many places — check what applies where you're calling. You're responsible for keeping an outbound agent's window inside the rules where the people you call are.

See Set your opening hours and Set when an outbound agent may call.

Caller Handling

Who calls you? Receptionist only. The agent works out which kind of caller it has from what they say — it never asks anyone to pick a category. Open one to say how to recognise them, what to ask, and how the call ends. Questions stay in one list on the Intake Questions step; a question can be limited to some kinds of caller. Spam always ends the call.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Treat kinds of caller differently	On, each kind gets its own questions and its own ending — the agent works out which it has from what they say, and never asks anyone to pick. Off, everyone gets the same.	On, with five kinds: Potential new clients (Someone enquiring who isn't on your books yet), Existing clients (Someone you already act for), Other service providers (Another business calling about shared work), Spam and cold sales calls (Robocalls and unsolicited pitches) and Anyone else (The catch-all for callers who fit none of the above). Once the agent has an industry, they're named in your trade's words.
Add a kind of caller	For callers none of the kinds above fit — insurance adjusters, journalists, job applicants. Each gets its own questions and its own ending.	Up to 5 of your own, each named in up to 60 characters.
After every call	With kinds off: What HiloVoice does once a call has done what it was for — a thank-you, a request for a review, a note to your team. Not after a call that was cut short or went nowhere. With kinds on: Runs after every call that did what it was for, whatever kind of caller it was — as well as each kind's own. Set while kinds of caller were off: move what belongs to one kind onto it.	Nothing set — nothing goes out after the call. Shown while kinds are off, or while it holds anything. The actions are listed under After the Call, below.

Click a kind to open it. Spam and cold sales calls has only How to recognise them, and says: The agent ends the call as soon as it's sure. That isn't configurable — it's the reason this category exists.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Name (a kind you added)	What you call them. It's what the agent is told to listen for, and how their calls are labelled in Leads.	Up to 60 characters.
How to recognise them (optional)	Reaches the agent word for word, so write it the way you'd describe this caller to a new receptionist.	The starting point's description. Up to 300 characters. Write it for me drafts it.
How to identify them (Existing clients, During the call tab)	The agent uses these to work out whether it has spoken to this person before. The number they're calling from: Arrives with the call — nothing to ask for. Their full name: The agent asks and matches on the name. Their email address: The address you'd have on their file. Something else: A reference or account number only you use. A record in your lookups: HiloVoice checks the number they're calling from against the lookup marked "Recognises callers" (Data Lookups step).	The number they're calling from and Their full name. Something else adds What to ask for.
Confirmed by a lookup (During the call; not spam)	A record alone only means they've called before. On, their number is checked against a source before the agent answers, and they count as this kind only if the source says so.	Off. Needs a source under Settings → Lookups. Then Source, and What counts: Either any record for their number proves it, or one field on that record has to read a certain way. With a field: Field, Is (is, is not, is one of, is not empty, is empty) and Value.
Contact details to ask for (During the call; not spam)	Ticked here, it's asked as a question on the Intake Questions step, limited to this kind of caller. Anything else is written as a question there.	Full name, Phone number, Email address, Best time to call back, Address, Referral source.
When the call ends (After the call tab; not spam)	How this kind of call ends, and what happens afterwards — as many as apply.	End the call. Add an action adds End the call or Transfer the call, and the actions listed under After the Call, below.

Remove this kind of caller, at the foot of a kind you added, also removes the questions asked of that kind alone.

See Handle each kind of caller.

Intake Questions, Details and Questions

The step's name changes with the kind of agent:

Kind	Rail	Page title	It asks
Receptionist	Intake Questions	Intake Questions	What should the agent ask? Asked in this order. Anything a caller answers early isn't asked again.
Confirmations	Details	Details to confirm	What does it need to confirm? The details to read back, and what counts as confirmed.
Detail checks	Details	Details to check	What does it need to check? The details to read back and confirm, and what to do when they don't match.
Feedback	Questions	Survey questions	What should it ask? Asked in this order.
Follow-ups	Questions, under Optional	Extra questions	What else should it ask along the way? Anything the agent should ask for while working toward the goal.

A question can depend on an earlier answer ("which hospital?" only when they said they were injured) — the earlier question needs a yes/no answer or fixed options, so there is something definite to compare. With services listed on the Business Information step, a question can also be limited to some of them. Every kind but Follow-ups needs at least one to go live. Add a question (Add a detail on Confirmations and Detail checks) adds one, up to 100.

On a Receptionist, two switches sit above the list:

Field	What it does	Starts as
Let them fill in a form instead	The agent can text or email the caller a link to these questions as a web page. They fill it in while the agent waits, or hang up, finish at their own pace, and call back — the agent picks up where they left off. The form only takes and checks answers; qualifying, booking and everything after stay with the agent on the call.	Off. Change opens The form (below).
Check the details before ending	Once everything is asked, the agent reads back the few answers most likely to have been misheard — anything it wasn't sure of, a name or address it never read back, anything corrected along the way — in one quick turn, and fixes whatever the caller corrects. Answers they texted, emailed or typed on the form aren't read back.	On.

The form:

Field	What it does	Starts as
Send it by text	A text to the number the caller is on, from the agent's number — or HiloVoice's when the line can't send.	On.
Send it by email	An email to an address the caller gives and has read back, from your connected email sender, or HiloVoice's when none is connected.	On.
The link works for	How long the page opens after the agent sends it — long enough to hang up, fill it in and call back. Sending it again restarts the clock.	1 hour. Also 15 minutes, 4 hours, 1 day, 3 days and 1 week.
The agent may offer it	On, the agent offers the form once when it would help — spelling is going badly, there's a lot to give. Off, only when the caller asks.	On.

Click a question to open it. On The answer tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Question (What to establish on Confirmations and Detail checks)	The words the agent asks. Write it for me drafts them; Suggest another writes a different one.	Empty. Up to 300 characters.
Where it comes from (outbound kinds)	Already known: it comes from the list you're calling from, and is read back or checked. Otherwise the agent asks.	We already know it on Confirmations and Detail checks; Ask on the call on Feedback and Follow-ups.
What to do with it (with We already know it)	Read it back to them or Check it's right.	Check it's right.
Answer type	Yes/no answers can decide whether a later question is asked. A photo or a document is sent in by the caller during the call — texted or emailed — and kept with the lead.	Text, or a guess from the wording until you choose. Also Yes / no, Number, Date, Time, Date and time, Photo (sent in) and Document (emailed).
The date is (a date)	Checked as the answer is recorded: a date on the wrong side of today goes back to the agent to confirm with the caller, and the form asks again. An accident date is today or before; an appointment, today or after.	Any date. Also Today or before and Today or after.
Required	The agent will keep trying to get an answer rather than moving on.	Ticked.
Take corrections (with Check it's right)	If they say what we hold is wrong, the agent records what they say instead.	Unticked.
How they send it (a photo)	The caller sends the photo during the call. By text, the agent gives them the number to send it to; by email, a short address for this call at HiloVoice's inbox. Marked required, the agent keeps asking for it; leave it optional if callers may send it after the call.	By text and By email both ticked.

Under More options, on the same tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Recorded as (optional)	The short name this answer is filed under — the column on the Leads page, the heading in an export. Blank, the question itself is used.	Blank. Up to 60 characters.
Caller detail (a text answer)	Mark the caller's own name, number or email so the lead reads them from here and a returning caller is recognised. Left as none, it's worked out from the wording.	Not a contact detail. Also The caller's full name, The caller's phone number and The caller's email address.
Confirm spelling (a text answer)	The agent spells the answer back letter by letter and waits for a yes before moving on. For names, email addresses and street addresses.	Unticked.
Confirm it back (a date or time)	Date: The agent reads the date back in full — day, month and year — and waits for a yes before moving on. Time: The agent reads the time back in full — hour, minutes, morning or afternoon — and waits for a yes before moving on. Date and time: The agent reads the day and the time back in full and waits for a yes before moving on.	Unticked.
Let them text it	The agent offers to take the answer by text and picks it up from the caller's message. The number is set up to receive texts when you publish.	Unticked.
Let them email it	The agent gives the caller a short address for this call — six digits at HiloVoice's inbox — and picks the answer up from the email. Works in a browser session too.	Unticked.
Always check at the end (Receptionist, with Check the details before ending on)	Read back in the check before the call ends even when it was already read back — for the answer that matters most, like the email a booking goes to.	Unticked.
The agent asks this one (with the form on)	Keeps this question off the form the caller can be sent, so it is always asked on the call — for something that only makes sense spoken.	Unticked.
Answer options (optional; not yes/no, photo or document)	Restrict this question to a fixed set of answers. Needed if another question depends on this one.	None.

On the When it's asked tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as
Only ask this if…	Ask this question only when an earlier answer is a particular value — “which hospital?” only when they said they were injured. Opens Only ask this question when all of these are true: a question, is, is not, is one of or is none of, and the answer. Add another condition adds one; all must be true.	Always asked. Always ask removes the conditions.
Only for certain services… (with services on Business Information)	Ask this question only on calls about some of your services, from the list on the Business Information step. Opens Only ask this on calls about.	Every call.
Only for certain callers… (Receptionist, with kinds of caller on)	Ask this question only of some kinds of caller — new clients but not existing ones, say. Everyone else skips it. Opens Only ask this of.	Every caller.

Above the list, In order, By who's asked and As one caller hears it show the questions three ways once some are limited.

See Choose what the agent asks.

Knowledge Base

Every kind. A Receptionist's step asks What should the agent be able to answer?: Answers it may give in its own words, and documents it can read from. An outbound agent's asks What should it be able to answer if asked? Either way, anything not covered, it says someone will follow up.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Fill in from your website	Reads your site and offers the answers it finds, under Found on the site, for you to tick. The site's text goes under Documents.	Up to 30 suggestions.
Add a question and answer: the question	What callers ask, in their words.	Up to 200 entries. Each question 3 to 300 characters.
Answer	Write the substance, not a script — the agent phrases it naturally in conversation.	3 to 2,000 characters.
When callers hesitate	What it says when a caller is unsure: the facts you stand behind, and one next step it offers once. It never presses. Add a hesitation adds one, with what callers say, such as `It's too expensive`.	Up to 12. What callers say, 3 to 200 characters. Suggest for me adds the usual ones.
What's true (optional)	Only what your business stands behind — what's included, what's free, how it works. The agent puts it in its own words and adds nothing.	Up to 600 characters. A hesitation needs this, Then offer, or both.
Then offer (optional)	One next step, offered once. If they still aren't sure, the agent lets it go and carries on.	Nothing — just say what's true. Also Book the (your appointment's name), Send the booking link, Put them through to someone and Have someone call them back. A step the agent can't take yet is greyed out.
The agent never…	Things it must never do or say, however a caller asks — give legal advice, diagnose, counsel. Add what it does instead after a dash when that matters: "Diagnose — offer an appointment instead". Every agent already never gives professional advice or its own opinion of a caller's situation; list what's particular to you.	None. Up to 15, each up to 300 characters. Suggest for me offers some.
Documents	Files the agent can answer from as well — a price list, a policy, a brochure. PDF, Word, text, Markdown, HTML or CSV, up to 20 MB each.	None. Up to 20, with Add a document: .pdf, .docx, .txt, .md, .html or .csv.

Removing a document takes it from the live agent at once; a document you add reaches callers when you publish. See Give the agent answers.

Conversation Style

How should it conduct the call? Every kind: Who speaks first, how it asks, and how long a call may take. It starts filled in, so it always has a tick.

Sound as natural as possible, above the tabs, is on for a new agent; with any of its settings off, it has a Turn on button: Turns on what makes a call sound like a person: it speaks first, with a greeting; its voice follows the mood of the call; it says a short "Okay." rather than going quiet while it works out an answer; it waits quietly when a caller asks for a moment; and there is an office's sound behind it. Left as they are, because the right answer depends on your callers: how long it waits in silence before checking in, how soon it replies after a pause, and which fillers and murmurs it uses.

On the Conversation tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Who speaks first	The caller: The agent picks up, gives the recording notice, then waits for them to start. The agent: It answers with a greeting, the way a receptionist would. On an outbound agent, The agent: It opens with a greeting. Right for calls you make out.	The caller on a Receptionist. The agent on an outbound agent, which must speak first.
Greeting (optional; Receptionist, with The agent)	The first thing a caller hears. Name the business, then invite them to say why they rang. Type {{ for a list of what you can drop in, like the agent's name.	Empty: the agent only introduces itself. Up to 500 characters. Write it for me drafts it. An outbound agent's first words are on Opening.
Expressive voice	The voice reads the mood of the call — calmer when a caller is upset or hurting, warmer with good news — and can soften or lighten a word. It uses its own voice model and pace in place of the voice quality and pace in Voice settings (Voice & Purpose step), and doesn't suit a professional voice clone.	On for a new agent.
One question at a time	Stops the agent stacking several questions into one turn.	On.
Never guess	The agent won't fill in information it wasn't clearly given.	On.
Don't re-ask	If a caller volunteers something early, the agent skips that question later.	On.
Re-ask an unclear answer up to	Before moving on without it. More gets fuller answers but tries callers' patience.	2 times. Also 0 times, once and 3 times.

On the Timing tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Maximum length	The call ends at the limit however it is going, so give long conversations room. The agent is told the limit and keeps to the point.	Default (10 min). From 2 to 120 minutes.
Check in after silence	How long the agent stays quiet after the caller stops talking before asking if they're still there. Longer suits callers who go looking for a document.	Default (20 s). From 5 to 30 seconds.
Reply after a pause	How soon a pause counts as the caller having finished. Quickly keeps the conversation moving; patiently suits callers who stop to think or read out a long number.	Quickly (default). Also Normally and Patiently.
Start replying early	The agent starts working out its answer while the caller pauses, before it is sure they have finished, so the gap before it speaks is shorter. Uses a little more of the AI model.	On.
Acknowledge before answering	New — try it on one agent first. An answer that takes a moment opens with a few words that fit, like "So, …", and if the agent is still working it out after a couple of seconds, the caller hears a short "Okay." or "Alright." instead of silence.	On for a new agent.
Fill the silence after (with Acknowledge before answering on)	How long the agent can be quiet after the caller finishes before it says a filler like "Okay.". Shorter fills more pauses, but is more likely to land on top of an answer that was just starting.	2 s. Also 1 s, 1.5 s and 3 s.
Fillers and interruptions	Which fillers the agent picks from when it acknowledges before answering, and which of the caller's murmurs — "mm-hmm", "uh-huh" — it talks through instead of stopping.	Okay. and Alright. Choose opens While it works out an answer, it says (also I see., Let me see., Just a moment.) and It keeps talking when the caller murmurs (none ticked).
Hang up after silence	With nothing at all from the caller for this long, the call ends — a walked-away caller doesn't hold the line for the full call limit. Never, by default.	Never. From 30 seconds to 10 minutes, and longer than Check in after silence.

On the Holds tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Allow hold	When someone asks for a moment, the agent waits quietly instead of filling the silence, and checks back once.	On for a new agent.
Hold for up to (with Allow hold on)	After this the agent offers to call back instead.	90 s. From 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
Hold while looking things up	While it checks a record or the calendar, the caller hears a short "one moment" and a sound instead of silence. Anything over 15 seconds gets an apology and an offer to call back.	On.
While it works, play	Typing suits a quick lookup; hold music suits a booking that takes a while. Whatever plays stops the moment the caller speaks.	Typing. Also Hold music and Silence.

On the Recording tab:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Record calls	On, each call's audio is kept and plays from the call's page. Off, only the transcript is kept.	On.
Pause recording on transfer (with Record calls on)	On an outbound agent: On, the recording ends when the agent hands the call to a person — only the agent's part is ever kept. Off, the phone line records the whole call, the person included. On a Receptionist: The recording ends when the agent hands the call to a person — only the agent's part is ever kept. Recording past the transfer is set up at your carrier, not here.	On. A Receptionist can't change it.
Say the call is recorded	Some US states need everyone on a call to agree to it being recorded, and a transcript counts. The call opens with it, before anything else, in a standard voice of its own, and the caller can't talk over it.	Off.
Wording (with Say the call is recorded on)	Left empty, the agent says this in its own language.	Empty: This call is being recorded for quality assurance., or This call is being transcribed for quality assurance. with Record calls off. Up to 200 characters.

Warning: Whether you may record a call, and whether you have to say so, depends on where you and your callers are. You're responsible for meeting those rules; turn Say the call is recorded on unless you're sure none of your callers need it.

See Shape how a call sounds.

Phone Number

How should people reach your agent? Receptionist only: A new number takes seconds, or keep the one your customers already know. The step has a tick once the agent has a number; it can go live without one. Nothing here waits for Publish: each button acts at once.

With no number yet, the step offers three ways. Getting a number, forwarding and connecting a provider need the Owner or Admin role.

Way	What it does	Button
Get a new number (Recommended)	A new number for your agent, ready in seconds. You can forward your business number to it later.	Get a number
Use my business number	Keep the number your customers already call, and forward it to your agent. Works with most phone providers, with steps for yours, and you can switch it back any time.	Forward my number
Connect my phone provider (Advanced), under More ways	Connect your phone service straight to HiloVoice, with no forwarding. Keep your existing numbers. Keep your existing provider. No call forwarding required. Designed for SIP-compatible business phone services.	Connect provider, on a plan that includes it
Use a number you already have	Your organization's other numbers, each saying whether another agent has it.	Use this, or Move here for another agent's number

Get a number:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Country	Where the number is.	Your organization's country.
Local, Toll-free, Mobile	The kind of number.	Local.
Area code (United States and Canada, local)	The area code to search in.	Up to 3 digits, such as `702`.
State or province (Region elsewhere) and City	Narrow the search to a place. Not for toll-free.	Empty.
Digits it should contain	Digits the number should have, with `` for any digit, such as `555` or `4*5`.	Empty.
Must be able to text	Only numbers that can send and receive texts.	Ticked.
Name (optional), when you click Buy	Shown next to the number wherever it's listed.	Up to 64 characters, such as `Main line`. Buy number confirms.

Set up call forwarding walks through five steps: What is your current business number?; Who provides your phone service? (with Your provider's name for Other / I'm not sure); Your forwarding number (Use this number, Find another, or Search for a number by Area code or digits); Forward calls to HiloVoice, with how to forward on your phone service, Codes sent to your forwarding number and When should HiloVoice answer?; then Test your connection. See Keep your number and forward it to your agent.

Connect provider asks Who provides your business phone service?, then, where it depends, Does your provider support SIP trunking? (Yes, No, I'm not sure). Then Which number should your agent answer? and how the provider proves its calls are from it: With a username and password or By the addresses it sends calls from, with the provider's IP addresses. Set up the connection shows HiloVoice is ready and the details to give your provider.

Once the agent has a number, the step shows it with its status:

Status	What it means
Live — calls reach this agent	A HiloVoice number, answering for this agent.
Connected	Your own number, forwarded or through your provider, and the test call reached the agent.
Goes live when you publish	The agent is a draft; the number answers once it goes live.
Not tested yet	Set up forwarding at your phone provider, then run the test call. (Through your provider: Give your phone provider the connection details, then run the test call.)
Not taking calls yet	Connecting didn't finish. Retry in a moment.
Caller's number not passed on	Your phone provider replaces the caller's number when it forwards. Test connection has the fix.
Call screening is on	Your phone service asks whoever answers to press 1 before it connects the caller. HiloVoice now presses it on forwarded calls: test again to check callers get through.
Calls held for a key press	Your phone service asks whoever answers to press 1, and it didn't take HiloVoice's press. Turn that setting off in your phone service, then test again.

The buttons under it are Retry, Test connection, Setup instructions (or Connection details), Test my agent and Disconnect, as each applies. See Give a Receptionist its number.

Caller ID

Which number do calls come from? Confirmations, Detail checks, Feedback and Follow-ups: The number people see — and ring back. One they recognise gets answered far more often. Any of your numbers will do, including one another agent answers on: calls from this agent show it, and whoever answers it keeps answering it — and takes the callbacks, told what this agent called about.

Field	What it does	Starts as
Your numbers	Every one of your organization's numbers. A number your Receptionist answers says Answers calls for the agent, — … takes callbacks to this number; one may be marked Suggested.	No caller ID.
Call from this	Makes the number this agent's caller ID. The row then reads Calls from this agent show this number.
Stop using	Takes the caller ID away. Campaigns using the agent pause until it has another.
Retry (with Not ready to call from yet)	Tries again to get the number ready to call from.
Get a number (Owner or Admin)	Buys a number, as on Phone Number. It becomes the caller ID straight away.

A number reached through your own phone provider reads Takes calls only: Your phone provider sends this number's calls to HiloVoice, but calls can't be placed from it. Choose another number for this agent to call from, or get one. See Give an outbound agent a caller ID.

Optional

The steps below sit under Optional in the rail: Most agents go live without these. Open one when you need it. Its heading says how many are in use, such as 2 of 5 in use.

Lead Capture

Who becomes a lead? Receptionist only. Pick which kinds of caller become a lead. Each kind gets its own columns on the Leads page, chosen from what the agent asks them: a salon's new clients might show the service, the stylist and the preferred date. Status, calls and last call are always shown.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Make leads from calls	On, the callers you pick below land on the Leads page with everything the call captured. Once someone is a lead, every later call of theirs is added to their lead, whatever kind of caller the agent takes them for — spam aside. Off, nobody becomes one.	On, with Potential new clients ticked, on a new Receptionist.
Who becomes a lead	Tick the kinds of caller worth following up with. Spam never is. Each kind gets its own columns on the Leads page — open Columns to choose them from what the agent asks that kind. (Without kinds of caller: Every completed call, since this agent doesn't sort its callers — switch that on under Caller Handling to pick kinds. Columns chooses what the Leads page shows from what the agent asks.)	The kind for new enquiries. Ticking a kind adds Create a lead to it on Caller Handling.
Columns (beside each kind)	What the Leads page shows for each of these leads, in this order. Status, calls and last call are always there; open a lead for everything else it captured. Pick from Contact details (What the lead itself holds, whichever question it came from.) and What the agent asks (Each question's latest answer, from whichever of their calls gave it.).	the usual columns: the contact details and the first questions, six in all. Up to 12. Back to the usual columns returns to them.
Lead scoring	After each call that makes a lead, HiloVoice reads the call for the signals below and scores the lead out of 100, so the strongest are at the top of the Leads page, each with the reason for its score. A signal only counts when the caller's own words show it, and callers Screening turns away aren't scored. Nothing is added to the call: the agent asks no new questions for it. Changes take effect when you publish.	Off. Suggest signals or Add my own starts the list.

Each signal, under Makes a lead stronger (Add a signal) or Makes a lead weaker (Add one that counts against):

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Signal	A few words, as the Leads page shows it beside a lead: “Ready to start soon”, “Strong service fit”.	2 to 60 characters.
What should HiloVoice look for?	What in the call shows it, as concretely as you'd tell a new receptionist: “The caller wants the work done within the next 30 days.” It only counts when the caller's own words show it.	10 to 300 characters.
Impact	How much it moves a lead. Keep Very high for the one or two things that matter most.	High +20 (or High −20 for one that counts against). Low +5, Medium +10, High +20 or Very high +30, and the same taken off.
Counts toward the score	Off, the signal is kept but doesn't count.	On.

Up to 12 signals; leads are scored once at least two that make a lead stronger are on. See Turn callers into leads.

Appointment Booking

Every kind. A Receptionist's step asks How do callers get booked in?, an outbound agent's How do people get booked in?: Paste a booking page, or pick a connected calendar. On a connected calendar the agent finds open times, offers up to three at a go, takes a name and email, and books — the same booking your page makes, confirmation email and all. Any other page is offered, and can be texted or emailed. It never states a time or confirms a booking the calendar has not returned; if the calendar cannot be reached, it takes details for someone to confirm.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Book appointments	Off, the agent says someone will follow up about an appointment.	Off.
Booking link	Any booking page. From a connected calendar the agent books on the call; any other page it offers, texts or emails. Paste it and click Use this link, or click the calendar icon, Choose from your calendars.	Empty. Once checked, the card says the appointment's name, length and place, then books on the call or link only.
Another appointment when…	Book a different appointment from what the caller answered — a telehealth session for anyone who asks for one, say. The agent checks times for that one and books it; the first that matches wins. Add one opens Another appointment: Book it when all of these are true, and the Appointment (Its own booking link, from the same scheduler or another one you have connected.).	None. Needs a question with fixed answers.
Book on the call	The agent books, moves and cancels appointments in the conversation — every booking needs the caller's email for the confirmation. Off, it only offers the link and never states a time.	On, where the calendar can book on the call.
Send the link	When a caller would rather book themselves — or their appointment is a page rather than something the agent books — it can send them the link during the call. Each way needs the account to send with. By text and By email.	Both on, where they can send.
Who can book	Nothing ticked means anyone. Tick some and the agent books only for those callers, and takes a message for anyone else who asks. Each kind can carry its own rules — what they answered, what the call is about, whether they qualify — and its own appointment.	Anyone. The kinds come from Caller Handling.
When they can book (beside a kind, or Anyone)	The agent offers this kind of caller a booking only when every rule here holds. Left out by a rule, they're told it can't book that for them and someone will call back. Add Only if…, Only for certain services…, Only if they qualify… or A different appointment….	No rules — books freely.

A link checks against these booking pages:

Booking page	On the call	Connect it first, under Settings → Integrations
Calendly, Cal.com, Acuity Scheduling, HubSpot, Square Appointments, YouCanBookMe	Books	Yes
Appointlet	Books	No
Google Calendar, picked from your calendars	Books	Yes
A Google Calendar booking page, Sprintful, or any other page	Link only	No

Picking a Google calendar opens Google Calendar appointment: Booked straight onto your calendar, with the caller as a guest. The agent offers only times the calendar is free.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Calendar	Where bookings go. Only calendars you can add events to are listed.	The calendar you picked.
Name	What the agent calls it, and how the event is titled: "Consultation with Jane Smith".	`Consultation`.
Length	How long each appointment is. The agent says it when offering times.	30 min. From 15 min to 2 hours.
Where	Said to the caller when times are offered. A Google Meet link is added to the invitation; for a phone call, the number goes on the event.	Not said. Also Google Meet video call, In person (with the address), Phone — you call them and Phone — they call you (with the number).
When it can be booked	The times of day it can start and end in. Your opening hours, unless it keeps hours of its own. Opening hours, or Its own hours: Hours for this appointment alone — consultations on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, say.	Opening hours: the agent's Hours of Operation, or Calling Hours on an outbound agent.
Gap either side (More settings)	Kept free before and after each appointment, so nothing is booked right up against it.	None. Up to 60 minutes.
Notice	How soon the earliest time can be. An hour means a caller at 2 is offered 3 at the earliest.	1 hour. From None to 2 days.
Book up to	How far ahead a caller can book.	60 days ahead. From 7 days ahead to 365 days ahead.
Also keep clear of	Events on these calendars block a time as well — a personal calendar beside the work one.	None ticked.
Booking page (optional)	A page where callers can pick a time themselves — your Google booking page, say. The agent sends it to a caller who'd rather book that way; without one, it books them on the call.	Empty.

Next open times shows what callers would be offered with these settings. See Book appointments on a call.

After the Call

What happens once a call has done its job? Confirmations, Detail checks, Feedback and Follow-ups: A thank-you, a request for a review, a note to your team — sent after each call that did what it was for. Each runs once the call has its outcome, and only for a call that reached the person and got done what it called for — never after a voicemail or no answer, which the campaign tries again. Ask for a review sends your review link to everyone it covers. Google doesn't allow asking only the people likely to leave a good review, so there is no choosing by how the call went. A Receptionist keeps the same actions on Caller Handling.

Field	What it does	Starts as
After a call that did what it was for	Each runs once the call has its outcome, for every call that reached the person and got done what it called for. Not after a voicemail, no answer, or a call that went nowhere. The agent is never told about them.	Nothing set — nothing goes out after the call.

Add an action offers these, each with its explanation behind its ⓘ:

Action	What it does	Its fields
End the call (a kind of caller's list)	Wrap up politely and hang up.
Transfer the call (a kind of caller's list)	Put them through to a number.	Where the call goes: a saved destination, or Type a number, with Number and What to call it (optional). Save it for other agents as, then Save destination, keeps a typed number for every agent.
Send to your CRM (with HubSpot connected)	Push what the call captured into your system.	Also open a deal: One deal per person: someone who already has an open deal in this pipeline gets the call added to it, never a second deal. Then Pipeline, Stage (Where a new deal starts. A deal already open keeps its stage.), Deal name (optional; Type {{ to drop in an answer. Blank names it after the person and what the call was about. Up to 200 characters) and Stage by the call's outcome (a stage, or Leave it, beside each of the agent's outcomes: a new deal opens there, and an open one moves there when it's further along; never back).
Call a webhook	POST the call and its answers to a URL you own.	URL to POST to: HiloVoice POSTs a call.completed event with the outcome, what was captured and a summary. Signing secret (optional): With a secret, each delivery carries X-HiloVoice-Signature so your endpoint can check it came from HiloVoice.
Send a text	A text to follow up once the call ends.	Send it to the caller (Send it to the person called on an outbound agent) or Send it to, and Message (below).
Send an email	A follow-up email once the call ends.	As a text, with Subject (optional) and Formatted.
Create a lead	Adds the caller to Leads with everything the call captured — or, if they've called before, adds this call to their lead.
Post to Slack (with Slack connected)	A message in your connected Slack channel: who called, which agent, how it ended.
Send to Zapier (with Zapier connected)	The call and its answers to your connected Zapier hook, for a Zap to carry anywhere.
Ask for a review	A ready-made text asking the caller for a review, with your review link. Everyone this covers is asked, whatever they said on the call: Google doesn't allow asking only the people likely to leave a good review.	Send it to the caller by Text or Email, Your review link, and Message, which starts as Thanks for speaking with {{agent_company_name}} today! If you have a moment, we'd love a review: {{review_link}}

A list can send several texts or emails, one per person, and one review request.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Send it to the caller	Text: Uses the number they called from, or the phone number the call collected. Email: Uses the email address the call collected, so make sure you're asking for one. On an outbound agent, text: Uses the number the agent called. Email: Uses the email address the call collected, or else the one on their contact from the campaign's list.	Ticked on the first text or email in a list.
Send it to (unticked)	A number or address on your team.	Empty.
Subject (email, optional)	Type {{ for a list of what you can drop in, like {{full_name}}.	Empty.
Message	Type {{ anywhere for a list of what you can drop in: what the caller said — {{full_name}}, {{preferred_time}} — or {{agent_name}}, {{agent_company_name}}, {{outcome}}, {{caller_number}}, {{call_summary}} and {{call_details}} (every answer at once, and any appointment the call booked, moved or cancelled). In a message to your team: {{call_link}} and {{lead_link}} are short links that open the call or the lead — the summary and what was captured — without signing in; the lead one needs a Create a lead action on the same rule.	Empty.
Formatted (email)	Write the email in an editor with headings, bold, lists and links, and the call's details as a table — or edit its HTML source directly. Turning it on keeps what's written as paragraphs; turning it off keeps the words and drops the formatting.	Ticked.
Insert call details	Adds a summary of the call and everything it collected — {{call_summary}} and {{call_details}} — to the end of the message, a line per answer and per appointment it booked, moved or cancelled. A formatted email shows them as a table.
Your review link (review request)	The page where people leave you a review. On Google: your Business Profile, then Ask for reviews, then copy the link (it starts https://g.page/r/). Any review site's page works. It goes where the message says {{review_link}}.	The link the agent uses elsewhere, if any.
Use a template, Save as template	Words saved for your organization, by texts and by emails. Template name: Saved for the whole organization. A name already in use is rewritten with these words.	Template name up to 100 characters.

Typing {{ in a message lists what you can drop in:

Label	Drops in
Each question, by its wording (on an outbound agent, what the campaign's list says first)	`{{` and the question's name `}}`
The agent's name (whoever spoke)	`{{agent_name}}`
The agent's company name	`{{agent_company_name}}`
How the call ended	`{{outcome}}`
The caller's number	`{{caller_number}}`
A summary of the call	`{{call_summary}}`
Everything the call collected	`{{call_details}}`
A link to this call (to your team)	`{{call_link}}`
A link to the lead (to your team)	`{{lead_link}}`
The files the caller sent (to your team)	`{{attachments}}`
Your review link (review request)	`{{review_link}}`

See Send messages after a call.

Call Transfers

When should the agent hand a call to a person? Every kind: Where a call goes, what sends it there, and what the agent says when nobody can take it. One row per place a call can go. Open one to say what sends a call there, and to whom. Sensitive topics are the subjects your callers raise that an AI left to itself handles generically — refusing, lecturing, reading out a hotline. Give it your own protocol instead and it follows that.

Under Where calls go, Add a transfer adds a transfer, up to 10. The last row, When the call needs a person (Anything else that needs a person once there are others), is always there: What sends a call to a person when no other transfer applies, and where it goes. In a transfer:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Name (optional; not on the last row)	How this transfer appears in the list. Blank, the first situation stands in.	Empty. Up to 100 characters.
Transfer if…	Describe the situation in plain language — the agent judges whether the call matches.	None. Each up to 300 characters.
Transfer if they keep asking… (Only if they keep asking)	The agent helps with these itself first, and puts the call through only once the caller has asked this many times on the call. HiloVoice keeps the count, not the agent, so it's exact. An emergency still goes to the emergency number.	On the 2nd ask, or On the 3rd ask. Each up to 300 characters.
Where the call goes	A saved destination, or Type a number, with Number and What to call it (optional). With a saved one: Calls go to the number. Change it once under Transfer destinations and every agent follows on its next publish.	Type a number. Save destination keeps a typed number for every agent.
When it can be put through (with a number)	Outside these times nobody is rung: the agent tells the caller when the team is back and takes a message, or the call goes to whoever you choose instead. HiloVoice checks the clock when it puts the call through, in the agent's time zone.	Any time. Also During opening hours and At set times, with a week of hours.
Outside those hours	Take a message: the agent says when the team is back, takes the caller's name and number, and says someone will call them back. Someone else: the call rings another number instead — an on-call line or an answering service.	Take a message. Or Put through to someone else, with Where it goes outside those hours.
Also flag the call for review (with a number)	The call is put through as usual and also lands under "Needs review" on the Calls page.	Unticked.

Under Sensitive topics: Subjects your callers raise — self-harm at a clinic, a criminal charge at a law firm — that an AI on its own meets with a refusal or a hotline. Give it your protocol and it follows that. An emergency still goes to the emergency number. Add a sensitive topic offers starters for your industry (Self-harm or suicide, Abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, Criminal charges, including serious ones such as terrorism, treason or violent offences, A possible overdose or poisoning), A threat to harm someone else for every business, and Something else. Up to 6 topics.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Topic	The subject, as you would name it to a new receptionist.	The starter's name, or empty.
A caller might say… (optional)	Things a caller might say, so the agent recognises the subject early — in their words, not clinical ones.	The starter's phrases, or none.
What the agent does and says	What to do and say, in order, the way you would brief the front desk. Quote the exact words where wording matters. Name roles, not numbers — the number to ring goes below. The agent is not a clinician or a lawyer and gives no opinion of its own; the protocol says who does.	The starter's protocol, or empty. Up to 1,500 characters. Write it for me drafts it once there's a topic.
Transfer to (optional)	Where the protocol hands the call over, if it does. Leave it empty for a protocol that ends in a message or a reassurance.	No number.
Put through (with a number)	Right away, the call is put through as soon as the protocol reaches its hand-off. Otherwise the agent follows the protocol short of the hand-off, and puts the call through only once the caller has asked to speak to someone this many times. HiloVoice keeps the count, not the agent.	Right away. Also On the 2nd ask and On the 3rd ask.
When it can be put through, Outside those hours	As on a transfer.	Any time.
Also flag the call for review	The call is handled as the protocol says and also lands under "Needs review" on the Calls page.	Unticked; ticked on A threat to harm someone else.

Below them:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
If no one can be reached	Said when a caller needs a person and nobody can be reached — outside hours, say. Promise a call back, not a transfer: the agent can't put anyone through without a number.	Empty. Up to 500 characters.
Flag for review	Calls a person should look at afterwards, without handing the call over. They appear under "Needs review" on the Calls page with the agent's reason. The caller is never told.
Flag the call if…	Describe the situation in plain language — the agent judges whether the call matches, flags it, and carries on.	None. Each up to 300 characters. Suggest for me offers some.
Flag every call where someone was promised a callback	When a transfer is needed but nobody can take it, the agent takes a name and number and says someone will call back. On, that call is flagged so the person calling back sees it.	Ticked.
If HiloVoice can't take the call (Receptionist)	On the rare occasion HiloVoice itself can't answer, the phone company sends the call to a person instead of playing an error. Left as is, that is the same place a transfer goes; set a different number here if outages should ring somewhere else — the front desk rather than the on-call line, say.	The last transfer row's number; with none, the caller is asked to call back.

See Hand calls to a person.

Caller Screening

When should the agent turn a caller away? Receptionist only: One rule per reason. The agent only turns callers away for reasons listed here. Open a rule to say what the caller hears and what happens next.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Turn away callers who don't qualify	On, the agent turns callers away only for the reasons listed here — never for one of its own. Off, it takes every caller's details.	Off. With it on and no rules: No rules yet — every caller qualifies.
Add a rule	Adds a rule and opens it. Not in the areas served and Not a service we handle add finished rules, once Areas you cover or Services you offer has an entry.	Up to 20 rules.

In a rule:

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
How the agent knows	The agent recognises the situation in conversation, or the caller's answers to your questions decide it, or one of your lookup sources does. When the answers or a source decide, the agent never judges it. From what the caller says: The agent works out whether the rule applies from the conversation, and records it when it clearly does. From the caller's answers: One or more of your questions decide it — say, an accident date more than 8 years ago. HiloVoice checks the answer the moment it's recorded; the agent never judges it. By checking a source: The agent collects a detail or two and asks an API or spreadsheet under Settings → Lookups. The answer decides; the agent never judges it.	From what the caller says.
Doesn't qualify if…	From what the caller says: Reaches the agent word for word. Describe the situation, not a question to ask — the agent works out whether it applies from what the caller says. From the caller's answers: A few words on what the answers decide. The agent reads it to know what it is recording, not to judge it. By checking a source: A few words on what the check decides. The agent reads it to know what it is checking, not to judge it.	Empty. Up to 300 characters. Write it for me drafts it.
Doesn't qualify when (from the caller's answers)	Checked the moment the answer is recorded. With "all", every condition has to be true; with "any", one is enough. Ask the question early on the Intake Questions step, so a caller who doesn't qualify isn't asked everything else first.	One condition: a question, then is, is not, is one of or is none of; a number is more than or is less than; a date is more than or is less than so many days, weeks, months or years ago or from now. Add another condition.
Check (by checking a source)	One of your lookup sources under Settings → Lookups: your own API, or a spreadsheet you uploaded. Manage sources opens them.	The first source.
The agent asks the caller for	What the agent collects to check, as under Search by on Data Lookups.	The source's own.
Doesn't qualify when (by checking a source)	Nothing is found: the caller isn't on the list — a membership check, a service-area table. A field says so: one field on the record that comes back is read, and nothing else. Nothing is found: No record comes back for what the caller gave — a membership list, a service-area table. A field on the record says so: One field on the first record that comes back is read and compared, and nothing else.	Nothing is found. A field: the field, is, is not, is one of, is empty or is not empty, and the value.
If the check can't be made	What the agent does when the source is down, slow, or returns nothing it can read. A check that fails never turns anyone away. Flag for review and carry on: Treats them as qualifying, and marks the call for someone to look at. Carry on as if they qualify: Nobody is told; the call goes on as normal. Transfer to a person: Uses the transfer you set up; carries on if there is none. End the call: Apologise, promise a call back, hang up.	Flag for review and carry on.
Give up after	How long the agent waits for an answer. Up to 15 seconds.	8 seconds. From 1 to 15.
Try the check	Runs the check with values you type, and says Qualifies or Doesn't qualify.
What the agent says	Said exactly as written. Keep it kind and short — the agent won't argue or apologise twice.	Empty. Up to 500 characters.
Then	Politely end the call: Says the response, thanks them, and hangs up. Transfer them to a person: Says the response, then transfers to a number you choose. Still take their details: Says the response, then carries on with the questions so someone can follow up.	Politely end the call. A transfer adds Where the call goes, as on Call Transfers.
After the call (optional)	Runs once the call has ended, whichever way it ended. Each call shows whether it went out.	None. Add an action: Send to your CRM, Call a webhook, Send a text, Send an email, Create a lead, Post to Slack, Send to Zapier.
Short name in reports (More options)	How this reason is recorded on the call and sent to a webhook or your CRM. Follows the wording until you change it.	Made from the wording. Up to 25 characters: lowercase letters, digits and `_`.

See Turn away callers you can't help.

Data Lookups

What can the agent check while on a call? Every kind: Your spreadsheets, leads or API. It only ever repeats what it found. Each source under Settings → Lookups has a button; clicking one adds a lookup from it. Up to 5 lookups. With no source: Nothing to look up yet: upload a spreadsheet or connect an API under Settings → Lookups.

Field	What it does	Starts as, and limits
Search by	Spreadsheet: Each is a searchable column of the spreadsheet (set under Settings → Lookups). The agent supplies the value and the row that matches comes back. Your leads: A lead is found by the number they ring from, their email, or their name. Your contacts: A contact is found by the number they ring from, their email, the reference from your own system, or their name. Your API: Each fills a {{placeholder}} in the API address or body. Each row has its kind (Phone number, Email address, A person's name, Other text) and what the agent should put there.	The source's phone column, else its first searchable column. The source's other columns are buttons below.
Only this agent's leads (your leads)	Off, the agent can find any lead in your organization, including ones another agent made. On, it only finds leads it made itself — for lines that must not see each other's callers.	Off.
Finds options to offer (spreadsheet or API)	For a list of things the caller chooses from — available homes, cars in stock, menu items — rather than the caller's own record. The agent asks what they're looking for, reads out two or three, and can send them what it found by text or email: up to five in the message itself, more as a link to a page of them all.	Off.
The link works for (with Finds options to offer)	How long the page of options opens after the agent sends it — the link that goes when there are more than five. Asking again sends a new link, with everything found afresh.	1 day. From 15 minutes to 1 week.
Recognises callers (Receptionist)	The number they're calling from is checked before the agent answers, and a match becomes the caller's record. The agent still asks their name and checks it, and never reads their details back. Without a phone number row: Needs a phone-number input, so it can run from the number they're calling from.	On for the first lookup with a phone number. One lookup at a time.
Recognises who it calls (outbound kinds)	The number the agent dials is checked before the call, and a match gives the agent what earlier calls left. The person is the one on your list, confirmed by name — the agent doesn't search for them or send a code.	Off.
Verify by (with Recognises callers)	A name check always happens. A code goes to the phone or email on the record — never one the caller gives — and the account isn't discussed until it's read back correctly. With both ticked, the same code goes out by text and by email at the same time, to whichever the record has. Their name matches the record, Then a code sent by text, Then a code sent by email (with an Email address row).	The name only.
If not found	What the agent does when the lookup fails or finds nothing — it never invents a result. Ask the caller instead: Collect the details in conversation and carry on. Carry on without it: Skip whatever depended on it; never guess. Transfer to a person: Uses the transfer you set up; asks the caller if none. Flag for review: Marks the call for someone to look at, then asks the caller. End the call: Apologise, promise a call back, hang up.	Ask the caller instead.
Give up after	How long the agent waits for an answer. Up to 15 seconds.	8 seconds. From 1 to 15.
Name (More options)	How this lookup appears in the list.	Look up and the source's name.
When to use it (More options)	The agent reads this to decide when to look something up.	Finds the caller's record in the source.

Warning: A name is easy to know. If the record holds anything private, add a code under Verify by, and check what the law where you work asks of you before an agent discusses an account on the phone.

See Let the agent check your records.

Review & Go Live

Every kind: Check everything, then go live. It has no fields of its own; it reads the steps.

Part	What it shows
Is it ready?	In red, everything that stops the agent going live; under it, anything worth a look that doesn't. Each opens the step it's fixed on. Then every step, marked incomplete or not used where that's so.
In short	The agent in plain sentences, one per step, such as Asks up to 9 questions, sorting callers into 5 kinds. A grey line is something missing.
Go live, or Publish your changes on a live agent	The button: Go live, Publish changes, or Publish update when HiloVoice has an update ready. While it publishes it counts the seconds through Preparing, Checking, Sending to the phone line and Done.

See Review and go live, and Error messages for what the red list can say.

Around every step

Control	What it does
Try it	Talk to the agent from your browser, exactly as it's set up right now: Start the call on a Receptionist, Have it call me on an outbound agent. Uses your microphone. Kept under Calls as a test call. On a live agent, Or have it ring your phone adds Your number and Call me.
Undo, Redo	Undo (Ctrl+Z) and Redo (Ctrl+Y). Opens the step the change was made on. The last 100 changes.
Go live, Publish, Publish update	As on Review & Go Live. Greyed out while anything stops the agent going live; pointing at it lists what.
Saving, Saved, Not saved — retry	Each change saves a moment after you make it. There's no Save button.
…	Rename, Duplicate this agent, History, Pause this agent (or Resume this agent), Archive this agent (or Restore this agent) and Delete this agent, which only an agent with no calls, numbers or campaigns can be.
Website (a live Receptionist)	Your agent's link: Letters, digits and dashes. Changing it breaks any link you've already shared. Put it on your website gives the code to paste into a page.

How the builder works — the steps, saving and publishing
The five kinds of agent — why each kind has its own steps
Error messages — what the builder says when something stops a save or a publish
CSV columns — the campaign columns an outbound agent's details read