Call Flows

Beyond Simple Conversations

Most calls follow a natural path: greeting, discovery, action, wrap-up. But some situations need more structure. A medical office might need to screen for emergencies before scheduling. A law firm might need to qualify leads before booking consultations. A service business might need to collect specific information before dispatching.

Call flows let you design these structured conversations, ensuring the AI gathers what you need while still sounding natural.

Flow Components

Entry Points

Every call flow starts somewhere. The entry point determines which flow a call follows based on initial conditions:

• Time of day (business hours vs. after hours)
• Caller recognition (new vs. returning)
• IVR selection (if you use one before the AI)
• Campaign source (if tracking marketing attribution)

Decision Nodes

Points in the conversation where the path branches based on what the caller says:

"Is this an emergency?"
  → Yes → Emergency flow (immediate transfer)
  → No → Standard scheduling flow

Collection Points

Moments where the AI gathers specific information before proceeding:

• Name and contact information
• Nature of inquiry
• Preferred appointment times
• Insurance information (for medical)
• Property details (for service businesses)

Actions

Things that happen during or after the call:

• Book an appointment
• Send a confirmation text
• Create a CRM record
• Trigger a webhook
• Schedule a follow-up

Endpoints

How the call concludes:

• Natural wrap-up
• Transfer to human
• Voicemail
• Scheduled callback

Example Flows

Medical Office Screening

1. Greeting
2. "Are you experiencing a medical emergency?"
   → Yes → "Please hang up and call 911" + end
   → No → Continue
3. "Are you a current patient?"
   → Yes → Look up in system, personalize
   → No → New patient intake
4. "What's the reason for your visit?"
5. Check calendar availability
6. Book appointment
7. Send confirmation

Service Business Dispatch

1. Greeting
2. "What type of service do you need?"
3. "Is this urgent or can it be scheduled?"
   → Urgent → Check on-call availability
   → Scheduled → Standard booking
4. "What's the address?"
5. "Can you describe the issue?"
6. Confirm details
7. Book or dispatch
8. Send confirmation with tech details

Lead Qualification

1. Greeting
2. "What brings you to us today?"
3. Qualification questions (budget, timeline, decision-maker)
4. Score lead
   → High score → Attempt transfer to sales
   → Medium score → Book consultation
   → Low score → Send information, add to nurture
5. Appropriate follow-up action

Building Effective Flows

Keep Paths Short

Long flows frustrate callers. Aim for the shortest path that accomplishes your goal. Every additional step is a chance for the caller to disengage.

Make Branches Clear

The AI should understand exactly what response triggers each branch. Ambiguous branching leads to callers going down wrong paths.

Test Edge Cases

What happens if the caller gives an unexpected answer? What if they want to go back? What if they ask something unrelated mid-flow? Good flows handle these gracefully.

Balance Structure and Flexibility

Too rigid feels robotic. Too flexible loses important information. The best flows guide the conversation without making it feel scripted.

Flow Analytics

Track how your flows perform:

• Completion rate — How many callers finish the flow vs. drop off
• Branch distribution — Which paths callers take most often
• Time in flow — How long conversations take
• Outcome rates — Appointments booked, transfers made, etc.

Use this data to optimize. High drop-off at a particular step might indicate a confusing question. Unexpected branch distributions might reveal caller needs you hadn't anticipated.