Caller Routing Guide

Caller Routing lets your agent adapt its approach based on the kind of caller on the line. Instead of treating every call the same, you can say: "If they sound frustrated, skip the small talk. If they're price-shopping, offer the price list. If they're a repeat caller, acknowledge it."

This is optional — agents work fine without any routing rules. But for teams that see predictable caller archetypes, it's the single fastest way to level up perceived quality.

You configure this in the Agent Studio under "Caller Routing".

How it works

You define a list of caller types. Each one has three parts:

1. Caller type — a short label for this kind of caller.
2. Trigger phrase — what they say (or the sentiment they express) that tells the agent this is that type.
3. Approach — how the agent should adapt its behavior when the type is detected.

Detection runs continuously during the call. When the agent picks up a trigger match, it shifts into the corresponding approach for the rest of the call.

Good examples

Appointment booking

Anxious patient

• Trigger: "I've been putting this off" / "I hate going to the dentist"
• Approach: Be extra reassuring. Acknowledge the feeling. Offer gentle options like numbing or sedation.

Price shopper

• Trigger: "How much does a cleaning cost?"
• Approach: Answer directly. Mention insurance. Don't push booking — offer to email a price list.

Customer support

Frustrated repeat caller

• Trigger: "This is the third time I've called about this"
• Approach: Acknowledge the frustration first. Pull up full history. Skip questions they've already answered.

Confused user

• Trigger: "I don't understand where the button is"
• Approach: Walk through step-by-step. Confirm each step. Offer to send a screenshot or screen-share.

Sales outreach

Just browsing

• Trigger: "Just looking around" / "Checking out options"
• Approach: Don't push. Offer to send a self-serve demo link and follow up next week.

Ready to buy

• Trigger: "Our current tool just broke" / "We need this by end of quarter"
• Approach: Skip qualification fluff. Book an immediate call with a senior rep. Offer expedited onboarding.

Tips

• Pick 2–4 distinct types. More and the agent starts mis-classifying.
• Make types genuinely distinct. "Frustrated caller" and "Angry caller" overlap too much — pick one.
• Triggers should be phrases they actually say. Not sentiment you imagine — real wording from transcripts is best.
• Approaches are coaching, not scripts. The agent paraphrases. You're giving guidance, not a verbatim line.
• Start conservative. Add routing rules only when you see a specific caller type showing up repeatedly in your logs and you know how you'd want them handled differently.

When routing fires

The agent evaluates triggers throughout the call, not just at the greeting. So a caller who starts neutral but gets frustrated mid-call can still be routed into the "Frustrated" approach. Later triggers override earlier ones — the latest match wins.

Putting it together

A complete routing block for a dental booking agent:

persona:
  callerPersonas:
    - type: "Anxious patient"
      detectedWhen: "I've been putting this off; I hate the dentist; I'm nervous"
      approach: "Be extra reassuring. Acknowledge the feeling. Offer numbing or sedation options."
    - type: "Price shopper"
      detectedWhen: "How much; what does it cost; price; cheap"
      approach: "Answer directly. Mention insurance. Offer to email a price list instead of pushing a booking."

Next steps

• Skip routing at first. Launch the agent, let it handle every caller the same way, and listen to 20–30 calls.
• Once you hear a pattern ("three callers this week said the same frustrated thing"), add one caller type. One at a time.
• Revisit monthly. Your caller mix shifts as your business grows.