Handling inbound calls with an AI voice agent
Connect a number from Exotel, Plivo, Twilio or your own SIP trunk, assign an inbound voice agent with a knowledge base for common questions, and set a hand-off number for anything it can't answer, or a voicemail for after hours. Incoming call charges depend on your telephony provider and plan; Convo360 adds no per-minute fee, and outbound legs like transfers are billed by your provider too.
- Inbound is already wired for Exotel, Plivo, Twilio and SIP; incoming call charges depend on your telephony provider and plan.
- A knowledge base turns a generic agent into one that answers your specific FAQs accurately.
- Set a hand-off number so the agent can transfer to a person when asked or stuck.
- An after-hours voicemail or callback flow keeps you from losing enquiries outside working hours.
- Every inbound call is transcribed and can trigger a CRM lead or WhatsApp follow-up automatically.
Number options and prerequisites
You need a Pro plan (₹2,999/month, excluding GST) or higher, and a telephony account from Exotel, Plivo, Twilio, or your own SIP trunk. Inbound routing is already built for all four, so you're choosing based on your existing provider relationship or coverage, not platform support. Connect the number under Phone Numbers with your provider keys.
If you already run outbound campaigns on one provider, using the same one for inbound keeps your billing and call logs in a single place, though nothing stops you mixing providers across numbers if that suits your setup better.
Routing, greeting and knowledge base
- Create or install an inbound voice agent and write a short greeting ('Thanks for calling [Business], how can I help?').
- Add a knowledge base with your FAQs, hours, pricing and policies so the agent answers from your material instead of guessing.
- Assign the agent to the number and set it to handle inbound calls.
- Set a hand-off number so the agent transfers to a person when the caller asks for one or the agent can't help.
- Turn on call recording and transcription if it is not already on by default, since the post-call transcript is what makes the whole setup reviewable later.
Keep the greeting to one sentence. Callers who wanted a human in the first place will ask for one regardless of how the greeting is worded, and a long opening just delays getting to their actual question.
Worked example: after-hours voicemail
A clinic wants calls answered around the clock but doesn't want to route after-hours calls to an on-call doctor's phone. The agent's system prompt includes the day's hours; outside those hours it says 'We're closed right now, our hours are 9 AM to 7 PM. Would you like me to take a message, or book an appointment for tomorrow?' and either creates a CRM lead with the message or offers the booking flow directly, so a call at 11 PM still turns into a next-day appointment instead of a missed opportunity.
The same pattern applies well beyond clinics: a hardware store can offer to note down what a caller needs and have someone call back at opening time, and a coaching institute can offer to book a callback slot instead of leaving an after-hours caller with nothing but a closed message.
Transfer and voicemail behaviour
When a caller asks for a person, the agent dials the hand-off number configured on the agent. If nobody picks up, decide in advance what happens next: a voicemail message, or a callback promise logged as a CRM task. Also tune Call behaviour for your environment: turn on Noisy handling and turn off interruptions if calls often come from customers on the move or in busy places.
It's worth reviewing transfer outcomes weekly in the call log for the first month. If transfers are frequently going unanswered, that's a staffing gap worth fixing before it costs you real enquiries, not a platform issue to troubleshoot.
Decide, too, whether every call should attempt a transfer or only calls where the customer explicitly asks — routing every stuck call to a human defeats much of the purpose of an inbound agent in the first place, so reserve transfer for genuine escalations.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely fix |
|---|---|
| Calls don't route to the agent | The number isn't assigned to the agent for inbound, or the provider connection isn't fully verified — recheck both. |
| Agent gives wrong hours or pricing | Update the knowledge base document, don't just edit the system prompt — the agent should answer from source material. |
| Transfer rings but nobody answers | Add a fallback: if the hand-off number doesn't pick up within a set time, have the agent take a message instead of leaving the caller on hold. |
| Agent cuts off on a call from a noisy location | Set Background noise handling to Noisy and turn off 'Let the caller interrupt' for that agent. |
| No post-call action fired | Check the agent's post-call action settings (CRM lead, WhatsApp follow-up, team notification) are actually configured, not just available. |
What to test before going live, and cost
- Call the number during business hours and ask a real FAQ from your knowledge base.
- Call again pretending to be after hours (or temporarily adjust the prompt) to confirm the fallback message and action.
- Ask for a person and confirm the transfer actually rings the right number.
- Check a CRM lead or notification was created after the test call.
Incoming minutes are charged according to your telephony provider and plan, so check the provider's current price list. Outbound legs (a transfer to a human, for instance) are also billed by your telephony provider at their rate, with no Convo360 markup.
There is no separate charge for the knowledge base or the transcription itself — both are part of the same Pro or Business plan fee that unlocks voice.
Review the knowledge base every few weeks as your hours, prices or policies change — an inbound agent is only as accurate as the material it is grounded in.
Step by step
- Connect an inbound numberUnder Phone Numbers, connect Exotel, Plivo, Twilio or SIP.
- Build the agent and knowledge baseWrite a greeting, add FAQs, hours and policies as a knowledge base.
- Assign the agent for inboundSet the agent to handle inbound calls on that number.
- Set a hand-off numberConfigure where the agent transfers when a caller asks for a person.
- Plan the after-hours pathDecide whether after-hours calls get a voicemail, a message taken, or a booking offer.
Example conversation
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Frequently asked questions
Are incoming calls really free in India?
Not as a rule. Incoming call charges depend on your telephony provider and plan: Plivo's India price list shows inbound at ₹0.38 per minute, and Exotel says incoming calls are charged at your bill-plan rate. Convo360 adds no per-minute fee, and inbound routing is already wired for Exotel, Plivo, Twilio and SIP.
Can the AI answer questions specific to my business?
Yes. Add a knowledge base with your FAQs, hours, pricing and policies under Agents, and the agent answers from that material instead of guessing or making something up on the call.
What happens if a caller asks for a human?
The agent transfers the call to a hand-off number you configure on the agent so a real person can pick up. Plan a fallback, such as voicemail or message-taking, for when nobody answers that number either.
Can I handle after-hours calls differently?
Yes. Build your business hours into the agent's system prompt or a Condition step in the flow, so calls outside those hours get a message-taking option or a booking offer instead of the normal greeting.
Does every call get transcribed?
Yes, every inbound call is transcribed automatically as part of the Pro or Business plan that unlocks voice. The transcript can trigger a CRM lead, a WhatsApp follow-up or a team notification without any manual work.
Related reading
Available across India — see WhatsApp & AI calling automation by state and city.