Overview
Coming ST-82: New escalation actions (Pushback, then escalate; Pushback, then take a message; Just proceed) and a separate After Hours Action for each trigger will be available starting ST-82.
Voice Agent's Escalation and Rules settings control what happens when your Voice Agent detects a specific situation on a call. Trigger by trigger, you choose whether the Voice Agent hands the call to a live person, takes a message, pushes back once before doing either, or keeps the call going. You can also set a different action for calls that come in after hours. You can also turn on additional built-in trigger types and build custom triggers for scenarios specific to your business.
This gives your office direct control over which calls reach a person and which are captured for follow-up.
Who uses this feature
Administrators
Applies to all business types
Applies to all trades
Feature configuration
Your account must have Voice Agent, which is part of the Virtual Agents package. This feature is included automatically — there is no separate add-on or opt-in.
Administrator access to Voice Agent Settings is required to use this feature. Please contact the account administrator on your team.
Things to know
Escalate call — When the trigger condition is detected, the Voice Agent hands the call to a live person.
Take a message — When the trigger condition is detected, the Voice Agent stays on the call and takes a message instead of transferring.
Pushback, then escalate — The Voice Agent makes one attempt to help the caller. If the caller still asks for a person, the Voice Agent hands the call to a live person.
Pushback, then take a message — The Voice Agent makes one attempt to help the caller. If the caller still asks for a person, the Voice Agent takes a message instead of transferring.
Just proceed — The Voice Agent keeps the call going without escalating. For example, if a caller says they are not the homeowner, the Voice Agent skips that question and continues booking the job.
Each trigger shows only the actions that apply to it, so the list of actions can differ from one trigger to the next.
If Escalate to a live agent is turned off, Escalate call and Pushback, then escalate are not available.
Previously, each trigger was a single checkbox: a checked box escalated the call and an unchecked box took a message, with no label to show which was happening.
Existing escalation settings carry over automatically. A previously checked trigger becomes Escalate call, and an unchecked trigger becomes Take a message.
The new actions don't change any trigger you've already set up. Each trigger keeps its current action until you choose a new one.
You only need to make changes if you want to adjust behavior, turn on more triggers, or add a custom trigger.
When a trigger is set to Take a message, the Voice Agent records the caller's message as a task so your team can follow up.
If no task is in place, a taken message may not route to anyone.
Best practices
Set up your task types before using Take a message. Use either a single catch-all task that captures every message, or individual task types mapped to specific escalation triggers. For more information on setting up task types, see
Give each custom trigger a clear name that describes the situation it covers.
Set an action for a trigger
Go to Virtual Agents › Agent Settings.
Open the Escalation and Rules section.
Find the trigger you want to configure.
In the trigger's Action dropdown, select the action you want. Only the actions available for that trigger appear.
Save your changes.
Set an after-hours action for a trigger
You can give each trigger a second action for calls that come in after hours. For example, transfer calls during the day and take a message overnight. One Voice Agent handles both, so you don't need a separate agent for after-hours calls.
Note: The After Hours Action column appears only after an after-hours window is set up in Skills and Capabilities. For more information, see Set Up Voice Agent After-Hours Booking (Without Dispatch Pro).
Go to Virtual Agents › Agent Settings.
Open the Escalation and Rules section.
Find the trigger you want to configure.
In the After Hours Action column, select the action the Voice Agent should take for after-hours calls.
Save your changes.
If you leave After Hours Action at its default, the Voice Agent uses the trigger's business-hours action after hours too. Nothing changes until you choose a different after-hours action.
Each trigger offers the same actions in both columns, and custom triggers have an After Hours Action as well.
If Escalate to a live agent is turned off, the after-hours actions that transfer the call are not available either.
When you copy settings from an existing agent, its after-hours actions are copied too.
Create a custom escalation trigger
For situations not covered by a built-in trigger, you can define your own — for example, escalating when a caller complains about a past job or reports a driver.
In Escalation and Rules, select the option to add a custom trigger.
Give the trigger a clear name that describes the situation (for example, "Complaint about a past job").
Add the phrases that should trigger the escalation.
Choose the trigger's action: Escalate call, Take a message, Pushback, then escalate, Pushback, then take a message, or Just proceed. If after-hours is set up, you can also choose an After Hours Action.
Save your changes.