How AI phone calls handle phone menus and hold

The voice assistant listens to the menu, presses the right digits to reach the department you need, and waits silently on hold until a person picks up. With CallForMe, a call can run up to 30 minutes including hold. The first 5 minutes are in the $1 call price, then it's $0.25 per minute.

The short answer

An AI voice assistant hears a phone menu the same way you do. It listens for the option that matches your goal and presses that digit, or says the word the menu is waiting for. When it reaches a hold queue, it stays quiet until a person comes on. Then it introduces itself and gets on with the call.

Phone menus (IVRs)

A phone menu, or IVR, is the "press 1 for billing" recording. The CallForMe assistant handles them like this:

1. It listens to the whole list before choosing, so it doesn't jump at "press 1" when the right answer is "press 4."
2. It picks from your goal. If the goal is "get the $30 equipment fee removed," it heads for billing, not tech support.
3. It presses digits or speaks. Some menus want tones, some want words like "representative." It can do both.
4. It enters info the menu asks for if you gave it in details, like an account or claim number. If you didn't, it asks your agent while the call is live.
5. It retries when the menu loops. Many menus repeat or offer "press 0 for an operator." It uses those to get to a person.

It won't type in card numbers, Social Security numbers or passwords, even if a menu asks for them.

Hold

When the assistant lands in a queue, it waits. It doesn't talk over hold music or recorded messages. When a person answers, it opens with who it is and who it's calling for, then gets to your questions.

A CallForMe call can last up to 30 minutes, and that includes hold time. Your agent can watch the status with get_call, which shows ringing, in_progress and then ended.

What hold costs

You pay $1 when the call is answered. That covers the first 5 minutes. Every minute after that is $0.25. Hold time counts because the line is open.

If the call is never answered, or it's busy, or the number fails, you pay nothing. See pricing.

An example

Say you tell your agent:

Call Comcast about the $30 equipment fee on my September bill and ask them to remove it. Account number 8155 3000 1234. My name is Dana Ruiz.

A trimmed transcript might look like this:

Menu: Thanks for calling. For billing, press 2. For technical support, press 3. (assistant presses 2) Menu: Please enter or say your account number. (assistant enters the account number from details) Menu: Your estimated wait time is 12 minutes. (silence, hold music) Rep: Thanks for waiting, this is Marcus. Assistant: Hi Marcus, I'm an automated assistant calling on behalf of Dana Ruiz about a $30 equipment fee on the September bill. She'd like it removed.

The result your agent gets back includes the transcript and an outcome, for example success: true, a summary, and a confirmation number if the rep gave one. See negotiate an internet bill for more on billing calls.

When a person on the line isn't enough

Some reps need the account holder to verify identity before they'll change anything. That's a good time to use transfer_to: the assistant does the menu and the hold, then patches you in when a person answers. See hold and patch in and the hold for me use case.

Tips for smoother menu calls

• Put account, claim or order numbers in details. Menus often ask for them before you reach a person.
• Name the department in your goal: "billing," "claims," "pharmacy," "service department."
• Call during business hours. find_business shows today's hours and whether the place is open right now.
• If you want a call-back window instead of a long hold, say so in the goal. Many queues offer a callback; give a callback_number so the business can reach you.

Questions