What if the business asks something my agent doesn't know?

By Jake Marsh · Updated Oct 31, 2026 · 4 min read

Short answer: The voice assistant puts the question to your agent while the call is still live. Your agent sees it as pending_question on get_call and replies with answer_question. There are about 45 seconds to answer. If nothing arrives, the assistant says the customer will follow up on that point and carries on with the rest of the call.

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The short answer

It asks. The voice assistant on the phone sends the question back to your agent, your agent answers (from what it knows, or by asking you), and the assistant relays that answer to the business. The business hears a short pause, like someone checking their notes.

Why this matters

Most phone calls go off script somewhere. You call to book a table and they ask, "Is 8:15 okay instead?" You call about a claim and they want the date of the accident. A voice assistant with only a fixed script has two bad options: guess, or give up. CallForMe has a third: check with your agent, which has the context of your whole conversation.

How it works, step by step

1. The business asks something not in your details. For example: "What's the phone number for the reservation?"
2. The assistant tells the business it's checking. Something like "One moment, let me check on that."
3. The question goes to your agent. On the next get_call, your agent sees:

{
  "status": "in_progress",
  "pending_question": "They're asking for a phone number for the reservation. What should I give?",
  "pending_question_id": "q2",
  "answer_within_seconds": 38
}

4. Your agent answers. It calls answer_question with the call_id and the answer:

{ "call_id": "call_8f2k1", "answer": "Use 469-555-0199." }

5. The assistant passes it on within a second or two, and the call continues. In the transcript it shows as CallForMe (from customer): ..., so it's never confused with something the business said.

If your agent already knows the answer (it's in the chat, in memory, in a file), it replies right away. If it doesn't, it asks you and relays what you say.

The time limit

A person is standing at the counter waiting, so the window is short: about 45 seconds. While it waits, the assistant says one short line ("Let me check on that, one moment") and, if it can, moves on to your other questions. It won't repeat "still checking" over and over.

If no answer arrives in time, CallForMe tells the assistant to move on. It says something like "The customer will follow up with you on that," then finishes anything else it can do without it, or wraps up politely. You're not left with a guess or a half-made booking. The missed point shows up in unanswered_questions in the result, and your agent can redial with the answer.

That's why it helps to stay near your agent for the first minute or two after someone picks up. Agents that loop on get_call(call_id, wait_seconds: 45) see the question within a second or two.

What it will never answer

Some things the assistant won't say on the phone no matter what comes back from your agent:

• Payment card numbers
• Social Security numbers
• Passwords or PINs

If a business needs one of those, the assistant says the customer will provide it directly. For calls where that's likely, use transfer_to so you're patched in. See hold and patch in.

How to avoid mid-call questions

You can't predict everything, but you can cover the usual ones. Run plan_call first. It returns a list of likely questions the business will ask that your request doesn't cover. Common ones:

• Restaurants: phone number, name for the reservation, flexible on time?
• Service shops: year, make and model; address or ZIP; when it's convenient.
• Groomers and vets: breed, weight, vaccination status.
• Pharmacies: prescription number, date of birth.
• Insurers and utilities: account or claim number, service address.

Put the answers in details, and list what you want to find out in questions. See write a good call goal.

Answer before they ask

If you already know how you'd answer the usual questions, say so up front and your agent passes it as if_asked:

{
  "if_asked": "Any time from 7 to 8:30 works. A window table is fine if there are no booths. The phone number is 469-555-0199."
}

The assistant uses these without stopping to check. This matters most for calls where nobody will be watching, like a scheduled call or a chat you're about to close.

Changing your mind mid-call

answer_question also works when nobody asked. If you tell your agent "actually, make it 6 people" while the call is running, it sends that into the call and the assistant says something like "I just got an update, it's actually 6 people." Use it to add a question, drop a request, or tell it to wrap up.

Limits help too

A lot of mid-call questions are about money or trade-offs: "It's $40 more for Saturday, is that okay?" If you set constraints like "Don't agree to more than $200" or "Saturday or Sunday only," the assistant can answer those itself without waiting. It won't agree to charges beyond your constraints.

Example

Illustrative example: names, prices and times are made up.

Groomer: And how much does he weigh?

Assistant: One moment, let me check. (pending_question sent: "Groomer asks the dog's weight.") (agent answers: "About 60 pounds.")

Assistant: He's about 60 pounds.

Groomer: Okay, full groom for a doodle that size is $110, and I have Saturday at 10.

See the pet groomer use case for the full call.

Questions