Make Phone Call
Description
Use Make Phone Call to initiate an outbound telephone call from a workflow. Select the telephony connection, specify the originating and destination numbers, and choose how the conversation opens when the recipient answers.
Typical uses include appointment reminders, requested callbacks, and service follow-ups. For workflows started by an incoming call, use Phone Call Trigger.
Prerequisites
- A Vobiz account with credentials and a phone number available for outbound calling. See Configure a Vobiz Account.
- A saved, tested Vobiz Connection using that account's Auth ID and Auth Token.
- The recipient's telephone number, including its country code.
- For an AI conversation, the appropriate agent instructions, model, voice, and speech recognition configuration. See Conversational Agent.
Configure the activity
- Add Make Phone Call from the Telephony category to the workflow and connect the execution path that should initiate the call.
- Double-click the activity to open its configuration.
- Under Parameters → Connection, select Vobiz, select the connection, and enter From and To.
- Open Greetings and choose First Message. Supply a Greeting Message when using a scripted opening.
- Review Advanced settings for incoming execution paths, errors, and output persistence.
- Click OK to save, or Cancel to discard changes in the dialog.
Parameters: Connection
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Telephony Provider | Select Vobiz to place the call through the supported provider. |
| Connection | Select the Vobiz Connection for the account used to place the call. Click + to create a connection if needed. |
| From | Required. The originating telephone number used to place the call. Use a number available for outbound calling through the selected Vobiz account. |
| To | Required. The destination telephone number of the person to call. Enter a fixed number or bind the field to workflow data. |
Use complete international telephone numbers with a leading + and country code. The From field shows +14155551234 as a format example; replace it with your actual originating number.
From and To must both contain values. Complete the connection settings and resolve validation errors before proceeding to Greetings.
Use workflow data
The configuration includes Variables and Functions panels. Available variable groups include Model Data, Form Data, System Data, Enterprise Variables, and Activities Outputs. Use these to supply values such as a recipient number from a customer record or greeting text derived from workflow data. Fields such as To and Greeting Message also include an expand icon for opening a larger editor.
For example, bind To to a customer phone-number field rather than entering a different fixed number for each run. Verify that the value is populated and includes the country code before the execution path reaches this activity.
See Process Data for working with workflow values.
Parameters: Greetings
First Message determines who speaks first after the recipient answers.
| Option | Behavior | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Agent speaks first | The agent opens with the configured Greeting Message. | Use a consistent introduction, such as an appointment reminder or service callback greeting. |
| Agent speaks first (AI generated) | The agent generates the opening message using its configured conversational context and instructions. | Use an opening that should be adapted by the AI. Ensure the agent instructions explain the purpose of the call. |
| Caller speaks first | The agent waits for the person on the telephone to speak first. | Use when the person answering is expected to begin the conversation. |
For this outbound activity, Caller speaks first refers to the person answering the call at To.
Greeting Message
When Agent speaks first is selected, enter the opening text in Greeting Message. Keep it short, identify the service, and explain the call's purpose. For example:
Hello, this is the appointment assistant. I'm calling about your upcoming appointment. Is now a good time to speak?
Use workflow data where appropriate to personalize the opening. Check the final text with representative records so missing values do not produce an incomplete introduction.
The greeting controls the opening of the conversation. For an AI conversation, configure the ongoing behavior in the agent's Instructions, Voice Configuration, and Transcriber Configuration.
Advanced
Wait All Incoming
Controls when the activity executes if multiple workflow paths converge into it.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| False | Each completed incoming path can trigger a separate execution. |
| All Configured Incoming | Waits for all configured incoming paths to complete. A conditionally skipped path can leave the activity waiting. |
| All Active Incoming | Waits for the incoming paths active in the current run; paths skipped by conditions are ignored. |
Review this setting carefully when several branches lead to a call: with False, more than one completed path can initiate more than one call. This setting controls workflow-path synchronization; it does not configure how long to wait for the recipient to answer.
See Execution Control – Incoming Paths for details.
On Error
Click Configure beside On Error to choose how the workflow handles an activity error. Select Inherit to use the workflow-level error-handling policy. See Error Handling for the supported policies.
When choosing retries, consider whether a previous attempt might already have initiated a call. Verify the outcome before repeating an attempt that could call the recipient again.
Output Persistence
Output Persistence controls which activity outputs are stored when the workflow suspends. If persistence is disabled for the workflow, the activity cannot store outputs through this feature.
Enable it in the workflow's Output Persistence tab or click Turn on for this workflow. Then choose from the outputs available in the activity's persistence section. Large collections default to off, as indicated in the dialog.
Persistence stores selected workflow outputs; it is not a call-recording setting.
Example: Requested callback
- Create and test a Vobiz Connection.
- Add Make Phone Call to the execution path that handles a callback request.
- Select Vobiz and the saved connection.
- Set From to your Vobiz originating number and bind To to the requester's phone number.
- Select Agent speaks first and enter an introduction such as: “Hello, this is the support assistant returning your callback request. How can I help?”
- Configure the conversational behavior needed for the callback and review the advanced execution and error settings.
- Save the configuration and test the workflow with a telephone number you control. Verify the destination, opening message, and spoken interaction.
A successful connection test verifies the connection configuration. Make a real test call to verify the complete outbound experience.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| From or To validation appears. | Supply both required values. Check that any bound variables contain complete telephone numbers at execution time. |
| Greetings is locked. | Complete the connection configuration and resolve the validation errors. |
| The call cannot be placed. | Test the Vobiz connection, check that the originating number is available for outbound calling in that account, and review the activity error and provider call logs. Check the destination number and Vobiz account status. |
| The opening message is unexpected. | Review First Message. For a scripted opening, check Greeting Message; for an AI-generated opening, review the agent's instructions and context. |
| The call connects, but the agent remains silent. | Check whether Caller speaks first is selected and verify the agent's voice and transcription settings. |
| The recipient receives repeated calls. | Review converging incoming paths, Wait All Incoming, and retry behavior. |
| Outputs cannot be selected for persistence. | Enable workflow-level Output Persistence first. |