In this page, learn how to create a Warm Transfer in Phonely’s platform. The Warm Transfer Block is a critical feature for delivering exceptional customer experience, allowing your AI agent to seamlessly hand over a live phone conversation to a human agent with a personalized introduction. Unlike a basic transfer, warm transfers act as an intermediary, speaking to the receiving agent to provide context about the caller before the transfer is completed, preventing callers from having to repeat themselves and ensuring a smooth, informed transition to human support.

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Key Features

• Personalized Handoff - The AI agent can deliver a customized message to the receiving human agent, providing essential context about the caller (e.g., “Hey, I’ve got John on the line here, he’s interested in learning about X, Y, and Z.”). • Variable Integration - The introduction message can dynamically use any previously collected call variables (like the caller’s name, their query, or other details) to enrich the context given to the human agent. • IVR & Voicemail Detection - Phonely can detect if the warm transfer attempts to connect to an IVR system or a voicemail. If detected, the call can be pulled back to the AI agent to continue the conversation or route to an alternative path (e.g., “Looks like that person wasn’t available; would you like to leave a message?”). • Error Handling for Invalid Numbers - Provides built-in error handling for invalid or unavailable transfer numbers, allowing the AI to gracefully continue the conversation or redirect to a different flow instead of abruptly ending the call. • Configurable Duration - Set a specific duration for how long the AI should wait for the transfer to complete before triggering a fallback action. • Seamless Integration - Easily linked within your workflow to trigger a warm transfer at any point in the conversation based on caller intent (e.g., “I would like to talk to a human”). • Call Outcome Tagging - Allows for the tagging of calls to provide analytics on warm transfer success rates and reasons for failure.

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How to Use

Implementing a Warm Transfer involves adding the block to your workflow, configuring the transfer details, and setting up intelligent fallback options. 1. Add the Block
  1. Navigate to your workflow in the Agent Design tab.
  2. Click the + button at the point in your conversation where you want the warm transfer to occur (e.g., after an “Ask Exactly Block” where the caller requests human assistance).
  3. Select the “Warm Transfer Block” from the available options.
2. Configure
  1. Click on the Warm Transfer Block to open its settings.
  2. Transfer Phone Number: Enter the phone number of the human agent or team you wish to transfer the call to.
  3. Introduction Message: Compose the message that your Phonely AI will say to the receiving human agent. Use variables to provide context (e.g., “Hi, I have [caller_name] on the line, they’re calling about [reason_for_call].”).
  4. Set Duration: Define how long Phonely should attempt the warm transfer before executing a fallback.
3. Enable Detection
  1. Check “Detect IVR” if you want Phonely to identify and handle connections to automated phone systems.
  2. Check “Detect Voicemail” if you want Phonely to recognize and handle connections to voicemails.
  3. Error Handling (Invalid Number): Define what should happen if the transfer number is invalid or unavailable. You can choose to continue the conversation (e.g., ask for an alternative number) or route to a different flow.
  4. Add Call Outcome Tagging (Optional): Add a tag for this specific transfer event for analytics.
4. Define Outcome Paths This provides distinct output paths for different scenarios:
  • Successful Transfer: The path for when the transfer is completed.
  • IVR Detected: The path taken if an IVR system is detected at the transfer number.
  • Voicemail Detected: The path taken if a voicemail is detected.
  • Invalid Number: The path taken if the provided transfer number is invalid or unreachable.
Link subsequent blocks to these paths to create appropriate conversational branches (e.g., if voicemail is detected, AI could say, “Looks like they’re not available, can I take a message?”).

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Use Cases and Benefits

This is invaluable for enhancing customer support and sales processes: • Seamless Customer Handoffs - Provides a professional and informed transition from AI to human, improving caller satisfaction. • Optimized Staff Utilization - Prevents human agents from answering calls with no context, making their interactions more efficient. • Intelligent Call Routing - Automatically handles scenarios like voicemails or invalid numbers, ensuring callers are never left hanging. • Enhanced Customer Experience - Makes the overall call flow feel more personalized and less robotic, even when transferring. • Scalable Support - Enables businesses to scale their customer support by efficiently blending AI automation with human intervention only when truly needed.

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Integration with Transfer Call

This can be enabled within any Transfer Call by:
  1. Adding a Transfer Call Block to your workflow
  2. Scrolling to the bottom of the block settings
  3. Selecting the “Warm Transfer” option
  4. Configuring the warm transfer settings as described above
This integration allows you to combine the flexibility of dynamic routing with the personalized handoff capabilities of warm transfers.

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Best Practices

  • Use Descriptive Introduction Messages: Include relevant context about the caller’s needs and current conversation state
  • Set Appropriate Timeouts: Configure duration settings based on your team’s typical response times
  • Plan Fallback Scenarios: Always have alternative paths for when transfers fail or go to voicemail
  • Monitor Analytics: Use call outcome tags to track transfer success rates and identify improvement opportunities
  • Test Thoroughly: Verify all outcome paths work correctly with different scenarios (successful transfer, voicemail, IVR, invalid numbers)

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Conclusion

This is a cornerstone feature in Phonely, designed to provide the easiest way to implement human-like call handoffs. By leveraging its ability to introduce callers, detect call outcomes, and handle errors, you can significantly improve the quality and efficiency of your customer interactions, ensuring your business scales its support effectively.
For additional help, visit our Help Center or contact us at [email protected].