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Four things shape what a caller actually hears. They interact, which is why changing one and being surprised is so common.

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The opening line

The first thing the agent says is set separately from the prompt, and it matters out of proportion to its length. On an outbound call it decides whether the person stays on the line. On an inbound call it sets what they think they are allowed to ask for. It can include values from the call’s context, such as a name, so the same line reads differently per contact.
If you change one thing about an underperforming agent, change this. It is one sentence and it gates everything after it.

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The prompt

The prompt is the agent’s standing instructions. It is read before every conversation and it is where behaviour actually lives. Some things that hold true regardless of what you are building: Simple instructions beat complex ones. A short prompt that the agent follows is worth more than a thorough one it approximates. Structure helps. A long prompt split into sections is followed more reliably than the same content as prose. Examples beat description. Showing the agent a good exchange does more than describing one. Write for speech. The agent reads this aloud. Unusual words and proper nouns need spelling out phonetically, or they come out mangled. Prompts can be saved and reused across agents. See Prompts.

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The voice

A voice has a provider, and usually a speaking speed. Language is set separately, on the agent. Voices differ in more than timbre. Some handle interruption and pacing better than others, and the only reliable test is hearing one read your own opening line rather than a sample. You can also bring in a voice from a provider you already use. See Voices.

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Skills

Skills are the difference between an agent that talks and an agent that does things. Each one adds an ability and, usually, some instructions of its own that the agent follows alongside your prompt. They cover roughly four jobs:
  • Ending the conversation well, by hanging up cleanly or agreeing a callback.
  • Getting to the right person, by transferring, handling a screener, or working through a phone menu.
  • Doing something concrete, such as booking an appointment or sending a message.
  • Knowing things, by searching content you have stored.
Skills add instructions to the agent, so switching on several at once can crowd your prompt. If behaviour changes after adding a skill, that is why. Add them one at a time and test between.
See Agents for the full list and their settings.

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Context

A call can start with values already known, such as the person’s name or an order number. Those are available to the prompt and to the opening line. On a campaign they come from your contact list. On a test call you set them by hand. Personalisation only works when they are actually present, which is why a test call with empty context sounds worse than the real thing.

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