> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fluents.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Call Back Later

> When someone says it is a bad time, let the agent agree a specific time and schedule the callback itself.

**Call Back Later** handles the most common outcome of an outbound call. Someone picks
up, it is a bad moment, and the call is wasted. With this skill the agent notices,
asks when to try again, agrees a time, and schedules the callback without you doing
anything.

***

## Set it up

On the agent's **Basic Information** tab, click **Call Back Later** under **Choose
Skills**. The dialog sets the two messages the agent uses, and both are required.

| Field                                | What it does                                                    |
| ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Callback Confirmation (End Call)** | What the agent says once the time is agreed, before hanging up. |
| **Callback Initial Message**         | What the agent opens with when it calls back.                   |

The callback message can use context values, so the default suggestion is along the
lines of `Hi {first_name}, this is {company_name} calling you back. Is now a good time
to talk?`

<Tip>
  Write the callback opener as though the person has forgotten agreeing to it, because
  they usually have. Naming the company and the reason in the first sentence does more
  than any other change here.
</Tip>

Everything below is built in and needs no configuration.

***

## What the agent does

It listens for signals that now is a bad time, such as "I cannot talk right now",
"I am in a meeting" or "call me later". It reassures the person, then asks when they
would prefer to be called.

It accepts two kinds of answer.

**Relative.** "In 45 minutes." "In an hour." "In two and a half hours." It works out
the exact time from the moment of the call.

**A clock time.** "At 9." "Tomorrow at 9:30." "Tuesday at 2:30 Pacific." If the day is
missing it asks. If the timezone is missing it asks, and it accepts everyday names
like Pacific, Central or East Coast rather than demanding a formal one.

Before scheduling anything, it repeats the time back and waits for a yes.

***

## The vague answers people actually give

Callers rarely give a clean time. The agent maps the common vague answers to real ones
and then confirms, rather than guessing silently.

| They say                           | Agent proposes         |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Morning                            | 9:00 AM                |
| Noon or lunchtime                  | 12:00 PM               |
| Afternoon                          | 1:00 PM                |
| Evening or tonight                 | 6:00 PM                |
| End of day                         | 5:00 PM                |
| A few minutes                      | 10 minutes from now    |
| A range, such as "between 2 and 3" | The start of the range |

If the time they name has already passed today, the agent asks whether they meant
tomorrow.

***

## It will not book you an unsociable call

This is the part worth knowing before you turn the skill on.

The agent avoids scheduling callbacks between **10:00 PM and 8:00 AM** in the person's
local time. If an answer lands in that window without them clearly asking for it, the
agent treats it as a misunderstanding and re-asks using the daytime reading instead.

Someone who says "three" gets read as 3:00 PM, not 3:00 AM, and the agent confirms it.
For "ten" or "eleven" it simply asks which one you meant. It will only book an
overnight callback if the person explicitly asks for one.

<Tip>
  This is a good default for consumer calling and a limitation for anyone calling
  night shift workers. If you need overnight callbacks, the person has to ask for that
  window in so many words.
</Tip>

***

## Where the callback goes

The agreed callback is scheduled as an outbound call from the same agent. It shows up
under **Scheduled** on the **[Calls](/product/features/call)** page, where you can
check it or cancel it before it runs.

***

## Where to go next

* See and manage what is queued: **[Calls](/product/features/call)**
* Hand off to a person instead of rescheduling: **[Call Routing](./call-routing)**
* Get past the screener first: **[Call Screen Handling](./call-screen-handling)**