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Telephony connects your AI agent to the phone network over SIP so it can take inbound and place outbound calls. This section covers keypad input, routing, transfers, and voicemail so your agent can handle real phone interactions.

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Inbound and Outbound

Telephony works in both directions, and the features you reach for depend on the call’s origin:
  • Inbound: a caller dials a number routed to your agent through an Inbound SIP gateway. DTMF and IVR routing are most common here, letting callers navigate menus or reach the right department.
  • Outbound: your agent places the call. Voicemail detection matters most here, since unanswered calls are often forwarded to a voicemail system.
Transfers apply to either direction once a call is connected.

Routing Rules

Route inbound calls to the right room or agent.

DTMF Events

Capture caller key presses and drive IVR flows on inbound calls.

Voicemail Detection

Detect voicemail systems on outbound calls.

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Transfers vs Handoff

Moving a caller can mean two different things, and it’s worth keeping them straight:
  • Call Transfer forwards the SIP call to a new number directly.
  • Agent Handoff keeps the call in place and switches which agent is responsible for it.

Call Transfer

Move a live call to another number.

Agent Handoff

Switch which agent is responsible for a call without moving it.

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References

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SDK Reference

DTMF Handler

DTMF Handler in the Python API reference.

Voicemail Detector

Voicemail Detector in the Python API reference.