Conference forwarding¶
Live handoff
Conference forwarding connects the caller to a person or department. Use it for urgent or human-only situations, not as the default answer to every uncertainty.
The caller should know what is happening, and the agent should recover gracefully if nobody answers.
Conference forwarding lets a voice agent connect the caller to a person or department in a private call conference.
Use it when the agent should hand over a live caller instead of only collecting a message.
When to use forwarding¶
Use forwarding for:
- urgent requests,
- sales handover,
- support escalation,
- emergency or on-call workflows,
- cases where a human must continue the conversation live.
Do not use forwarding for every call. If a message or follow-up is enough, a simpler workflow is often more reliable.
Forwarding targets¶
Forwarding targets can be configured as names mapped to phone numbers. This is the safest default because the agent can choose from known destinations instead of inventing numbers.
Example:
Use clear target names and reuse those exact names in the agent prompt.
Conference forwarding can also allow dynamic recipients. When dynamic recipients are enabled, the agent may forward to an E.164 phone number supplied at runtime. Static targets are optional in that mode. When dynamic recipients are disabled, configure at least one named target.
Use dynamic recipients only when the number comes from trusted routing data, a known business rule, or a controlled integration. Do not rely on arbitrary caller-provided numbers unless that is an intentional, reviewed workflow. Uncontrolled dynamic forwarding can create toll-fraud risk or send callers to unintended destinations.
Use real E.164 phone numbers
Phone numbers should include country code, for example +49... or +1....
Direct forwarding vs. screened forwarding¶
| Mode | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Direct forwarding | The recipient is called and connected if they answer. | Simple handovers where the recipient expects calls. |
| Screened forwarding | The recipient hears a summary and can accept or decline. | Busy teams, sensitive calls, or cases where the recipient needs context first. |
Important settings¶
| Setting | Meaning | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Forwarding information | Names and phone numbers of targets | Keep names short and obvious. |
| Allow dynamic recipient | Allows the agent to forward to a runtime E.164 number instead of only configured names | Enable only when the number source is trusted. |
| Timeout seconds | How long Nuvoca waits for the recipient | Start with a realistic value such as 20 seconds. |
| Enable call screening | Recipient can hear a summary before accepting | Enable for teams that need context before joining. |
| Enable voicemail / machine detection | Detects whether the recipient side is a human or voicemail / answering machine | Leave off for faster first audio; enable when avoiding voicemail connections matters more. |
| Screening summary prompt | How the call summary is generated for the recipient | Keep it concise and factual. |
| Announcement prompt | What the recipient hears for direct forwarding | Make it recipient-oriented: who is calling, why, and what the recipient should know before speaking. |
For tool-level settings such as the display name and execution description the assistant sees, see Built-in Tools.
Voicemail / machine detection¶
Enable voicemail / machine detection controls whether Nuvoca should try to detect voicemail or answering machines on the outbound recipient call.
The setting is usually best left off when human recipients should hear the announcement as quickly as possible after answering.
Turn it on when it is more important to avoid connecting the caller to voicemail. If voicemail or an answering machine is detected, the forwarding attempt is cancelled or treated as declined instead of connecting the caller.
| Setting state | Caller and recipient effect |
|---|---|
| Off | Recipient audio can start faster, but a voicemail box may be treated like an answered call. |
| On | Nuvoca waits for machine detection and avoids connecting the caller to detected voicemail or answering machines. |
Prompt instructions for forwarding¶
The agent prompt must explain when forwarding is allowed.
Example:
Forward the caller to Sales only if the caller explicitly asks to speak with Sales
or if the caller wants to buy and has provided their name and company.
Before forwarding, say:
"I will connect you with Sales now. Please hold for a moment."
Use the conference forwarding target "Sales".
If a trusted routing lookup returns a phone number instead of a configured target name,
pass it as the recipient. When dynamic recipients are disabled, runtime numbers are rejected, so only configured target names will work.
If forwarding fails or no one answers, apologize and collect the caller's name,
phone number, company, and message for follow-up.
Caller experience¶
Before starting a forward, the agent should:
- tell the caller what will happen,
- confirm if the handover is optional or sensitive,
- use a short waiting message,
- recover gracefully if nobody answers.
Do not let the caller wait without explanation.
Testing checklist¶
- Each target phone number is correct.
- Target names match the prompt exactly.
- Timeout is long enough for recipients to answer.
- Direct forwarding was tested.
- Screened forwarding was tested if enabled.
- Voicemail / machine detection was tested in the mode you plan to use.
- The agent explains the handover before forwarding.
- The fallback path works when the recipient does not answer.