Voice Agents
This feature is only available if your Workist plan includes it (Voice agents). Your Workist contact can enable it for you.
A voice agent answers calls on a dedicated phone number and holds the conversation with AI. It answers questions from your master data and your ERP, connects callers to colleagues, books meetings and creates orders or RFQs in your channels. After each call, the call history holds the recording, transcript and summary; if you want, the summary is also sent to your team by email or Microsoft Teams.
Voice agents are a separate area of the Workbench and not part of the channel configuration. A company can have several voice agents, for example one for sales and one for customer service.
The voice agent interface is currently only available in English. The German version of this page quotes the English labels in brackets.
Who sets up voice agents
Users with the Manager or Admin role can create and change voice agents and see the call history, see Users, roles & teams. You find the area in the left navigation (Voice Agents).
How a call works
- The caller dials the voice agent's number.
- If caller identification is set up, Workist looks up the caller's phone number in your customer contacts. Both the landline and the mobile number are checked.
- The agent greets the caller. If the caller is identified, it uses the personalized greeting.
- The agent asks the recording consent question. If the caller does not agree, the agent ends the call or forwards the caller to the transfer number.
- If a second factor is set up, the agent asks for it before sharing customer data or taking orders.
- The agent holds the conversation according to your prompt and uses the enabled tools.
- The agent ends the call, connects the caller to a human on request, or the call ends after the maximum call duration.
- After the call: recording, transcript and summary are in the call history. Orders and RFQs created during the call go into processing in your channels. The summary goes to the configured recipients.
Create a voice agent
In the voice agents area, click Create voice agent. A wizard guides you through seven steps. You can skip the Call summaries and Knowledge steps and fill them in later.
While creating the agent, Workist sets up the agent and its phone number. This takes up to a minute; keep the window open.
You change all settings later on the agent's configuration page. It has the same sections as the wizard; save there with Save.
Step 1: Details (Details)
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Name | Required, for example "Sales hotline". |
| Team | The team this voice agent belongs to. |
| Language | German or English. The agent only speaks and understands this language. Default: German. |
Step 2: Voice and call (Voice & call)
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Greeting | The first sentence the agent says. |
| Personalized greeting (optional) | Replaces the greeting when the caller is identified. The only placeholder available is the caller's name: {{caller_name}}. Insert it from the list below the field or by typing /. The company name cannot be used in the greeting. With a second factor, the agent always uses the normal greeting. |
| Recording consent question | Required. The agent asks it at the start of the call and only continues if the caller agrees. |
| Forward callers who deny consent | Callers who do not agree to the recording are put through to the transfer number instead of the agent hanging up. Only available when a transfer number is set. |
| Phone number | The number callers dial, in the format +49…. Workist provides the number; enter the number you received from your Workist contact. |
| Transfer number | Where the agent connects the caller when they ask for a human. Leave empty if the agent should not forward calls. |
| Caller identification lookup | The customer contacts in which Workist looks up the caller's phone number. Without it, the agent identifies nobody. |
| Only allow identified callers | Callers whose number is not in the customer contacts hear the Caller rejection message, then the call ends. Requires caller identification. |
| Second factor (Verify identified callers) | See Second factor. Requires caller identification. |
| Background voice detection | The agent ignores background speech that is not directed at it. On by default. |
| Voice | Conversational voice: more expressive. Fast voice: answers faster; only this voice lets you set the Voice speed between 0.7 and 1.2. |
| Maximum call duration | The call ends automatically after this time. 1 to 60 minutes, default 20 minutes. |
| Website call requests | See Callback from your website. |
Second factor
A phone number alone does not prove who is calling. With the second factor, an identified caller also states something only they should know. Only then does the agent share customer data or take orders.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verification attribute | The customer number or an attribute from the extra data (extra_data) of the customer contact. For an attribute, enter its key (Extra data key). |
| Verification question | The exact wording of the question. For the customer number, "Please tell me your customer number." is used when empty; for an attribute, the question is required. |
| Attempts per call | 1 to 5, default 3. |
| Message after failed verification | What the agent says before hanging up. When empty, the agent words it itself. |
The agent never knows the correct answer; Workist checks it. If a phone number has used up all attempts three times within 24 hours, the agent rejects further calls from that number. The second factor is not suitable for agents that field sales staff use to look up data of different customers.
Step 3: Tools (Tools)
Here you decide what the agent may do during a call. The tools are grouped into categories. Tools whose requirement is missing cannot be switched on.
| Category | Tool | What the agent does | Requires | On by default |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product & Master Data | Article search | Search the product catalog by article number or description. | Article master data of the order channel, or a dedicated article lookup | yes |
| Product & Master Data | Order history | Look up the customer's past orders. | Identified customer. Source: a dedicated order matching lookup, otherwise the orders Workist processed | yes |
| Product & Master Data | Order lookup (unidentified callers) | Look up a single order by the order number a caller states, without identifying their company. Only the order date and the ordered articles (including the extra data maintained for them) are returned — no company name, no prices and no delivery address — and the agent has the caller confirm the last three digits of the customer number before saying anything about the order. | A dedicated order matching lookup (required) | no |
| Product & Master Data | Open offers | Look up open quotes / offers for the customer. | Identified customer; offer master data in the order channel | yes |
| Product & Master Data | Delivery address lookup | Retrieve known delivery addresses for the customer. | Identified customer; delivery address master data in the order channel | yes |
| Product & Master Data | Client search | Find a client by company name or client ID (customer number) and return its client ID and full address, e.g. to use as the delivery address. Without caller verification, any caller can look up any of your customers this way. | Confirming the risk when switching it on | no |
| Contacts & Handoff | Internal contact lookup | Look up an internal contact (e.g. the field sales person) by name, email or phone. | Internal contact master data in the order channel | no |
| Contacts & Handoff | Forward to internal contact | Forward the caller to the internal contact found via the internal contact lookup. If the Teams status check is enabled, callers are only forwarded when the contact's status is green or yellow — otherwise the caller is forwarded directly. | Internal contact lookup | no |
| Contacts & Handoff | Teams status check | Check the Microsoft Teams status (green, yellow, red or offline) of an internal contact before forwarding a call. | Connected Microsoft Teams account | no |
| Contacts & Handoff | Send Teams message | Send a Microsoft Teams chat message to the internal contact found via the internal contact lookup, e.g. to notify them about a call when they cannot be forwarded to. | Connected Microsoft Teams account | no |
| Contacts & Handoff | Send email | Send an email notification (from Workist) to an internal contact, e.g. to inform them about the call and the caller's request. | Fallback notification email; optional allowed recipient domains | no |
| Meetings · Calendly | Meeting availability | Look up free meeting slots from the configured Calendly meeting link so the agent can offer appointment options. | Calendly meeting link and Calendly API token | no |
| Meetings · Calendly | Book meeting | Book a Calendly meeting for the caller (name and email are collected in the call). Calendly sends the invite and confirmation email. | Calendly meeting link and Calendly API token | no |
| Document Creation | Create order | Submit the collected order to create an order record. | Order channel | yes |
| Document Creation | Create RFQ | Submit the collected information to create a price-quote (RFQ) record. | RFQ channel | no |
| ERP Live Connection | Article price | Quote the caller's own price for an article — their price list, quantity discount and any special price, straight from the ERP. | Connected ERP system (selected in the ERP category) | no |
| ERP Live Connection | Article availability | Say how many units can actually be shipped: stock on hand minus what is already promised to other orders. | Connected ERP system (selected in the ERP category) | no |
Regardless of this selection, the agent can always end the call. If a transfer number is set or forwarding to internal contacts is enabled, it can also put callers through.
Document channels. For Create order, pick an Order channel; for Create RFQ, an RFQ channel. The order channel also provides the master data for the tools in the Product & Master Data category and for the internal contact lookup. For each document type, you choose which header and line item fields the agent asks for. Customer, contact and delivery address are always collected.
Send email. The Fallback notification email receives callback requests and notes when the agent finds no internal contact with an email address. The agent only reaches other recipients if their domain is listed under Allowed recipient domains; list subdomains separately.
Calendly. Enter the public link of the event type (Calendly meeting link) and a personal access token of the Calendly account (Calendly API token). The token cannot be displayed again after saving. Optionally, name a question of your Calendly event type (Call summary question); the agent writes a short summary of the call into it when booking.
ERP. In the ERP Live Connection category, first pick the ERP system and, if there are several connections, the connection. What the connected ERP systems provide:
| ERP system | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle NetSuite | yes | yes |
| SAP Business One | yes | – |
| microtech büro+ | yes | yes |
| Sage 100 | yes | yes |
If an ERP does not provide a value, the agent gets no data for it. With the second factor switched on, the agent gives a caller who is not verified yet only general prices and stock, and a verified caller those of their customer. Sage 100 (from version 8 of the Workist API extension) only determines prices for a known customer; there the agent gives no price to an unknown caller.
Step 4: Call summaries (Call summaries)
After every call in which the caller said something, the agent compiles a summary: caller, customer, time, duration, outcome, content, created documents and a link to the call in the Workbench. The summary is in the agent's language.
| Channel | Setting |
|---|---|
| Recipients. All recipients get one shared email from Workist. | |
| Microsoft Teams | A Channel of a team the connected Teams account is a member of. Requires the Teams connection. |
If delivery fails, Workist retries after 1, 5 and 15 minutes. You see the delivery status per channel in the call details.
Step 5: Prompt (Prompt)
In the System prompt you describe how the agent behaves: role, tone, flow and when to use which tool. The wizard pre-fills a template in the agent's language; Reset to template brings it back.
- Type
/or use the lists below the editor to insert variables and tools. Variables are written in double curly braces; the agent fills them in during the call. - With Edit with AI, describe a change in your own words, for example "Always read article numbers and addresses back for confirmation". The prompt is rewritten and appears in the editor; review and save it.
- Workist adds fixed rules to your prompt, for example on ending the call, on the second factor and on the order lookup for unidentified callers. You cannot change these rules.
Available variables:
| Variable | Content | In the greeting |
|---|---|---|
{{caller_name}} | The caller's name, resolved from the contact lookup | yes |
{{caller_phone_number}} | The caller's phone number, set at the start of the call | – |
{{client_name}} | The matched customer / company name | – |
{{client_id}} | The caller's customer number | – |
{{contact_id}} | The contact person id | – |
{{client_street}} | The client's street address | – |
{{client_zip_code}} | The client's postal code | – |
{{client_city}} | The client's city | – |
{{client_country}} | The client's country | – |
{{internal_contact_id}} | ID of the internal contact the caller was identified as (e.g. a field sales person) | – |
{{internal_contact_name}} | Name of the internal contact the caller was identified as | – |
{{internal_contact_email}} | Email of the internal contact the caller was identified as | – |
{{internal_contact_phone}} | Phone number of the internal contact the caller was identified as | – |
{{system__conversation_id}} | Conversation ID (set by the voice service) | – |
{{system__caller_id}} | The caller's phone number (set by the voice service) | – |
{{system__call_sid}} | Call ID at the telephony provider | – |
The customer's company name and address are only filled once the agent has found the customer with the client search during the call.
Step 6: Knowledge (Knowledge)
Optionally upload files the agent draws on during the call, for example delivery terms or product range lists. Supported formats: .txt, .html, .md, .pdf, .doc, .docx.
The agent passes on the content of knowledge files to callers. Do not upload internal or confidential documents.
Step 7: Summary (Summary)
Review the settings and create the agent.
Test a voice agent
In the overview, open the agent's menu and choose Open test link. Optionally enter details of a caller to simulate an identified caller. Then generate the link and hold the test conversation in your browser.
Manage voice agents
The overview shows each agent with its status, Active or Paused. In an agent's menu:
- Configuration: change all settings.
- Open test link: see above.
- Pause and Resume: a paused agent does not accept callback requests from your website.
- Delete: deletes the agent, deactivates it and releases its phone number.
Call history
Click an agent to see its calls: caller, created documents, outcome, sentiment, duration and time. Click a call to open the details:
- outcome, the caller's sentiment, how the call ended and the number that was called,
- created documents with a link,
- delivery status of the summary per channel (pending, sent, failed),
- the summary,
- recording and transcript.
Possible outcomes: Consent denied, Hung up, Meeting booked, Forwarded, Order booked, RFQ booked, Note sent, Question answered.
Where orders and RFQs land
A voice agent creates orders in the order channel and RFQs in the RFQ channel you picked in the Tools step. Workist creates a document with the details collected during the call. It goes through the channel's processing like a document received by email. In the channel, you recognize it by its subject: a number starting with WVO-, followed by the customer name.
The channel's email inbox is not affected; emails and calls arrive as separate documents.
Callback from your website
With Website call requests, a visitor of your website enters their phone number in a call-me widget, and the agent calls them back.
| Setting | Meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Allowed country prefixes | Only numbers with these prefixes are called. Blocks premium-rate numbers and other markets. | +49, +43, +41 |
| Daily call cap | Maximum number of website call requests per day. | 50 |
| Cooldown per number (seconds) | Seconds before the same number can request another call. 0 disables the cooldown. | 3600 |
| Ask for recording consent on website calls | The visitor already consented by requesting the call, so the question is normally skipped. Switch it back on here. | off |
If more requests arrive within one minute than a tenth of the daily cap, Workist switches the agent's website call requests off to prevent abuse. You switch them back on in the configuration.
The Workbench does not show an embed code for the widget. Ask your Workist contact about it.
Connect Microsoft Teams
The Teams status check, Teams messages and summaries in a Teams channel need the Teams connection. Your company has exactly one Teams connection. The agent acts on behalf of the connected account: Teams messages and channel posts appear as messages of this account.
A user with the Manager or Admin role sets it up:
- Open Settings › Profile. On the Microsoft Teams card, copy the admin consent link (Copy link).
- Send the link to your Microsoft 365 administrator. They approve the permissions for your organization.
- Then connect the account on the same card (Connect to Teams) and sign in with the Microsoft account on whose behalf the agent should act.
The app requests these Microsoft Graph permissions:
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
User.Read | Sign-in of the connected account |
User.ReadBasic.All | Find internal contacts by email address |
Presence.Read.All | Read the Teams status of internal contacts |
Chat.Create | Start a chat with an internal contact |
Chat.ReadWrite | Post the message into that chat |
offline_access | Keep the connection without signing in again |
Team.ReadBasic.All | List teams for the channel picker (Teams call summaries only) |
Channel.ReadBasic.All | List channels for the channel picker (Teams call summaries only) |
ChannelMessage.Send | Post call summaries into the channel (Teams call summaries only) |
If the account was connected before summaries could be posted into Teams channels, the card shows a notice. Have the extended permissions approved again via the link and reconnect the account (Reconnect to Teams). Disconnect removes the connection; the Teams tools and Teams summaries then stop working.
Data protection
- The agent only records calls after consent. Users with access to voice agents see recording and transcript in the call history.
- By default, voice agents run in the EU environment of the voice service provider. Which providers are involved is listed under General information › Voice agents.
- The agent's answers are AI generated and can contain mistakes. Check documents from calls like any other document in processing.
FAQ
Can I use the email inbox and a voice agent in parallel? Yes. The voice agent creates its documents in the channel you picked in the Tools step. The channel's email inbox keeps working independently.
Why does the agent not greet a caller by name? The caller was not identified: either no caller identification is set up, or their phone number is missing from the customer contacts. With a second factor, the agent always uses the normal greeting.
Which languages does a voice agent speak? German or English, one language per agent. For both languages, create two agents.
What do I do if there is a problem with a call? Have the agent's name, the number that was called and the approximate time of the call at hand and contact your Workist contact.