Interacting with Customers¶

The Interaction Pane¶

Compose Responses¶

Agents can respond to customers by typing their messages in the text editor.

Agents can type their responses in the text editor and send the message by selecting Send. Pressing Tab on your keyboard shifts the focus to the Send icon. You can also press Tab + Enter to send a message.

Note

You can press Enter to send messages. Pressing (ctrl+enter or shift+enter) on Windows and (ctrl+return or shift+return) on Mac creates a new line.

Agents can send a standard response to the customer from a pre-configured library. Press / in the text editor to display the standard response templates window.

Pressing Escape after typing “/” closes the standard response window.

Translation enabled: Responses appear in the agent’s selected target language in both the text editor shortcut command and the response widget.

Translation disabled: Responses appear in the conversation language, as set through Agent Utils at the time of agent transfer, ensuring they're not limited to the application language.

AI-enhanced Compose Text Box¶

Using the AI-enhanced compose text box, agents can create customized responses to address customer inquiries, concerns, or issues. They can also add personal touches to their messages to make the communication more human and empathetic. There are three choices available:

Make more friendly: This option rephrases the draft response to make it more friendly and informal. This option rephrases the draft response to make it more friendly and informal. For example, it rephrases the formal draft response “Your mortgage appointment is scheduled for Jun 24, 2023, 1 PM” to “Great news! We’ve scheduled your mortgage appointment for Jun 24, 2023, at 1 PM.”
Make more formal: This option expands the draft response. For example, it expands the draft response “Your mortgage appointment is scheduled for Jun 24, 2023, at 1 PM” to “We would like to notify you that we've successfully scheduled your mortgage appointment for June 24, 2023. Be available at 1:00 PM for your appointment.”
Expand: This option expands the draft response. For example, it elaborates the draft response “Your mortgage appointment is scheduled for Jun 24, 2023, at 1 PM” to “We would like to notify you that your mortgage appointment has been successfully scheduled for June 24, 2023. Be available at 1:00 PM for your appointment.”
Rephrase: This option lets agents to elevate the formality of their writing, making it suitable for business or any other formal contexts.

To enable this, go to Generative AI Tools > GenAI Features > Agent Response Rephrasing.

Add/Delete Hyperlinks in the Text Editor¶

Agents can add/delete hyperlinks in the text editor while responding to the messages.

Steps to add/remove hyperlinks:

Highlight the text that you want to hyperlink and select the Add Link icon.
In the Add Link dialog box, do the following:
- Select the web address option and enter the URL in the box, for linking a web page.
- For linking an email address, select the Email Address option and enter the email address in the box.
  
  Note
  
  The highlighted text appears in the Text to display field.
Select Ok to hyperlink the selected text.
Hover over the hyperlinked text to view the following options:
- Open
- Break Link (icon)
- Edit
Press Enter to send the message.

Viewing New Messages in the Console¶

When agents are reviewing earlier parts of a conversation, and a new message arrives while you are at the top of the live interaction pane, a New Message icon appears at the bottom of the conversation thread. The icon also displays the number of unread messages. To view the latest message, select the New Message icon. The most recent message appears.

Resend Message When Network Disconnects¶

The following table lists scenarios with expected results if a network fails while an agent attempts to send a response.

SCENARIO	RESULT
When an agent sends a message	“Sending” appears on the chat window.
If the system sends the message	“Sent” appears on the chat window.
When network disrupts	Disables the chat window. Undelivered messages appear as “Not Delivered” with the Resend icon in the compose bar’s left corner.
When the network restores	Enables the chat window.
Selecting the re-send option	Sends the message again.
If the conversation terminates	The Resend icon doesn't appear.
If the page refreshes	The undelivered messages don't appear.

Audio and Video Calls with Customers¶

Agents can request the customer for an audio or video call during the chat conversation if required. Clicking the Audio or Video Call icon initiates a call.

Note

Accounts using Voice Gateway and AudioCodes can access the video call option.
Agents must close the chat interaction and the audio/video call separately, each with its own disposition.

Manual Outbound Call¶

Agents can initiate manual outbound calls from the agent console. Following are the conditions under which agents can or can't initiate outbound calls. These rules help maintain efficient call management while preserving routing integrity across the system.

Rules for Outbound Calls

Initiating Outbound Calls from Any Status
- Agents can initiate outbound calls from any status within the agent interface.
- Exceptions:
  - Agents can't initiate outbound calls when their status is "System Away" for both Chat and Voice interactions.
  - Agents can't initiate outbound calls when their status is "System Busy" for voice interactions.
Outbound Calls During Digital Interactions
- Agents can initiate an outbound call even when handling digital interactions.
- If an agent's slots are full and their status is "System Busy," they can initiate an outbound call.
Inbound Voice Interaction Restriction
- Agents can't initiate an outbound call if they're handling an existing inbound voice call.

Outbound Calling

The system disables outbound calling:
- When agents are in a status that doesn't permit outbound calls (for example, System Away for both Chat and Voice interactions, System Busy for Voice interactions).
- When agents are handling an inbound voice call.
- When agents are handling an outbound call.

Handling Multiple Outbound Calls

Agents can initiate a secondary outbound voice call only after completing the ongoing call. This approach helps agents manage their workload and provide undivided attention to each customer interaction.

Status Updates

When an agent initiates an outbound call, the system automatically changes the agent's status to System Busy. This automatic status update helps manage agent availability and workload distribution, ensuring efficient call handling and resource allocation.

Contacts¶

Selecting Contacts displays the list of configured contacts. Agents can search for a contact by entering a name or phone number in the search bar.

Outbound Dialer¶

The outbound dialer has the following functionalities:

Search Bar: The search bar on the dialer interface lets agents to enter keywords or partial numbers to find configured contacts.
International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) Code Update: The dialer automatically adjusts the outbound phone number’s ISD code based on the last used country code. This streamlines the process for agents making calls to different regions. For example, if an agent selects India as the country but enters a phone number from the USA, the dialer automatically changes the country to the USA.
Phone Number Formatting: The system displays the phone number in a standardized format when an agent enters it for dialing, regardless of whether the original number contains hyphens or brackets, as long as the format is valid (for example, 090-1234-5678 or (123) 456-7890).
Validation and Error Handling: An error message appears on entering an invalid number (for example, incorrect length or characters). The call option is unavailable till you enter a valid number, preventing accidental calls to inaccurate numbers.
Enable Call Controls during ringing: Turning on this toggle lets agents to use the call control features (mute, hold, keypad, transfer) when the call is in the dialing phase. To enable this functionality, refer to the Permissions section.

Agents can make outbound calls to the customers as follows:

Select + on the conversation tray and then select Outbound Call. The dial pad displays.
Select the Calling from option on the Dialer tab, and select the number for placing the outbound call. Agents can use phone numbers or configured SIP trunks while making outbound calls.
Agents can dial the outbound calls in two ways:
1. Enter the phone number with the country code, and select Call to place the outbound call.
2. Select the country code from the dropdown, enter the phone number without the country code, and select the Call option to place the outbound call.
  
  The following scenarios are possible:
  1. A user enters “123124”:
    - By default, the system doesn't select or validate any country code. A call is directly placed to this number.
    - If the user has dialed a call with a USA number, they can change the country code to unknown.
  2. A user pastes “123121”:
    - Initially, a validation error appears if the number doesn't match the defined format for the default country.
    - The user can change the country code to unknown and a call is directly dialed to this number.
  3. User pastes/enters “+91987654321”: The system selects India as the country code and dials the call.
  4. User pastes “+919876543”: The system displays a validation error and disables the call icon.
Note

The country code defaults to the last dialed country. If no calls are dialed, the default country code is the US.

Inbound Click-to-Call Interaction¶

Agents receive the Click-to-Call interaction in the Live Interaction pane, similar to an inbound voice call. The system displays the metadata and prior chat transcript to the agent. During the call, agents can pause and resume recording when handling sensitive information. After the call ends, the system stores the transcription and disposition summary. Learn more.

Agents also have access to the following call controls:

Mute
Un-mute
Hold
Resume
Recording - Pause and Resume
Transcription - Pause and Resume
Transfer - Internal

Voicemail¶

If auto answer mode is enabled in Agent Settings, the transcript and recording appear automatically in the conversation tray of the agent.

If manual mode is enabled, a notification appears on the Next in Queue Notification panel. The agent must accept the voicemail, even though the system doesn't consume any inbound conversation slots.

When the agent accepts the voicemail, the transcript and recording displays on the interaction pane. The agent can play, transfer, call (outbound), and download the voicemail from the interaction pane.

Callback Option¶

You can call the customer as follows:

Select the Call option on the VOICEMAIL panel.
The outbound call dialer appears. Select the Call option to initiate the outbound call.

The agent can continue the conversation.

Consult Call, Conference Call, and Warm Transfer for Voice Calls¶

Agents can initiate Consult calls, Conference calls, and Warm Transfer voice calls while interacting with customers. It increases agent efficiency by allowing the initiating agent to share relevant context with the receiving agent before transferring the call. To help in effective call handling, the receiving agent provides the necessary information, leading to smoother transitions and improved customer outcomes. Additionally, this feature enables seeking expert opinions during customer calls.

Consult Call¶

Selecting an agent from the transfer list activates the consult and subsequent merge to a conference call.

The agent chosen for consultation must be available and have zero load occupation. If an agent joins for consultation, their slots remain occupied throughout the consultation and conference call.

During the consult call, the system automatically places the customer on hold, allowing internal agents to communicate with each other. The system records all calls when recording is enabled. Agents can transfer calls to external agents by pre-saving their phone numbers through an API.

The initiating agent can switch to the original customer call if needed, and vice versa, using the Swap functionality. The initiating agent can merge the two calls, converting them into a conference call.

Consult Call to a Queue (Voice Channel Only)¶

The “Consult a Call to a Queue” lets agents handling voice calls to initiate a consult with an available agent from a selected queue. When the agent chooses a queue during the consult action, the system displays a list of agents who belong to that queue, are in “Available” status, and aren't handling any assignments or active calls for that queue. The list appears in alphabetical order. The agent can select one agent from the list, after which a "Consult" option becomes available. Selecting this initiates a consult call, which proceeds only if the chosen agent remains available at the time of connection.

During the consult, the agent can use existing call control features such as Swap, Merge, and Transfer. When the consult call ends—either by the consulting agent or the internal agent—the system automatically routes the agent back to the original caller leg without requiring manual intervention.

Conference Call¶

Up to 4 supervisors, and the primary agent, can join the same conference call from the contact center side.

If a network disruption occurs, it disconnects the affected participants. They can rejoin the conversation seamlessly. Agents and supervisors can manage only one call at a time.

When a supervisor joins a call, the system consumes their slot and updates their status to system busy for both chat and voice interactions. All chat transcripts from supervisors appear in yellow.

If an agent leaves the call, the supervisor has complete control of the conversation.

Each participant in the conference call can transfer the conversation or exit the call. Selecting the transfer option pushes the conversation to a queue or a target agent, who receives an incoming request.

The Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) links to the last agent who handled the conversation. If a user drops off, the primary agent (the longest participant) completes After Call Work (ACW).

Warm Transfer¶

Following the consult or conference call, the initiating agent can proceed with a warm transfer by clicking Forward.

Limitations¶

Category	Sub-category	Detail	Scenario
Consult Calls	Ongoing consult call	The system can't initiate a conference call during an ongoing consult call.	-
Consult Calls	After merging the consult call.	The system can't initiate a conference call during an ongoing consult call.	When the agent and user are on call and the agent initiates a consult with the Supervisor: (a) If the system merges the consult, it doesn't let a conference. (b) If the supervisor drops from the consult call, the system lets a conference.
Consult Calls	Ongoing conference call	The system restricts Consult calls during an ongoing conference call.	-
Consult Calls	Post-conference call ends	The system restricts consult calls even if the conference ends and only the user and the agent remain on the call.	When the agent and user are on a call and the supervisor joins from the monitor tab, it gets converted to a conference call. Even if the supervisor exits, the system continues to consider the call a conference call.
Call Transfers/Consult	Outbound calls	The system restricts Call transfers and Consult calls to Outbound calls.	-
Agent AI Widget	Ongoing conference/consult	Agent AI Widget are during ongoing conference or consult calls.	-

Call Transfer¶

Steps to initiate a Call Transfer:

Select the Transfer option to initiate the transfer.

Recent transfer results appear.
You can search for an Agent or Queue to transfer the call.