> This page is for Omni Channel. > For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.hams.ai/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.hams.ai/_mcp/server. # Voice > Link Cloud Call Center numbers to inboxes, and see each call as a call card in the conversation of the customer. Omni Channel shows the calls of [Cloud Call Center](/cloud-call-center/overview) as conversations. Each Cloud Call Center number (DID) can link to 1 inbox. A call on a linked DID goes into that inbox as a call card. The DID can link to a **Phone** inbox, which gets only calls. It can also link to a WhatsApp or SMS inbox with the same number, so that calls and messages of a customer share 1 conversation. > **Note** > > The **Phone** card and the **Call Center** tab show only when Hams support turns on **Call Center** and **Voice Channel** for your account. Transcripts show only when Hams support also turns on **Call Transcription**. The call analysis on a call card shows only when Hams support turns on **Post-call Analysis**. Only administrators can add a **Phone** inbox and link DIDs to inboxes. In this page, `{account_id}` is the number of your account in the dashboard URL. ![A Phone conversation of a contact: an answered call, a call that ended in the queue, and an outbound call with no answer. The reply box accepts only private notes.](/_fern-img/f4e1811841acdcd4a52817166e88d2bf88a7e2374aa54ace039b92754d18a808.webp) ## Before you start You need these items: * Cloud Call Center on your account, with 1 or more DIDs. See [DIDs](/cloud-call-center/settings/dids). * A DID that no other inbox has. A DID links to 1 inbox only. * To get calls in a WhatsApp or SMS inbox: an inbox whose phone number is the same as the DID. * To call customers from the dashboard: a registered softphone. See [Softphone](/cloud-call-center/softphone). ## How calls reach an inbox The system finds the inbox from the DID of the call: * A call on a DID that links to an inbox goes into that inbox. * A call on a DID that links to no inbox stays in Cloud Call Center only. Omni Channel shows nothing about it. The system then finds the contact from the phone number of the customer. If no contact has that number, the system adds a contact with the name "New Customer". When the call center sends the name of the caller later, the name replaces "New Customer". The system then finds the conversation: * In a **Phone** inbox, each contact has 1 conversation. Each call to or from the contact goes into the same conversation, also after an agent resolves the conversation. * In a WhatsApp or SMS inbox, the call goes into the open conversation of the contact. If the contact has no open conversation, the system starts a new conversation. If **Conversation Routing** of the inbox keeps 1 conversation per contact, the call goes into the last conversation of the contact. A call from Cloud Call Center does not open the 24-hour WhatsApp window. To send a free-form WhatsApp message after a call, the customer must first send a message. ## Add a Phone inbox A **Phone** inbox gets calls on 1 or more DIDs. It has no number of its own. Use it for DIDs that have no WhatsApp or SMS inbox, for example a sales line. #### Open the inboxes Open **Settings** > **Inboxes**. The page is at `/app/accounts/{account_id}/settings?tab=inboxes`. #### Start the wizard Click **Add Inbox**. The wizard opens at the **Choose Channel** step. #### Select the channel Click the **Phone** card. Then click **Next**. The **Create Inbox** step opens. #### Enter the name In **Inbox name**, enter a name for the inbox, for example `Sales line`. You must enter a name. #### Select the numbers In **Call Center numbers**, select 1 or more DIDs. The list shows only the DIDs that no inbox has. #### Create the inbox Click **Next**. The system makes the inbox, and the **Add Agents** step opens. #### Add the agents Select the agents who work the calls of this inbox. Click **Next**. The **Voilà!** step opens. #### Open the inbox Click **Take me there**. ![The Phone form has a name for the inbox and the Call Center numbers that the inbox gets calls on.](/_fern-img/52e112a1629e6f10335172e01fc4261e1118e1a591d6ec4bbdf4ce70579dbe98.webp) **Next** stays off until the inbox has a name and 1 or more DIDs. The form can show **Every Call Center number already belongs to an inbox.** In that case, each DID has an inbox. Remove a DID from its inbox first. The system checks with Cloud Call Center that each DID belongs to your account. If a DID does not, the form shows **Not a Call Center number on this account**, followed by the number. If the call center does not reply, the form shows **The Call Center is unavailable. Try again shortly.** ## Settings The settings of an inbox that can get calls have a **Call Center** tab. The tab shows on a **Phone** inbox, a WhatsApp inbox, and an SMS inbox. A WhatsApp inbox with the provider **Twilio** has no **Call Center** tab and cannot get Cloud Call Center calls. For the other tabs, see [Inboxes and channels](/omni-channel/inboxes). If the list of DIDs does not load, the tab shows **Couldn't load the Call Center numbers. Try again shortly.** The **Phone** form shows the same message. To open the tab, open **Settings** > **Inboxes**. Click the settings of the inbox, and then click **Call Center**. ### Phone inbox The **Numbers** field shows the DIDs of the inbox. Calls to these DIDs go into the inbox. In **Numbers**, select a DID to add it. To remove a DID, click its remove icon. Then click **Update**. The message **Call Center numbers updated** shows. The list shows single numbers only. It does not show a number block, because a number block is not 1 phone number. See [DIDs](/cloud-call-center/settings/dids). ![The Call Center tab of a Phone inbox shows the DIDs that the inbox gets calls on.](/_fern-img/e4f5b496c25e9e86c4cf369154b66c4d9e2a76ed819cc1c6d8b0e72a9321952b.webp) If the inbox has no DIDs, the tab shows **This inbox has no numbers and receives no calls.** ### WhatsApp and SMS inboxes A WhatsApp or SMS inbox can get calls only on its own phone number. The tab shows the switch **Receive Call Center calls on this number**. Turn on the switch to send the calls of that DID into this inbox. The calls then go into the same conversation as the messages of the customer. ![The Call Center tab of a WhatsApp inbox sends the calls of its own number into the inbox.](/_fern-img/80b13c79805c8d35be5c41e9cecad9b5b25c9ef8dfb697d08177de6781a80331.webp) The switch shows only if the number of the inbox is a DID of your account and no other inbox has that DID. If not, the tab shows **No Call Center number matches this inbox's number, or another inbox already receives its calls.** ### Move a DID to a different inbox A DID links to 1 inbox only. To move a DID, remove it from its inbox first. Then add it to the other inbox. ## The call card Each call is a call card in the conversation. The card shows the direction of the call, an outcome badge, and a line with more information. The card changes during the call. ![A WhatsApp conversation with 2 call cards: an incoming call that went to Voicemail, and a Live incoming call with the agent.](/_fern-img/bec30ca7254bc1fc6ba579f4d9296af19db87e08bdfd528ade8835a9a353ed3d.webp) The title of the card is **Incoming call** or **Outgoing call**. While the call is active, the badge shows the live state: | Badge | Meaning | Line below the title | | ----------- | ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------- | | **Ringing** | An incoming call waits for an agent. | **Waiting for an agent** | | **Calling** | An outgoing call rings the customer. | The name of the agent, or **Calling…** | | **Live** | The agent and the customer speak. | **With** and the name of the agent | A short time after the call ends, the call center sends the final record of the call. The badge then shows the outcome. An answered call shows **Answered**, and the line shows the agent and the talk time. An incoming call that nobody answered shows 1 of these badges: | Badge | Meaning | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Missed** | The call rang and no agent answered. | | **Voicemail** | The caller left a message in a voicemail box. The line shows the length of the call. | | **Hung up in queue** | The caller ended the call while the caller waited in a queue. | | **Hung up in menu** | The caller ended the call during the greeting or the menu. | | **Agent declined** | An agent declined the call in the dashboard. This badge shows only for WhatsApp calls and Twilio Voice calls. | | **Failed** | The call did not connect. | For an incoming call that nobody answered, the line shows **Waited** and the wait time. If the system has no wait time, the line shows **No agent picked up**. An outgoing call that did not connect shows 1 of these badges: | Badge | Meaning | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **No answer** | The call rang and the customer did not answer. | | **Busy** | The line of the customer was busy. | | **Canceled** | The call ended before it connected. | | **Agent declined** | The agent side of the call did not connect, because the agent declined it. | | **Agent didn't answer** | The agent side of the call did not connect, because the agent did not answer. | | **Unreachable** | The call center could not reach the number. | | **Failed** | The call did not connect. | For an outgoing call that did not connect, the line shows **Placed by** and the name of the agent. If the system has no agent, the line shows **Not connected**. If a call stays active for 4 hours without a final record, the system ends it on the card with the badge **Failed**. ### Buttons and links The bottom line of the card shows the queue of the call and the date and time. Each Cloud Call Center call that is not active also has the link **Details**. The link opens the call details from call history, with the full timeline of the call. See [Call history](/cloud-call-center/call-history). An incoming call that nobody answered has the button **Call back**. The button calls the customer through your softphone. If you did not register the softphone, the button is off and shows **Open the softphone and register to call**. The button does not show during another call. ### Recordings and transcripts If the call has a recording, a player shows in the card when the audio is ready. The audio is ready a short time after the call ends. The recording plays from the call center. The system does not copy it into the conversation. If the call has a transcript, the transcript shows below the player. A long transcript shows the first part. Click **Show more** to read all of it. Click **Show less** to make it short again. An administrator can also request a transcript in call history. See [Call history](/cloud-call-center/call-history). ### Call analysis When the call center analyzes a call, the card shows the analysis below the player. The analysis comes a short time after the transcript, and the card updates when it arrives. If the call center analyzes the call again, the card shows the newest result. For the analysis profiles and the call center side, see [Post-call analysis](/cloud-call-center/post-call-analysis). The card shows these items: * How the call ended for the customer: **Resolved**, **Unresolved**, **Escalated**, or **Customer went silent**. * The sentiment of the customer at the start and at the end of the call. * The score of the agent, for example **Agent 4/5**. * A short summary of the call, in up to 2 lines, and up to 3 labels. ### The conversation list The conversation list shows the last call of a conversation as the preview text: | Preview | When | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Incoming call**, **Outgoing call** | The call rings. | | **Call in progress** | The agent and the customer speak. | | **Call ended** | The call was answered and is over. | | **Missed call** | Nobody answered the call, or the call failed. This preview also shows for an outgoing call. | ## What happens to the conversation An answered call resolves the conversation. The system assigns the conversation to the agent who took the call and sends no notification. The agent handled the call on the phone, so no other action is necessary. An incoming or outgoing call that nobody answered keeps the conversation open. The system notifies all members of the inbox, as for a new conversation. Then a person can call the customer back. A call with the badge **Failed** sends no notification. If the conversation already contains messages, an answered call is only an event in that conversation. The assignee and the status do not change. A missed call in that conversation still notifies the members of the inbox. ## Replies in a Phone inbox Agents do not reply in a **Phone** inbox. The reply box accepts only private notes, because a text message cannot go to a phone line. The conversation shows **This is a phone conversation. You can add private notes, but replies cannot be sent from here.** To speak to the customer, call the customer back. A **Phone** inbox does not show in the inbox list of **New conversation**. ## Calls, workflows, and the AI agent Workflows do not run in a **Phone** inbox. In a WhatsApp or SMS inbox, a workflow can run on a conversation that contains only calls. A call does not count as a customer message for the AI agent. On a conversation that contains only calls, the AI agent answers the first message that the customer writes. When the AI agent answers a conversation with calls, it sees the direction, the status, and the duration of each call. If the call has a transcript, the AI agent also sees the transcript. Thus, the AI agent knows what the customer and the agent said on the phone. The AI agent does not see failed calls, because they have no content. ## Call a contact Agents call from the dashboard through the softphone in the browser. The call goes out through the registered extension of the agent and the outbound routes of the call center. The call center records the call with the same rules as all other calls. See [Softphone](/cloud-call-center/softphone). You can start a call in 2 places: * In the conversation header: a conversation in a **Phone** inbox, or in an inbox with a linked DID, has a phone button. If the inbox can call in more than 1 way, the button opens a menu. Select **Phone call** to call through the softphone. Select **WhatsApp call** or **Start call** to call through WhatsApp or Twilio. * In the contact profile: a contact with a phone number has a phone button. If more than 1 inbox can make calls, the window **Choose a voice inbox** opens. Select the inbox. If the agent did not register the softphone, the button is off and shows **Open the softphone and register to call**. The button is also off during another call. The dashboard sends only the number of the customer to the call center. It does not send the inbox. The outgoing call card shows in the inbox that links to the DID that the call center reports for the call. Thus, a call from a WhatsApp conversation can show in a different inbox. If the DID links to no inbox, the call stays in Cloud Call Center only. ## Twilio Voice and WhatsApp calls 2 other channels also make conversations from calls. These calls do not go through the call center: * Twilio Voice receives and makes calls through your Twilio account, on a Twilio SMS inbox with the **Voice** tab. The conversation gets the recordings. Agents answer in the dashboard. * WhatsApp calls come from customers in WhatsApp, to a **WhatsApp Cloud** inbox with the **Calls** tab. Agents answer them in the dashboard. To call a customer, the customer must first give the call permission that WhatsApp asks for. These calls use the same call card. An incoming call that rings and has no agent yet shows **Join call**. A missed incoming call shows **Call back**. These channels have no queues, call flows, extensions, or wallboard. For these features, use [Cloud Call Center](/cloud-call-center/overview). ## Related * [Inboxes and channels](/omni-channel/inboxes) * [DIDs](/cloud-call-center/settings/dids) * [Softphone](/cloud-call-center/softphone) * [Call history](/cloud-call-center/call-history) * [Post-call analysis](/cloud-call-center/post-call-analysis) * [WhatsApp](/omni-channel/whatsapp) * [Workflows](/omni-channel/workflows) * [Assistants](/omni-channel/ai-agent/assistants)