Choose who answers a campaign's calls
An AI bot or a call flow — the same two-way choice a channel makes. The bot owns everything about how it sounds.
When somebody you dialled picks up, something has to talk to them. That is either an AI bot or a call flow, and it is the same two-way choice a channel makes.
The constraint that surprises people: you cannot override the bot from the campaign. No campaign-specific script, no campaign-specific voice, no campaign-specific model. The bot owns all of that, and a campaign only adds what is campaign-scoped.
That is a feature. It means one bot, one place to fix it — but it also means two campaigns needing different scripts need two bots.
Before you start
- A campaign in progress.
- A bot or a call flow, or the willingness to create one inline.
- A flow intended for outbound must have Runs on set to the autodialler.
Steps
Pick a bot for a straightforward conversation
Qualifying, reminding, following up, confirming. The bot answers the moment the contact picks up and follows its instruction.
Pick a call flow when something must be decided first
A flow can check a condition, hand to a bot, then to a person. Use it when "it depends" is the honest answer — and note that a flow used for outbound needs its Runs on set to the autodialler.
Create one inline if you need to
Both choices offer inline create, so you are not sent away mid-setup and back through four screens.
Accept that the bot owns its voice and script
Instruction, model and voice per language all live on the bot. If this campaign needs a different script, it needs a different bot.
Read the Used-by list before editing that bot
Changing the bot for this campaign changes it everywhere else it is used — possibly on a channel answering your inbound calls.
Check the campaign list shows what you expect
The "Answers with" column states BOT or FLOW and the name. Walking that column is the fastest audit of your campaigns.
Check it worked
Call yourself from the campaign, or place one test dial to a colleague. Listen to what the bot says when somebody picks up — that opening moment is the whole campaign in miniature.
The parts people get wrong
- The campaign list shows "Answers with" rather than a Type column, because every campaign is outbound and the type would always say the same thing.
- A call flow used by a campaign must have Runs on set to the autodialler. An inbound flow will not appear.
The ones people actually ask
Should a campaign use a bot or a call flow?
A bot for a straightforward conversation — qualifying, reminding, confirming. A flow when something must be decided first and it depends is the honest answer. A flow used for outbound needs its Runs on set to the autodialler or it will not be offered.
This campaign needs a different script from the same bot.
Then it needs a different bot. Instruction, model and voice all live on the bot, so editing it for this campaign changes it everywhere else it is used — possibly on a channel answering your inbound calls. Read the Used-by list first.