Redirect call to assistant after forwarding
complete
A
Akin
In our setup, the AI voice assistant answers incoming calls and redirects them to the appropriate department/person. However, we’ve encountered an issue when calls are not answered by the assigned department/person.
Our question is: Is it possible within Vapi to manage such unanswered calls and return them to the assistant? Specifically, we would like the assistant to handle these unanswered calls by requesting to book a call with them and continuing with the existing assitant script.
To set up a call flow that returns the call to the assistant if it's not answered, we
'll need to follow these general steps:
- Define a Timeout: Set a timeout for how long the system should wait for the call to be answered by the forwarded number.
- Fallback Action: Configure a fallback action that triggers if the call is not answered within the specified timeout. This action will redirect the call back to the assistant.
- Assistant Handling: Once the call is returned to the assistant, you can program the assistant to continue with the script
Canny AI
Merged in a post:
Feature Request: Enable Call Return to Voice Agent if Transferred Call Goes Unanswered
T
Team Neova
I’m currently using Vapi to build a voice agent (Agent ID: 3905c00b-9efc-46b8-95ce-61ba7a36eb5e), where Amanda acts as our AI-powered virtual receptionist.
One key use case involves Amanda politely transferring incoming calls to specific departments via GoTo Connect. However, we’ve encountered a challenge:
Once Amanda transfers a call, the Vapi session ends. If no one answers on the other end, the call is effectively dropped without a fallback—leading to a poor customer experience.
Feature Request
Please consider supporting a feature that allows:
If the transferred call is not answered (e.g., no pickup, voicemail, timeout), the call should route back to the original Vapi agent session or webhook so the agent can re-engage the caller.
Suggested Behavior
Amanda transfers the call via call.transfer.
If no answer within X seconds or the receiving line declines:
The call returns to Amanda.
Amanda resumes with a line like:
“It looks like no one picked up. Would you like to leave a message or try another department?”
Benefits
Smoother user experience.
No dead-end transfers.
Adds flexibility for routing fallback logic without external infrastructure.
Please let me know if this is on your roadmap or if there’s a recommended workaround.
Canny AI
Merged in a post:
Redirect call to assistant after forwarding
T
Team Neova
Hi Vapi Team,
I’m currently using Vapi to build a voice agent (Agent ID: 3905c00b-9efc-46b8-95ce-61ba7a36eb5e) for Friendly Chevrolet, where Amanda acts as our AI-powered virtual receptionist.
One key use case involves Amanda politely transferring incoming calls to specific departments via GoTo Connect. However, we’ve encountered a challenge:
Once Amanda transfers a call, the Vapi session ends. If no one answers on the other end, the call is effectively dropped without a fallback—leading to a poor customer experience.
Feature Request
Please consider supporting a feature that allows:
If the transferred call is not answered (e.g., no pickup, voicemail, timeout), the call should route back to the original Vapi agent session or webhook so the agent can re-engage the caller.
Suggested Behavior
Amanda transfers the call via call.transfer.
If no answer within X seconds or the receiving line declines:
The call returns to Amanda.
Amanda resumes with a line like:
“It looks like no one picked up. Would you like to leave a message or try another department?”
Benefits
Smoother user experience.
No dead-end transfers.
Adds flexibility for routing fallback logic without external infrastructure.
Canny AI
Merged in a post:
BUG: Fallback Mechanism for Unanswered Human-Transfered Calls
A
Areg Arakelyan
The desired behavior is that if a call redirected from the AI agent to a human goes unanswered (e.g., the phone is off or not picked up), the system should automatically route the call back to the AI agent instead of ending it.
None of the current transfer modes work when it comes to redirect back to the AI if the call was not answered.
Currently, such calls drop entirely, resulting in a poor customer experience. Implementing a fallback mechanism would ensure uninterrupted support and improve user satisfaction.
Canny AI
Merged in a post:
Add a timeout variable to the transfer call. If the call is not answered by any destination within that time, it should return to VAPI.
M
Muhammad Tayyab
Add a timeout variable to the transfer call. If the call is not answered by any destination within that time, it should return to VAPI and resume the conversation, attempting to schedule a call or ask for a convenient time to call later.
S
Sahil Suman
complete
You can actually do it via https://docs.vapi.ai/calls/call-handling-with-vapi-and-twilio
Like, you will need to write some custom code for it, but you will be able to achieve your usecase with it.