Calls

In this section, you will find everything regarding the Calls channel inside Conversations and the options we currently offer within this channel. To enable Calls in Conversations, contact your dedicated Account Manager. Now, let's learn how Calls can help you run your contact center more efficiently.

Technical requirements

Below you can find all the technical requirements you need to know before you start using Conversations Call Center solution.

System requirements

Audio and video call quality can be very low and unsatisfactory if agents do not have the necessary computing power.
Therefore, for a smooth experience we recommend that the agents' computer has at least the following specifications:

• 64-bit operating system
• 4 GB RAM minimum (8 GB RAM recommended)
• Dual-core processor

Operating systems

Conversations is a cloud-based application that runs on your browser so any desktop-operating system that can install a supported web browser, such as Windows, MacOS, Linux and Chrome OS is needed.

Peripheral devices

To make or receive calls, agents need the following equipment:

• Headphones or speakers
• Microphone
• A camera that your browser can recognize as a video device (for Video calls)

Additional requirements

JavaScript has to be enabled. Also, you need to grant permissions to use the microphone and camera (for Video calls) for Conversations.  

Media stream requirements  

It is worth mentioning that media streams are mostly symmetric. What you send is about as much as you can receive. There can be exceptions when link quality is asymmetric.

Initial Conversations web page download is about 11MB, so the initial load can take a long time if there is no adequate bandwidth. The recommended bandwidth for agents to use the Conversations web application uninterruptedly is 5Mbps.

Additional bandwidth requirements per media stream type can be found below:

Media Type	Details	Required Bandwidth
Standard Audio Quality	Narrowband to wideband	50Kbps
High Audio Quality	Up to fullband, stereo	100Kbps
Low-resolution Video	240x180	180 Kbps
SD Video	640x480	600 Kbps
HD Video	1280x720	1500+ Kbps

Media link quality

It is also quite important that you have a solid internet connection for optimal media experience, considering latency and packet loss can negatively impact call quality.

• packet loss is under 1%
• one-way latency <150 ms

Network topology variants

When calculating internet speed requirements, one needs to take the following into account:

1. Where are agents located?
2. Do you have BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier) or are you using Infobip voice connection?

The table below covers the audio portion only and assumes that offices use the same internet link for BYOC, SIP trunk to Infobip, and SIP trunk to telecom:

Agent Location	Trunk	Required Office Bandwidth per Call	Agent Home Bandwidth
Home	IB	N/A	5Mbit for conversations, after that ~50kbps for audio.
Office	IB	5Mbit for conversations, after that ~50kbps for audio.	N/A
Office	BYOC	2x100Kbps for BYOC g711 audio. Mandatory <1% packet loss.	5Mbit for conversations, after that ~50kbps for audio.
Office	BYOC	2x100Kbps for BYOC g711 audio. Mandatory <1% packet loss. 5Mbit for conversations, after that ~50kbps for agent audio.	N/A

Data centers

Calls in Conversations are relayed to Infobip data centers. To minimize latency, use the nearest data center that matches your agents' physical location.

DC	Location	Info
Frankfurt	EU	Full solution
Mumbai	India	Full solution
New York	US	Full solution
Sao Paolo	Brazil	Media only

Codecs in use

Audio	Video
OPUS, PCM	VP8, H.264

Browser compatibility

We support up to 5 most recent versions (unless otherwise indicated) of the most commonly used browsers:

	Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox	Safari*	Microsoft Edge**	Opera	Internet Explorer
Linux	✔	✔	N/A	N/A	✔	N/A
MacOS	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	N/A
Windows	✔	✔	N/A	✔	✔	N/A

*WebRTC support in Safari started with version 11.
**WebRTC support in Microsoft Edge started with Chromium-based version 79.

Ports and protocols for firewall configuration

Mandatory Protocols:

• DNS - To resolve the public web address for required services
• HTTPS (TCP 443) - For web application access
• WSS (TCP 443) - Infobip APIs
• STUN/TURN - Network connectivity checks and media relays
• RTP - Media transfer

Recommended protocols:

• UDP 10000-65535

Before connecting the call, the Infobip platform looks for the best way to connect a session by conducting connectivity checks and choosing the media transfer protocol in this order:

1. Direct UDP *
2. If the above is not an option, the media will be relayed via a TURN/UDP server
3. Final fallback is TURN/TCP server **

*Some firewalls may allow UDP but block DTLS (which works over UDP). This leads to a situation where STUN does not work and there is no switching to TURN and the service does not work.
**When TCP is used for RTP, the media quality experience degrades with the smallest packet loss.

When STUN inspection is enabled on a firewall, connectivity checks for UDP will be successful but the actual traffic is blocked and the call is not established. If the UDP protocol is not allowed on a firewall, STUN should be blocked as well.

Call Features Overview

Call features	Phone calls	WebRTC calls
Queues	✔	✔
Routing	✔	✔
Automatic Agent Assignment	✔	✔
Working Hours	✔	✔
Waiting Strategy	✔	✔
Recording	✔	✔
Make a Call	✔	✔
Receive a Call	✔	✔
Call Wrap-up	✔	✔
Video	N/A	✔
Screen Share	N/A	✔
Dialpad DTMF Inputs	✔	N/A

Getting started

To start using the Calls channel properly, you need to fulfill a few prerequisites:

1. Create a user
2. Assign Conversations roles
3. Configure your call center:

• Configure a Voice number (follow the guide under Set up Calls) for Conversations AND/OR
• Set up WebRTC application for Conversations AND/OR
• Configure Call link

To be able to receive calls, agents:

• Must be in one of the statuses from the available status group.
• Must be assigned to the queue that the call is routed to. Note that by default, calls are routed to the Default queue.
• The queue that the call is routed to needs to have Automatic Agent Assignment turned ON. Calls cannot be manually assigned. By default, Automatic Agent Assignment is turned OFF for all queues, including the Default queue.

Microphone and camera permissions

When an agent initiates or receives the call for the first time, they will be a prompted (by a browser pop-up notification) to allow Conversations access to the device’s microphone and/or camera. If the pop-ups are blocked, you will have to manually enable these settings.

Also, if you have denied the permissions, the call will be rejected showing the following error:

''Permission to use camera and/or microphone denied.''

Device settings

In their everyday work and while handling calls, agents need to be able to configure the desired input and output devices (camera, microphone & speakers) quickly and effortlessly for both voice and video calls. There are two ways they can do this:

1. Navigate to the Audio and Video Settings page under their profile.

   

Device configuration that agents create on the settings is sticky and will be preserved in the browser. Agents can choose one of the recognized devices from the drop-down lists for both audio and video input devices.

Here, they can confirm that devices are functioning properly:

• Click “Test speakers” to test the sound. The system will play music for 5 seconds.
• Click “Test microphone” to test the microphone. The system will wait for the sound and animate the volume bar accordingly, showing that the microphone is working fine.

The video stream from the selected camera will be automatically shown in the preview window.

If available, the devices that the agent selects will be used for the new calls that they establish with their end users.

2. Agent can also change the input and output devices while on the call - select the Device Settings option in the side panel of the call modal.

To change the current devices, select your preferred microphone/speakers/camera from the drop-down menus of available devices. Changes take effect immediately. Check for the animated volume bars that your devices are working properly.

Numbers

Voice numbers are phone numbers with the capability to receive incoming calls. They can also be used as Caller ID for outgoing calls.

To set up a Voice communication and receive incoming calls for your business needs, first you must lease a Voice number from Infobip. 

Refer to Voice Number for detailed instructions.

Set up Calls

Learn how to set up calls inside Conversations and how agents can receive and make calls and different audio and video call options available to agents during their conversations with customers.

Voice calls

Agents can place and receive regular voice calls from/to customers. More info on the step-by-step process in the Agent Guide below. 

Generate call link

The call link feature enables efficient support without the need for being physically present in the same room.
You can have a video or audio chat with your customer in just a few clicks and you do not need any web or mobile application development effort.

Agents can use the Call link feature to create and send web links that your customers can access and initiate a call towards your Conversations contact center. 
This can be an audio or video call, depending on your customers' requirements as well as your configuration.

To set up and configure a call link, navigate to the Conversations module in the web interface, select the Settings tab, and then open the Call Link tile at the bottom row.
Here you can change design elements of the user interface for your customers' web page view and define desired contact center performance associated with it.

On the configuration page you will see two sections:

1. The right section is used for configuration and setup
2. The left section shows a preview of changes displayed on customers' web view link. This section has two tabs that represent web and mobile views of the page.

Then inside the configuration panel you can define four segments. In the first one you can define the following:

• Your Contact Center Name - This is a header title that can uniquely represent your contact center and brand name when customers access the web link.
• Link type - Used for link access control. Depending on your selection, generated links can be used to either make one call or be valid within a specific time frame that you can set in the expiration link fields. Timed links can be valid from the moment they were created for a predefined default period of time that you can set up under the expiration link or use the time-frame link, giving agents the option to define them every time a link is generated.

The second segment is how you want the page to look like when shared with your customers, and you can choose from various options to showcase your brand.

Upload your company logo to be shown in the header next to the contact center name, and choose primary, background and text colors to be used as design style.

The third one is the messaging segment where you can craft welcome messages for your customers:

• Welcome message - Shown to customers to welcome them when they access the link once it is active and can be used to place calls.
• Inactive time message - If the time-frame link is configured, your customers may try to access the link before the defined start time - this message will be shown in such situations.
• Expiration message - If your customers try to access the link that's no longer valid because the activity period has expired or has already been used as a one-time link, they will see this message.

All messages have generic predefined wording as default which you can change per your preferences.

In the last segment you can set up call controls - choose whether you want audio calls only, and decide on the routing logic: calls can be routed to the agent who shared the link or you can use the default routing logic.
Finally, you can choose to use your domain in the link generation. Enter the URL you would like to use, then copy the CNAME link and use it to configure this URL on your DNS server. After our platform detects that change, we will show that the new link has been validated.

End user experience

When the end user receives a generated call link and clicks it, the web page opens containing the following options:

• Start audio call
• Start video call

During the call, end users have the option to:

• Drop the call
• Mute
• Turn on/off camera
• Switch between back/front camera (available only on devices that have multiple cameras such as smartphones, tablets)

WebRTC calls

Please refer to the WebRTC calls setup documentation for guided information on how to use this channel in Conversations.

Recording

Whether it is to adhere to regulatory/compliance requirements, ensure quality, increase operational efficiency, improve the customer experience, or any other reason specific to your business needs, you may need to record conversations between agents and customers. 

With Conversations, you can record the following types of calls:

• Voice calls
• Video calls
• Call Link (voice/video) calls

Every call inside Conversations has multiple participants. A participant can be a customer, an agent, a chatbot, etc. Each participant is considered a separate leg of the call. Each participant's leg is recorded and stored as a separate audio file.

For example, a conversation between a single customer and agent will have two different recording files since there are two legs, or participants, in the call. Conversely, a call that starts between Customer A and Agent 1, which is ultimately transferred to Agent 2, will result in four separate audio files, two for the conversation segment between Agent 1 and Customer A and two for the conversation between Customer 1 and Agent 2.

Conversations allows you to choose from a flexible set of configuration options. You can choose to have a single recording configuration for the entire organization or create granular recording compositions for each agent.

To configure and enable recording, navigate to the Conversations module > Settings > General setup > and click the Recording tab.

You can modify configurations only when recordings are disabled, i.e., turned off. To change settings, make sure that you set the toggle at the top right of the recording configuration page to Disabled.

You can choose between 3 different options for your recording needs:

• only inbound calls
• only outbound calls
• both inbound and outbound

Conversations also supports video calls. Use the Video configuration section to alter this default setup. You can choose one of the following options to record these types of calls:

• Audio only – Records only voice. Video is not recorded.
• Video and voice - Records all video and voice.

Configure recording for agents

All calls are recorded by default when the top-level recording toggle is enabled. There may be various reasons why you may want to disable recordings for specific agents. For example, if compliance regulations prevent certain types of calls from being recorded, it is necessary to have more granular recording configurations. 

This is where Conversations allows you to override the default configuration on an agent-by-agent basis. 
To set up more granular compositions, navigate to the agent’s profile under the Conversations module > Settings > General setup. Click the Agents tab. Select the agent you wish to configure and then click the Recording tab.

As with the top-level recording toggle, you must set the Record Agent toggle to Disabled to change the recording parameters for the agent. Disable agent recording and then make the desired selections under Recording configuration, selecting either inbound, outbound, or both under the Custom drop-down menu option. Deselecting the checkbox disables recording for the given option.

Storage

Default Cloud Storage

By default, all recording files are stored encrypted on Amazon Web Services. The Amazon Web Services region where the recording files are stored depends on the location of the Infobip data center, which is home to your account. 

The table below shows the most up-to-date location map of Amazon Web Services to Infobip data centers:

Region	Infobip Data Center	Recording Storage Location
Europe	Frankfurt	AWS: eu-central-1
North America	New York	AWS: us-east-1
Brazil	Sao Paolo	AWS: sa-east-1
India	Mumbai	AWS: ap-south-1
Indonesia	Singapore	Locally at Infobip DC
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	Locally at Infobip DC
Turkey	Turkey	Locally at Infobip DC

Recording files are segmented by customer account so that no customer can access any other customer’s files. A fair usage policy governs the monthly amount of storage per agent, in gigabytes, available to each customer. The amount of cloud storage depends on the license level you purchase. 

The storage total is allocated per customer account. For example, if a customer is given 5GB of storage per agent and the account has 10 licensed agents, the customer is allocated 50GB of storage per month. You can purchase extra storage space per month as needed.

Recording files are not subject to data retention policies and will remain in storage until you delete them. It is your responsibility to monitor and manage the recording storage. As long as recording files remain on cloud storage, you can access these for playback and download via the Conversations UI. Note that you also have the option to store files locally.

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)

Around the world, many government-led initiatives, laws, and regulations aim to protect their citizens' data. In many regions, storing recording files out of the country is illegal. 
Therefore, you have the option to move recording files off of the Conversations platform for local storage. The Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) feature enables you to upload recorded files to a secure location.

Before configuring Conversations as a product, you must have a previously provisioned, functioning, and available SFTP server. If needed, consult with your local IT professionals before configuring SFTP server configurations. 

You can access the SFTP configuration in the Recording section under the Conversations Settings > General setup page. Click the Configure button located at the bottom right.

To successfully configure SFTP, you will need the following information:

• Host IP address or DNS name
• IP Port used by the host
• Storage path where files will be transferred
• Username and Password

After you have completed your SFTP server configuration, use the Upload recordings to the SFTP toggle button to enable the SFTP transfer.

How to work with recordings

Once your recording setup is complete, calls will be recorded based on your configurations. The Conversations UI provides easy access to playback, download, and deletion of recorded files. 

As we have seen previously at the beginning of this section, each participant's leg is recorded as a separate file.

In the Conversations UI, you can choose to listen to the full stereo recording (all legs) or each participant file independently. Recordings are conveniently located inside each conversation.

In the All Work tab, navigate to any call conversation with a recording file. There you will see a quick link to the stereo playback option. Click the play button to launch the audio player and the playback will begin automatically. 

You can pause and resume playback for both voice and video. Also, you can skip forward or backward in the recording file on voice calls by sliding the progress bar. Finally, you can close the player at any time during playback.

To access each participant recording as an individual file, navigate to the Recording tab to the right of the All Work tab. You will notice a list of individual recording files in the table shown in the UI. Click the Play icon to launch playback for the single file you selected.

You can view additional metadata and details about the participant's leg by clicking on the ‘>’ symbol to the right of the three dots, as shown in the image below.

Download recording files

You can download call recordings from the Conversations UI, and you can do so with each individual file. There is currently no bulk-download option for recordings. 
To access downloads, click the three dots and then click the Download recording button. This will download the recording file and a CSV file with associated metadata related to the recorded conversation.

Delete recordings

You can also delete call recordings from the Conversations UI, and do so for each individual file. The significant benefit of separate recording files is that you can selectively delete recording files. For example, suppose a European Union citizen exercises their right to be forgotten. In that case, you can delete the file for that specific citizen while still preserving the agent side of the conversation (provided there is no PII data in the recording) for use in quality management or customer experience improvement activities. 

There is currently no bulk-delete option for recordings. To delete a file, click the three dots and then Delete.

Although the recording files are removed from the platform once deleted, there is still a record that the recording existed. While the recording itself is no longer available, Conversations maintains a history of the previous existence of the recording along with an audit trail showing who deleted the file and the deletion date.

Call on hold

To configure music on hold and the announcement message that the customers will hear while waiting for the agent to come back to the call, navigate to the Conversations module > Settings > and click on the Call add-ons tile.

Here, you can configure the Default message - click the three-dot menu (or the straight line) and choose Edit.

If you want to create a new configuration, click the Create new button.

Once you are in the new window, you can give a title to the on-hold message, e.g., maybe something to resemble the queue name such as ''On-hold config #SupportQueue''. Next, select the queues from the drop-down that this on-hold message applies to (or select all queues).

Choose music that will play while callers are on hold, or upload your own audio file. Before you save the setup, you can preview the music that will play. Add the content for the announcement message or upload an audio file.

For the announcement message, make sure to enable the message to be played out.

Then, choose whether this is going to be text-to-speech or your own file that you can upload and play as the announcement.

If it is text-to-speech, add the desired announcement message. Then select the language, the voice, the speech rate, and how often you want the message to be repeated (default is every 10 seconds).

Hit the Create button to save the configuration for this queue. You can do the same for any other queue if you wish to have a different setup.

Transfer to external number

Agents can use the Transfer to external number option to transfer customers to any valid E.164 formatted phone number. Phone numbers can be stored in the People module under Contacts or entered manually by an agent. An organization needs to add the external_number tag to the profile of any contact (existing or new entry) in the People module they want to have available for external dialing. The People module allows you to build rich customer profiles by unifying customer information across the Infobip product suite and your disparate back-end systems.

To configure the Transfer to external number feature, navigate to the Conversations module → Settings → and click the Call add-ons tile.

Once the page opens, click the Call transfer tab where you can see a toggle for whether to allow an agent to manually enter phone numbers that are not stored in People when transferring a call.

If the option is enabled, the agent can transfer the call to any number even if it is not added to the People module. After the call is transferred to this number, the system will add it automatically to People and the number will appear in the drop-down list the next time.

If the option is disabled, the agent cannot transfer the call to a number that is not stored in the People module.

When the option Numbers not stored in People is enabled, agents can manually enter transfer destination phone numbers in the portal UI. The entered number is automatically added to People with the external_number tag and the next time, the agent will have it listed in the external number phone book and it will be suggested as the agent begins to type it.

As soon as you set up the Transfer to external number functionality, agents will either be limited to external phone numbers stored in the People module and/or can enter phone numbers manually. The flow varies slightly depending on the settings:

• while the agent is connected to an active call, the transfer options become visible to them where they first need to click the Transfer button
• the From field is the number shown to the external party during the transfer (if the customer's initial call is PSTN, the From number drop-down menu is not offered because the system automatically uses and assigns the customer's DID number as a From number; if it is a WebRTC call, the drop-down menu is shown since the customer's DID number is unknown, and the agent has the option to choose one of the DID numbers already assigned to the account)
  • they can choose a number from the list menu or leave it for the system to choose automatically
• the To number field represents the destination phone number for the external transfer where the agent can enter a name or a phone number based on the following:
  • if the application is configured to allow phone numbers to be entered manually, the agent can enter the desired destination phone number
  • a number is offered if a person in the People module has a phone number to be shown
  • a person from the external number phone book is shown only if they have the external_number tag assigned to them
  • if they start typing a name or a phone number for a specific person/third party, all phone numbers for a People contact are shown
• the agent needs to click the TRANSFER button
• once they transfer the call, they are disconnected from it and the external party continues the conversation with the customer

Agent guide

This section covers everything you need to know regarding the agent’s capabilities and options in terms of receiving calls, making one towards the customer, video call options, etc. 

Receive a call

Calls can be placed to phone numbers or they might originate from an application. It can be either audio or video. 
When a call is received, a new conversation is created, or the call is included in an existing conversation. 

You can receive only one call at a time. To receive the call, you must be in the Active status as well as in the queue that the call (conversation) is routed to. Agent is considered unavailable while in wrap-up time. Read more on wrap-up under the Wrap-up Window section.

When a call is routed to you, you will hear a ringing sound and an incoming call pop-up window with the caller's name will be shown in the Agent panel. This will happen if the search based on the phone number in People is successful. Otherwise, only the phone number will be presented to you.

The pop-up window will also enable you to answer or decline the call. 

Make a call

Sometimes agents need to call the customer first. Conversations offers the option of making a call to your customer's phone number.

To do that click + inside the MY WORK panel to start a new conversation and specify the following:

• In From field select one of the available Voice numbers. For the number to be shown in the list it needs to be configured for Conversations. Read more on how to configure numbers.
• In To field you need to specify the contact you will call. You can do that by searching and selecting some of the contacts from the People data platform or by typing in a new number and adding it.

Then click the START CONVERSATION button to create a new conversation thread.

The system will validate if there is an ongoing conversation and if there is, will offer the following scenarios:

• Pre-existing conversations assigned to the logged-in agent or unassigned.
  • The agent is prompted to view the conversation and continue the communication with the customer if it is relevant to the ongoing topic. A follow-up call can be initiated if needed.
• Pre-existing conversations assigned to another agent.
  • The agent is notified that a new call cannot be initiated, nor a conversation started with this customer as another agent is already communicating with them. In this case, both parties need to agree on whether the conversation can be transferred; another agent can make that call or the ongoing conversation be closed.  
• No existing conversations.
  • A new conversation will be created

A call from the agent towards the customer is initiated and a call pop-up window is shown.

When making outbound calls towards a phone number, agents will hear certain pre-connection audio (early media) such as busy signals, failure-to-connect errors, or other informational messages from mobile operators.

After the customer has answered the phone, a new pop-up with call controls will be displayed.

When the call ends, a wrap-up window is shown where the agent can enter specific call details and other relevant information pertaining to the agenda of the call.

Wrap-up window

When a call is finished, agents might need to write some notes or a summary of the call before closing the conversation. Here is where a wrap-up window will be shown.

The wrap-up window lasts for as long as the Supervisor has set the timer. However, if you need more time to write the summary, simply click on the +10 SECONDS button to add 10 seconds to your wrap-up time. You can write the notes or the summary of your call on the right side of the agent panel. You can also review this summary later on, if needed.

To define the default time to be used for this activity, Supervisors need to navigate to the Conversations module > Settings > General setup.

Click the Call Wrap-Up and set the value.

While the wrap-up window is active, the wrap-up time will be running. Default wrap-up time is 30 seconds and it can be adjusted on system or agent level. While in the wrap-up, the agent is considered busy. The wrap-up time ends when the window is closed. If 30 seconds is not enough to complete your notes, you can click on the +MORE TIME button, adding 10 seconds to your wrap-up time. 

Before you close the wrap-up window, you can also set the conversation status. If the conversation is not marked as Closed, any additional communication initiated by the same person will be routed and appended to this conversation. 

Adjust call wrap-Up

Not all agents handle the same types of calls, nor do they have the same abilities so that is the reason the wrap-up time can be adjusted on the agent level. To make this change, navigate to the Conversations module > Settings > General setup.

Click the Agents tab and select the agent. Then adjust the values based on your needs in the Call Wrap-Up tab.

Make a follow-up call

After you have been contacted by the customer, you can also call them back.
Change channel to Voice, select the number and use the START A CALL button shown in the reply message box.
 

Call options

Here you will find all audio and video call options that agents need both during a call and after the call ends with the customer.

Call controls are dynamic and shown when applicable. For example, video and screen sharing are not available during a regular phone call.  

If you hover over the video you will be able to turn the volume up or down as well as to switch to a fullscreen mode.

• Call initiated - informs you that the call has started and at which time

• Mute - enables you to turn off (or back on) the sound on your end of the conversation

Transfer to agent 

At this time, we only support blind (cold) transfer, which means that the call is not announced to the agent before being transferred.

The other agent you selected (must be from the same queue the conversation landed in) to receive the transferred call will ring and can either accept or reject the call.

To transfer the call, click the Transfer button, then select Agents in '... queue' tab (the name is dynamic as it depends on how the queue is called). Then select or search for the available agent from the current queue you want to transfer the call to.

What is also important to note is that available agents are shown first on the list, and you can also use the refresh button next to the list to populate it in real time.

When you transfer the call, it will end on your side and continue with the transferred agent and the customer. Additionally, the customer hears the ringing sound while being connected to the other agent. 

• Hang up - ends the call for both parties

Screen Sharing and Dial Pad

Call controls are dynamic and shown when applicable. For example, video and screen sharing are not available during a phone call.  

In addition to standard options such as mute, forward, etc., agents can use:

• Start/Stop video – When connected to webRTC calls, agents can switch to audio or video via the start/stop video button present in the call window.
• Screen sharing - Agents can also use screen sharing during webRTC calls. Screen sharing allows them to share their computer screen. More specifically, they can share the application window or a browser tab with the end user who is connected to the call. 

Note that depending on the browser agents are using, they may not be able to share some windows/screens.

• Dial Pad – When making outbound phone calls, under the three dots menu, agents can find the Dial Pad feature.

With dial pad, agents can collect and send DTMF inputs when required to interact with an IVR.

Internet Network Indicator

When Internet issues are detected, agents get a message indicating this inside the call modal. These issues are visible to the agent and they will see this message:

“Your connection is weak.”

If the call is a WebRTC call, then the system can detect if there are any issues on the end-user's side. If this happens, the agent will get the following message inside the call modal:

“Customer’s connection is weak.”

How do we detect low call quality?

We monitor average call quality over time and measure packet loss, round trip time, and jitter to approximate a human ranking by an Objective Measurement Method.

Somewhere between 4.3 - 4.5 is considered an excellent quality target. On the low end, call or video quality becomes unacceptable below a MOS of roughly 3.5.

Based on the criteria above, we will indicate internet connection issues when our measures are less than 4.

Incoming call information

The incoming call modal is the very first information the agents may find out about the customers. We have enriched it to showcase more information about the customers and the incoming call.

Before answering the call, agents can now see this info on the call modal:

• The name of the queue the call is coming to (e.g., Customer support)
• Whether this is a regular call, a transferred call, or a callback call
• Customer's full name and phone number

Moreover, agents now have the option to copy the phone number with a single click and paste it into their notes, send it to a colleague, or a third-party CRM if used for any storage information purposes.

Call on hold

When the agent answers a call, among different options, they can decide to put the customer on hold if they need to check something while on the call. The agent will remain in the On hold status until they resume the call.

The agent panel reflects this change and adds a new event ''Call on hold'' so, if needed, supervisors can check how long calls stay on hold, whether the issues are resolved, and act accordingly to provide the best customer service.

While on hold, the customer will hear an audio cue (either music on hold or a pre-recorded announcement, depending on the setup) until the agent returns to the call. Supervisors can configure music on hold and the announcement per queue (every queue can have a different setup). The Hold option is available on mobile as well.

Transfer to queue

Now you can transfer calls to another agent in the current queue, or to another queue. Note that you cannot choose a specific agent from a different queue. To do that, while on a call, click the Transfer button and simply choose the desired queue in the call modal drop-down. Alternatively, choose an agent from the same queue.

The drop-down options during transfer show which queues and agents are available in the order of their availability. Statuses are shown in real time - click the refresh button to update them. In case the transfer is unsuccessful (some error occured, agent suddenly went offline or busy), the call modal will reflect this by showing a warning that the call cannot be transferred.

Note that queues that do not have Automatic agent assignment turned on will not have the transfer option available.

Transfer to external number

Agents can use the Transfer to external number option to transfer customers to any valid E.164 formatted phone number. Phone numbers can be stored in the People module under Contacts or entered manually by an agent.

A system administrator or supervisor needs to pre-configure the application to enable external transfers. Based on the settings, agents will either be limited to external phone numbers stored in the People module and/or can enter phone numbers manually. The flow varies slightly depending on the settings:

• while connected to an active call, the transfer options become visible to the agent where they first need to click the Transfer button
• click the Number tab to make the transfer to an external number
• the From field is the number shown to the external party during the transfer and this field allows you to choose a number from the list menu or leave it for the system to choose automatically 
• the To number field represents the destination phone number for the external transfer where you can enter a name or a phone number based on the following:
  • if the application is configured to allow phone numbers to be entered manually, enter the desired destination phone number
  • a number is offered if a person in the People module has a phone number to be shown
  • if you start typing a name or a phone number for a specific person/third party, all phone numbers for a People contact are shown
• click the TRANSFER button
• once you transfer the call, you are disconnected from it and the external party continues the conversation with the customer

If the option to transfer the call to numbers that are not stored in People is disabled, and you enter a valid number in the To field, the transfer button is disabled with a message that the number or name is not found in the phone book.

Once you transfer the call, the wrap-up modal shows up allowing you to handle the conversation as you want (e.g., close it) and an event is shown in the conversation indicating that you transferred the call to a specific number or person.

If the call transfer fails due to some technical difficulties or the external number does not answer it, the call is returned to the agent.

Callback

The Callback feature allows customers to request a callback from the agents.

There are two types of callback that supervisors can configure:

1. Automated
   • Callback requests are assigned automatically to agents.
   • Agents do not have to check any lists nor take any additional actions to locate callbacks.
   • Callbacks ring on the agent’s desktop or mobile device. Agents only have to answer the callback when it is presented to them.
   • The customer number is automatically dialed and connected to the agent.
     
   • In case the end user does not answer on the first callback, the Conversations platform will try to call them back as many times as specified by the supervisor before removing the call from the callback queue. The callback retry is automatically logged in the system for execution and requires no additional intervention by the agent.
2. Manual
   • Agents navigate to the callback list manually and pick up a callback request.
   • Agents must manually call the customer independently. Each agent will have an assigned list of callback requests.

The list of callback requests is described in the Callback Requests List under Supervisor Guide.

The same list will show up for agents in ALL WORK, where in case of a manual callback they can assign or reassign the conversation to themselves.

After clicking the ASSIGN TO ME button, that conversation will appear in MY WORK, where you can preview all related information and initialize a call. Conversations containing a small arrow icon next to them indicate that it is callback.

Once you initialize the call and have finished talking to the end user, you can wrap up the call and close the conversation. The callback status will be changed to Done after the end user has answered the call.

Callback statuses and event logs

Regardless of the conversation status, a callback has its own status, and a callback call can specifically go through the following:

• In a queue – The end user requested a callback, the conversation is in the queue list, and an agent is not assigned
• Assigned – An agent is assigned to a callback conversation
• Active – The agent is assigned to a callback conversation; the call is currently in progress
• No reply – The agent called the end user, but they did not answer
• Done – The agent had a successful call with the end user

Event logs are part of the Conversations timeline, where you can see the precise time the callback was requested, whether another callback has been asked in the meantime, and if the end user has not responded.

If you are a supervisor looking for more info on how to set up a callback, follow the Callback configuration section.

Bring Your Own Carrier

Bring Your Own Carrier or BYOC is a feature that allows our customers to use our platform, regardless of who is the owner of the DID number and connection towards the operator.

This solution provides flexibility by defining a SIP Trunk between existing customer connection – voice provider and Infobip platform.

Depending on the use case and client requirements we can provide both inbound & outbound configuration.

For any clients that require enhanced security, we can set up additional encryption – encryption per call or encryption of tunnels between two data centers.

Please contact your Account Manager for any inquiries regarding setting up BYOC.

Troubleshooting

In case you run into any issues during or prior to connecting to a call, make sure to read our troubleshooting steps below to fix these issues.

Fix Audio and Video Call Issues

If you cannot hear or see your caller, try these steps:

1.  Check your hardware

• Make sure your microphone, camera, and speakers are plugged into your computer and turned on (make sure that the microphone is not muted).
• If you connect any of your hardware via USB, check if you need to install software from the device manufacturer.
• Make sure other programs on your computer are not using your microphone, camera, or speakers.

2. Check if you have enabled microphone and camera

How to Enable Microphone and Camera in Google Chrome

 

1. To change your browser settings, go to the address bar and click on the lock icon on the left of the website address. This lock icon indicates that information is transferred using a secure server connection.
2. Camera: Click on the dialog box and choose Allow or Ask.
3. Microphone: Click on the dialog box and choose Allow or Ask.
4. When finished, click the X in the upper right corner to close the dialog box.
5. Reload the page to Update Settings.

These settings and screens depend on the Chrome version you have installed on your computer. 
Learn how to manage camera and microphone in the latest version of Chrome.

How to Enable Microphone and Camera in Firefox:

A pop-up similar to the screen above will appear on your computer. Select which camera and microphone you want to use and click Allow and reload the page to access the content.

1. If the camera and microphone have been blocked, click on the lock icon to the left of the address bar.
2. Use the microphone: Click the X icon to unblock the microphone.
3. Use the camera: Click the X icon to unblock the camera.
4. Reload the page, and Firefox will prompt you again if you want to allow these tools.

These settings and screens depend on the Firefox version you have installed on your computer. Learn how to manage camera and microphone in the latest version of Firefox.

3. Restart the call and your computer:
   • Exit and rejoin the call.
   • Restart your computer.
4. Ask your caller to troubleshoot:
   • If you cannot see or hear your caller, ask them to try the steps above.

Error Messages

Your connection is weak

If you see the “Your connection is weak” error message during your call, you may be experiencing some internet connection problems.

Try these steps:

1. If you are using a Wi-Fi network, move closer to the Wi-Fi router.
2. If the above step does not solve your problem, check your connection status (Wi-Fi signal or internet access). If your signal is not working, turn off your internet router and then back on. Wait for some time and try again.

The customer’s connection is weak

If you see the “Customer’s connection is weak” error message during the call, your customer may be having issues with their internet connection.

Also, ask them to try these steps:

1. If they are using a Wi-Fi network, ask them to move closer to the Wi-Fi router.
2. Ask them to check their internet connection (Wi-Fi signal or internet access).