AI Caller - Firstwork

Overview

The AI Caller enables you to deploy intelligent voice bots that can call candidates, conduct phone screenings, collect responses, and feed data back into your hiring flows. It integrates with major telephony providers to deliver natural, conversational AI experiences at scale.

How It Works

Configure a Caller Bot — Define the conversation script, questions, and behavior
Enroll candidates — Assign candidates to be called (manually or via automation)
AI conducts call — The bot calls the candidate and follows the script
Responses captured — Candidate responses are transcribed and stored
Data mapped — Responses are mapped to form fields in the hiring flow
Automations fire — Follow-up actions trigger based on responses

Setting Up an AI Caller Bot

Create a new Caller Bot

Navigate to Settings → AI Caller and click New Caller Bot. Give it a descriptive name that reflects its purpose (e.g., “Warehouse Pre-Screen” or “Onboarding Welcome Call”).

Select a telephony provider

Choose the telephony provider for outbound calls. The provider determines which phone numbers and regions are available. See Telephony Providers below.

Configure voice and language

Pick an AI voice and conversation language. You can preview voices before selecting. The bot will conduct the entire call in the selected language.

Design the conversation script

Build the conversation flow using the script editor. Define an introduction, questions, follow-up prompts, and a closing message. See Designing Conversation Scripts for guidance.

Map responses to form fields

Connect each question in the script to a form element in your hiring flow. This ensures candidate answers are automatically saved as structured data.

Set scheduling and retry policies

Configure when calls should be placed and how the bot handles unanswered calls. See Scheduling & Retries.

Attach a knowledge base (optional)

Link one or more knowledge bases so the bot can answer candidate questions during the call.

Activate the bot

Enable the bot. Candidates can now be enrolled manually or through automations.

Caller Bot Configuration

Setting	Description
Name	Bot identifier visible to your team
Script	Conversation flow, questions, and branching logic
Voice	AI voice selection (multiple voices per language)
Language	Conversation language
Telephony Provider	Twilio, Plivo, or Exotel
Caller ID	The outbound phone number candidates see
Form Mapping	How responses map to form fields
Retry Policy	How many times to retry unanswered calls
Schedule	When calls should be placed
Max Call Duration	Maximum length before the bot wraps up
Short Drop Duration	Minimum call length to count as a real call (default: 10s)
Realtime Model	GPT Realtime model powering the conversation (Standard, Mini, or 1.5)
Smooth Barge-in	Makes the caller smoothly interrupt the bot mid-sentence for natural conversation flow
Conversation History	Include summaries from prior calls for context continuity
Knowledge Base	Reference material the bot can use to answer questions

[!NOTE] Tool Calling and Knowledge Base are configured in their own dedicated tabs within the bot editor. See Tool Calling and Knowledge Bases for details.

Designing Conversation Scripts

The script defines what the bot says and asks during a call. A well-designed script feels natural while reliably collecting the data you need.

Script Structure

Every script has four sections:

Section	Purpose	Example
Introduction	Greet the candidate and explain the call	”Hi, this is an automated call from Acme Corp regarding your application…”
Questions	Collect specific information	”What is your availability to start?”
Follow-ups	Clarify or dig deeper based on answers	”You mentioned weekends — does that include both Saturday and Sunday?”
Closing	Summarize and end the call	”Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch within 48 hours.”

Branching Logic

Scripts support conditional branching so the conversation adapts based on candidate responses:

Script Tips

Avoid open-ended questions when you need structured data. Instead of “Tell me about yourself,” ask “How many years of warehouse experience do you have?” For critical information like start dates or certifications, have the bot repeat the answer back: “Just to confirm, you said you can start on March 15th — is that correct?” The AI can handle off-script responses, but providing explicit fallback prompts improves the experience. For example: “I didn’t quite catch that. Could you repeat your answer?” Aim for 3–5 minutes per call. Candidates are more likely to complete shorter calls, and shorter calls have higher data quality.

Caller Enrollments

A Caller Enrollment represents a candidate assigned to receive an AI call.

Enrollment Lifecycle

Enrollment Fields

Field	Description
Candidate	The candidate to be called
Caller Bot	Which bot configuration to use
Status	Current state (Initiated, In Progress, Completed, Failed, Short Drop, Identity Mismatch, Reschedule Required, Connection Error, User Unreachable, Timed Out)
Attempts	Number of call attempts made
Scheduled Time	When the next call attempt is planned
Call Duration	Length of the completed call
Transcript	Full conversation transcript
Extracted Data	Structured data extracted from responses

Creating Enrollments

Enrollments can be created in three ways:

Manually — Select candidates from the application list and enroll them in a caller bot
Via automation — Trigger enrollment when a candidate enters a stage, submits a form, or meets specific criteria
In bulk — Enroll multiple candidates at once using Bulk Operations

Form Mapping

Caller Form Mappings define how AI-extracted responses populate form fields in the hiring flow.

Mapping Types

Mapping Type	Description	Example
Direct Value	Maps the response directly to a field	”What city do you live in?” → City text field
Boolean	Converts yes/no answers to checkbox values	”Do you have a driver’s license?” → License checkbox
Date Extraction	Parses dates from natural language	”When can you start?” → Start date field
Numeric Extraction	Pulls numbers from responses	”How many years of experience?” → Experience number field
Selection Match	Matches response to dropdown/radio options	”Day shift or night shift?” → Shift preference dropdown
Email	Extracts an email address	”What’s your email?” → Email field
Phone Number	Extracts a phone number	”What’s your contact number?” → Phone field
Full Transcript	Stores the complete answer as text	”Tell me about your experience” → Experience text area

Mapping Configuration

Setting	Description
Bot Question	The question in the script to map from
Form Element	The target form field
Mapping Type	How to transform the response
Default Value	Value to use if the question wasn’t answered
Validation	Optional rules to validate the extracted value

[!NOTE] Form mappings run after the call completes. If a mapped value fails validation, the enrollment is flagged for manual review rather than writing invalid data.

Telephony Providers

The AI Caller supports three telephony providers. The platform can automatically select the best provider based on the candidate’s phone number and region.

Provider	Regions	Features
Twilio	Global	SMS + Voice, robust API, widest coverage
Plivo	Global	Cost-effective, good international coverage
Exotel	India, SEA	Regional coverage, local numbers, competitive pricing

Provider Configuration

Each provider requires:

API credentials (API key / auth token)
At least one provisioned phone number for outbound calls
Webhook URL configuration for call status updates

See the Twilio Integration guide for detailed setup instructions.

Scheduling & Retries

Call Windows

Configure when the AI Caller is allowed to place calls:

Setting	Description	Example
Time Zone	The candidate’s local time zone	`America/New_York`
Allowed Hours	Hours during which calls can be placed	9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Allowed Days	Days of the week calls are permitted	Monday – Saturday
Blackout Dates	Specific dates when calls should not be placed	Public holidays

[!NOTE] Call windows are evaluated in the candidate’s local time zone based on their phone number’s country code. This prevents calls at inappropriate hours for international candidates.

Retry Policy

Setting	Description	Default
Max Attempts	Maximum number of call attempts	3
Retry Interval	Time between retry attempts	4 hours
Backoff Strategy	How retry intervals increase	Linear
Abandon After	Stop retrying after this duration	72 hours

When a call goes unanswered:

The enrollment status moves to No Answer
A retry is scheduled based on the retry interval and backoff strategy
If max attempts are reached, the enrollment moves to Failed
A failed enrollment can trigger automations (e.g., send an SMS asking the candidate to call back)

Tool Calling (Mid-Call Automations)

AI Caller bots can invoke automations during a live call — enabling real-time actions like scheduling interviews, sending emails, or updating records while the conversation is still in progress.

How It Works

Link automations to the bot — Connect one or more automations and define when each should be triggered
Provide a tool description — Describe when the AI should invoke the automation (e.g., “Use this when the candidate confirms they want to schedule an interview”)
Define a payload schema — Specify the data fields the AI needs to collect before invoking the automation
AI decides and acts — During the call, the AI determines when to invoke a tool, collects the required data, and triggers the automation in the background

[!NOTE] Tool calls run asynchronously. The call continues naturally while the automation executes in the background.

Smooth Barge-in

With Smooth Barge-in enabled, the bot uses local Silero-based voice activity detection to detect when a candidate speaks over the bot. The bot stops talking and yields the floor only if required, creating a more natural conversation flow. Disabled by default.

Knowledge Bases

Caller bots can reference Knowledge Bases — collections of information the AI uses to answer candidate questions during calls.

What to Include

Company policies and FAQs
Job descriptions and requirements
Benefits and compensation details
Location and schedule information
Parking, dress code, and first-day instructions

Managing Knowledge Bases

Knowledge bases are managed at the company level and can be shared across multiple caller bots.

Create a knowledge base

Navigate to Settings → AI Caller → Knowledge Bases and click New Knowledge Base.

Add content

Upload documents or paste text content. Supported formats include PDF, DOCX, and plain text. Content is automatically indexed for retrieval.

Attach to a caller bot

In the caller bot configuration, select one or more knowledge bases. The bot will reference them when candidates ask questions outside the script.

[!NOTE] The AI only references knowledge base content when a candidate asks a question. It does not proactively recite information unless it’s part of the script.

Conversation History

Every completed call is automatically summarised. When Conversation History is enabled, the bot includes these summaries from prior calls with the same candidate in its context. This allows the AI to reference previous conversations, avoid re-asking questions, and pick up where a prior call left off.

Call Transcripts & Recordings

Every completed call generates a full transcript and optional audio recording.

Transcripts

Transcripts are available immediately after a call completes and include:

Speaker labels (Bot / Candidate)
Timestamps for each turn
Confidence scores for transcribed responses
Extracted data highlights

Recordings

Call recording requires a feature flag to be enabled for your account. Once enabled:

Recordings are stored securely and linked to the enrollment record
Recordings are retained according to your company’s data retention policy
Candidates are informed at the start of the call that the conversation is being recorded

Even without the feature flag, you can enable recording for individual test calls to review bot behaviour before going live.

Analytics & Reporting

The AI Caller dashboard provides real-time visibility into call performance.

Key Metrics

Metric	Description
Connection Rate	Percentage of calls answered by candidates
Completion Rate	Percentage of answered calls that reach the closing
Avg. Call Duration	Average length of completed calls
Data Capture Rate	Percentage of form fields successfully populated
Retry Rate	Percentage of enrollments requiring multiple attempts
Drop-off Point	Where in the script candidates most often hang up

Monitoring

Use the dashboard to:

Track active enrollments and their statuses in real time
Identify scripts with low completion rates and optimize them
Compare performance across different caller bots
Monitor telephony provider health and call quality

Integration with Automations

AI Caller integrates seamlessly with the Automations system.

Triggering Enrollments via Automation

Automatically enroll candidates in a caller bot when:

A candidate enters a specific stage
A form is submitted
A compliance rule passes or fails
On a scheduled basis (e.g., daily at 10 AM)

Example automation:

Trigger: Application enters "Phone Screen" stage
Rule: Candidate has a valid phone number
Action: Enroll in "Warehouse Pre-Screen" caller bot

Triggering Automations from Call Results

Use call outcomes to drive downstream workflows:

Call Outcome	Automation Action
Call completed, all questions answered	Advance candidate to next stage
Call completed, candidate not interested	Update application status to “Withdrawn”
Call failed after max retries	Send SMS with callback instructions
Candidate flagged for review	Notify hiring manager via Slack

Use Cases

Pre-Screening - Conduct initial phone screenings to verify candidate interest, availability, and basic qualifications before scheduling in-person interviews.
- Document Follow-Up - Call candidates who haven’t submitted required documents to remind them and collect missing information.
- Scheduling - Confirm interview times, collect availability preferences, and schedule appointments.
- Onboarding Check-Ins - Make welcome calls to new hires and collect initial onboarding information.
- Re-Verification - Contact employees whose documents are expiring to initiate re-verification and collect updated information.
- Survey & Feedback - Gather post-onboarding feedback or conduct periodic employee satisfaction surveys via automated calls.

Best Practices

Begin with a short, focused script (3–5 questions). Monitor completion rates and transcript quality, then add complexity. Overly long or complex scripts lead to high drop-off rates. Don’t enroll candidates too early or too late. The best time to call is when the candidate is actively engaged — shortly after they submit an application or enter a new stage. Respect candidate time zones and avoid calling outside business hours. Calls placed during appropriate hours have significantly higher connection rates. Outdated information in a knowledge base can lead to incorrect answers during calls. Review and update knowledge base content regularly, especially job descriptions and compensation details. Review your retry metrics regularly. If most candidates answer on the second attempt, three retries may be sufficient. If connection rates are low, consider adding an SMS nudge before the call. Periodically read through call transcripts to ensure the AI is handling conversations well. Look for misunderstood questions, awkward phrasing, or missed follow-ups and adjust the script accordingly.

​Overview

​How It Works

​Setting Up an AI Caller Bot

​Create a new Caller Bot

​Select a telephony provider

​Configure voice and language

​Design the conversation script

​Map responses to form fields

​Set scheduling and retry policies

​Attach a knowledge base (optional)

​Activate the bot

​Caller Bot Configuration

​Designing Conversation Scripts

​Script Structure

​Branching Logic

​Script Tips

​Caller Enrollments

​Enrollment Lifecycle

​Enrollment Fields

​Creating Enrollments

​Form Mapping

​Mapping Types

​Mapping Configuration

​Telephony Providers

​Provider Configuration

​Scheduling & Retries

​Call Windows

​Retry Policy

​Tool Calling (Mid-Call Automations)

​How It Works

​Smooth Barge-in

​Knowledge Bases

​What to Include

​Managing Knowledge Bases

​Create a knowledge base

​Add content

​Attach to a caller bot

​Conversation History

​Call Transcripts & Recordings

​Transcripts

​Recordings

​Analytics & Reporting

​Key Metrics

​Monitoring

​Integration with Automations

​Triggering Enrollments via Automation

​Triggering Automations from Call Results

​Use Cases

​Best Practices

Overview

How It Works

Setting Up an AI Caller Bot

Create a new Caller Bot

Select a telephony provider

Configure voice and language

Design the conversation script

Map responses to form fields

Set scheduling and retry policies

Attach a knowledge base (optional)

Activate the bot

Caller Bot Configuration

Designing Conversation Scripts

Script Structure

Branching Logic

Script Tips

Caller Enrollments

Enrollment Lifecycle

Enrollment Fields

Creating Enrollments

Form Mapping

Mapping Types

Mapping Configuration

Telephony Providers

Provider Configuration

Scheduling & Retries

Call Windows

Retry Policy

Tool Calling (Mid-Call Automations)

How It Works

Smooth Barge-in

Knowledge Bases

What to Include

Managing Knowledge Bases

Create a knowledge base

Add content

Attach to a caller bot

Conversation History

Call Transcripts & Recordings

Transcripts

Recordings

Analytics & Reporting

Key Metrics

Monitoring

Integration with Automations

Triggering Enrollments via Automation

Triggering Automations from Call Results

Use Cases

Best Practices