Agent Tools

What Agent Tools Are

During a live call, the voice agent can use built-in tools to look up records, check schedules, update contacts, send texts, and hand the caller to a person.

The agent does not click buttons. It calls these tools in the background based on the conversation and the rules in its prompt.

Core Live Tools

Tool	What it does	Common use
get_availability	Checks open time slots in the connected calendar	The caller wants to book or compare times
book_appointment	Creates the appointment and can trigger confirmation behavior	The caller agrees to a specific time
cancel_appointment	Cancels an existing booking	The caller wants to cancel
get_appointments	Lists upcoming appointments for a contact	The caller asks what is already booked
get_contact	Finds a contact, usually by phone number	The agent needs to identify who is calling
create_contact	Creates a new CRM contact	The caller is new
update_contact	Updates contact details such as name, email, or tags	The caller gives new information
send_sms	Sends a text message	The agent needs to send details after the call
mark_dnc	Marks the number as do not call	The caller wants no more outreach
transfer_to_agent	Transfers the call to a person	The agent should hand off
get_client_info	Pulls client business details for the call	The agent needs approved business context
log_note	Saves a note to the call record	The team needs a clean summary
get_time	Resolves relative dates such as "next Tuesday"	The agent needs exact dates
end_call	Ends the conversation cleanly	The call is finished

Common Tool Flows

Booking flow

1. get_contact -> identify the caller
2. get_time -> turn rough dates into exact dates
3. get_availability -> check open slots
4. book_appointment -> save the chosen time

Appointment lookup flow

1. get_contact -> find the caller
2. get_appointments -> list upcoming bookings

Do-not-call flow

1. mark_dnc -> flag the number
2. end_call -> close the conversation politely

Setup Rules Operators Should Know

Some tools depend on earlier steps:

book_appointment needs a valid contact record
cancel_appointment needs the event that should be canceled
get_appointments depends on the caller being identified first

This is why prompt examples matter so much. If you want the agent to use tools well, show the correct order inside the prompt.

What To Teach in the Prompt

Your prompt should explain:

when the agent should check the CRM first
when it should ask a follow-up question before using a tool
when it must confirm details before booking or canceling
when it should transfer instead of guessing

Current Limits

Limit	What it means in practice
No one-click reschedule	The agent usually has to cancel the old booking and create a new one.
Single calendar flow	Most setups assume one main booking target per client flow.
Phone-first contact lookup	The most reliable lookup path is still the caller's phone number.
Limited tag editing behavior	Contact updates may replace values instead of making small partial changes.
SMS is stronger than email in-call	Text follow-up is the safer live-call pattern.
Not every field is readable live	Keep prompts and knowledge focused on the fields the agent can actually use during the call.

Do not judge tool quality from one lucky call. Review several real transcripts and look for repeated failures such as missed confirmations, weak lookups, or unnecessary tool calls. Those patterns tell you what to fix.