Email, SMS & Slack Actions
Messaging actions let you send automated notifications and follow-ups through email, SMS, or Slack after a call ends. All three action types support template variables for dynamic content.
Send an email with call details to any recipient.
Configuration
| Config Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Yes | Email address to send to |
| Subject | Yes | Email subject line (supports template variables) |
| Body | Yes | Email body content (supports template variables) |
Example Configuration
Subject:
Call Summary: \{\{caller_name\}\} — \{\{sentiment\}\}Body:
A call was handled by \{\{agent_name\}\}.
Duration: \{\{duration\}\} seconds
Sentiment: \{\{sentiment\}\}
Direction: \{\{direction\}\}
Summary:
\{\{summary\}\}
View the full call details in your BuildVoiceAI dashboard.Use Cases
- Internal notifications — Email your team when a high-value call comes in
- Follow-up emails — Send the caller a recap of the conversation
- Escalation alerts — Notify a manager when a call has negative sentiment
- Daily digests — Combine with conditions to only email for notable calls
Keep email bodies concise. Use \{\{summary\}\} rather than \{\{transcript\}\} to avoid overwhelming recipients with long transcripts. They can always access the full details in the dashboard.
SMS
Send a text message to any phone number.
Configuration
| Config Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Yes | Phone number to send the SMS to (E.164 format, e.g., +14155551234) |
| Message | Yes | Message content (supports template variables). Limited to standard SMS length. |
Example Configuration
Message:
Hi \{\{caller_name\}\}, thanks for calling! Here's a quick summary: \{\{summary\}\}Use Cases
- Post-call follow-up — Text the caller a thank-you message with next steps
- Team alerts — SMS a manager when a VIP caller is detected
- Appointment confirmations — Pair with a calendar action to text appointment details
SMS messages are subject to carrier character limits. Keep messages concise. If you include \{\{summary\}\}, the message may be split into multiple segments by the carrier if it exceeds 160 characters.
Slack
Post a message to a Slack channel via an incoming webhook.
Configuration
| Config Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Webhook URL | Yes | Slack incoming webhook URL for the target channel |
Setting Up the Slack Webhook
- Go to your Slack workspace’s Apps page
- Search for Incoming Webhooks and add it to your workspace
- Choose the channel where messages should be posted
- Copy the webhook URL (starts with
https://hooks.slack.com/services/...) - Paste the URL into the Slack action’s Webhook URL field
Message Content
The Slack message is automatically formatted and includes:
- Agent name — Which AI agent handled the call
- Call summary — The AI-generated summary
- Sentiment — The detected sentiment with a visual indicator
- Duration — How long the call lasted
- Link to call details — A direct link to the call in your BuildVoiceAI dashboard
Example Slack Message
The message posted to Slack will look something like:
Sales Agent handled a call (3m 45s)
Sentiment: Positive
Caller inquired about enterprise pricing and requested a demo. Agreed to a follow-up call next week.
[View Call Details →]
Use Cases
- Real-time team awareness — Post every call to a dedicated
#ai-callschannel - Escalation channel — Only post negative sentiment calls to an
#escalationschannel (use a workflow condition) - Sales notifications — Alert the sales team in
#saleswhen a qualified lead calls
Create a dedicated Slack channel for AI call notifications (e.g., #ai-calls) so they don’t clutter your existing channels. You can set up multiple workflows with different Slack webhooks to route different types of calls to different channels.
Template Variables Reference
All three messaging actions support these template variables in their text fields:
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
\{\{caller_name\}\} | Caller’s name (if identified) | Jane Smith |
\{\{phone_number\}\} | Caller’s phone number | +14155551234 |
\{\{summary\}\} | AI-generated call summary | Discussed pricing options… |
\{\{sentiment\}\} | Call sentiment | positive |
\{\{duration\}\} | Call duration in seconds | 180 |
\{\{transcript\}\} | Full call transcript | Agent: Hello… |
\{\{agent_name\}\} | AI agent name | Sales Agent |
\{\{call_id\}\} | Unique call identifier | call_abc123 |
\{\{direction\}\} | Call direction | inbound |
\{\{date\}\} | Call date and time | 2025-01-15 14:30 |
Avoid using \{\{transcript\}\} in SMS messages — transcripts can be very long and will result in many SMS segments, increasing costs. Use \{\{summary\}\} instead for a concise overview.