Skip to main content

​
What is the Inbound?

Inbound calls are calls that people make to your Orato phone number. When someone dials in, your AI Assistant picks up straight away, no hold music, no waiting, no missed calls. It handles the entire conversation and logs everything for you to review.
Orato Call Management — inbound call in the call list with status and duration

​
How to set up inbound calling

1

Buy a phone number

Go to Phone Numbers in the left sidebar and browse the available numbers. Orato currently offers numbers in:
  • 🇺🇸 United States - +1
  • 🇮🇳 India - +91
Click Buy Number next to the one you want. You’ll be asked to complete a compliance request first.
Compliance is a one-time process. Once your business documents are verified, you can buy additional numbers anytime without resubmitting.
2

Complete the compliance request

Fill in your business details, legal name, display alias, CIN number, GST number, country, and upload your registration and GST certificates.Submit for review. Orato typically processes this quickly.
Once your compliance request is approved, your number becomes active and ready to use.
3

Assign your number to an AI Assistant

Open the AI Assistant you want to handle incoming calls. In the Setup step, select your phone number in the telephony settings and save.From this point, any call to that number goes straight to your assistant.
4

Test it

Call the number from your own phone. Your assistant should pick up within one or two rings and start the conversation with your opening message.
If your opening message says “How can I help you today?” test a few different types of questions a real caller might ask. Make sure the assistant handles them the way you’d expect.

​
What happens on an inbound call

1

Someone calls your number

A customer, lead, or prospect dials your Orato phone number.
2

Your assistant answers immediately

No hold time. Your assistant picks up and greets the caller with your configured opening message.
3

The conversation happens in real time

Your assistant listens, understands what the caller is saying, and responds naturally following the instructions you wrote.
4

Call ends, and everything gets logged.

Once the call wraps up, Orato logs the full transcript, outcome, duration, and recording. You can review everything in Conversations.

​
Inbound calls in the call list

Inbound calls show up in the Calls page just like outbound ones. You can filter the list to show inbound calls only using the All Status and date filters at the top.
ColumnDescription
Call DetailsShows as inbound with the caller’s number
LeadThe contact matched to this call, if one exists
StatusCOMPLETED, IN PROGRESS, FAILED, or TRANSFERRED
DurationHow long did the call last
OutcomeThe result tagged by your assistant
Date & TimeWhen the call came in

​
Handling calls your assistant can’t resolve

Sometimes a caller’s question or situation is beyond what your assistant can handle. There are two ways to deal with this:
Configure a call transfer in your assistant’s instructions. When the assistant recognises it can’t help, it transfers the call to a human agent at a number you specify.Add a line to your instructions like: “If the caller asks to speak to a human or if you cannot answer their question, transfer the call immediately.”
Instruct your assistant to collect the caller’s name, issue, and callback number, then end the call. The transcript and collected details are available in Conversations for your team to follow up.

​
Good to know

Write your assistant’s opening message to match how your business normally answers the phone. A familiar-sounding greeting builds trust immediately.
One phone number can only be assigned to one AI Assistant at a time. If you want different assistants for different types of incoming calls, you’ll need separate phone numbers.

​
Where to go next

Phone Numbers

Buy a number and complete compliance

AI Assistants

Configure your assistant’s instructions and voice

Outbound Calls

Make calls to your leads proactively

Call History

Review transcripts from inbound calls