Overflow: the agent only takes the calls nobody else takes
Many companies do not want to hand their whole phone line to a voice agent, and that is reasonable: their customers like talking to someone they know. Overflow solves it. Your team picks up as it does today; the agent only takes the calls that would otherwise go to voicemail or ring out.
How it works
With your phone provider, you set a conditional forward to the agent's number: when the line is busy, when nobody answers after a few rings, or outside your hours.
Nothing changes for calls your team takes. The others are answered by the agent in your company's name instead of being lost.
What to hand over to it
Taking down the request with the useful details: who is calling, what for, the best time to call back.
Answering simple questions from what you give it: opening hours, address, usual lead times, documents to provide.
Booking an appointment when that is the purpose of the call, and transferring urgent matters according to your instructions.
What it should not do
Commit on your behalf to a price, a deadline or a commercial gesture it has not been given.
Pretend to be a team member: it introduces itself as the company's assistant, and customers accept it all the better for knowing who they are talking to.
The setting that matters: the number of rings
Too short, the agent takes calls your team would have taken. Too long, the customer hangs up first. Start with a middle setting, then adjust after a week by looking at how many calls the agent took and when.
What you see afterwards
Each overflow call reaches your workspace summarised, with the recording and transcript. You often discover when your line saturates: valuable information for organising the team.
The caller can receive an SMS confirmation, and the right person on your side is notified.
Questions we get asked
Do I need to change my number?
No. The forward is set with your provider, on the number your customers already know.
What if the agent takes a call a colleague could have taken?
It notes the request and passes it on, or transfers the call according to your instructions. The customer was served at once, which is what matters.
How much does it cost?
Only the duration of the calls the agent took, at the price on the Pricing page, billed per second. Calls your team picks up cost nothing.
A missed call isn't a voicemail. It's a customer calling the next number.
Read more →GuideWarm transfer: handing over to the right rep at the right moment
Read the guide →GuideFrench telemarketing: since August 2026, no consent, no call
Read the guide →GuideThe callback form that gives you the right to call
Read the guide →Tell us when your phone line overflows.
We show you how to set the forward and what the agent would say to your customers.