Message taking

Message Taking lets a caller leave a clear follow-up request for your team. It is a separate, workspace-level feature and is off by default for newly configured workspaces.

Turn Message Taking on or off

1. Open Call Handling in Agent Center.
2. Select the Reception tab.
3. Turn Take messages On or Off.
4. Select Save reception settings.
5. Wait for the saved state before starting a new test call.

Turning the setting On makes Message Taking available anywhere the workspace is configured to use it. Turning it Off removes that option from direct caller requests, qualification outcomes, handoff fallbacks, and booking fallbacks.

What happens when it is On

A caller can ask to leave a message during normal reception. Message Taking can also be the selected next step after qualification or a prepared fallback for another action.

The guided intake can capture:

• the caller’s message;
• the caller’s name, or that they prefer not to give a name;
• whether to use the incoming caller ID as the callback number;
• a different callback number when the caller provides one;
• that no callback is requested;
• a person, team, or department when the caller names one; and
• urgency when the caller expresses it.

The message itself is required. Name and callback choices are handled explicitly so your team can see whether information was provided, declined, or unavailable.

What happens when it is Off

Callers cannot leave a new message. Your agent continues with any other enabled Call Handling options or stays in normal reception when no action is enabled.

Turning Message Taking Off does not delete existing Inbox messages, Call Reports, or caller history. It also does not change qualification, booking, handoff, greeting, voice, or Knowledge settings.

An outcome or fallback that depends on Message Taking is not available while the setting is Off. Review those paths before disabling it if message capture is their only useful backup.

Keep the intake safe and useful

Message Taking is designed for a concise follow-up request, not a full application or private record. Do not instruct callers to leave passwords, payment card details, bank information, government identification numbers, medical details, or other sensitive information.

If your team needs a special reference, ask only for the minimum customer-safe identifier required to find the request later.

Review the saved message

A completed message appears with the call in Inbox. Depending on what the caller provided, the detail can include the message body, caller name, callback choice, callback number, recipient, urgency, and follow-up context.

Use the saved Inbox record as the primary source for follow-up. A Call Report may summarize the same conversation, but the dedicated message fields are the authoritative details to review.

Configure team alerts

Message Taking and alert delivery are separate settings. The message can be available in Inbox even when email or SMS alerts are off.

Open Account & Billing > Notifications to review the available message alert destinations and preferences. Never assume an alert was sent only because a message was saved.

Test both states

Run a short, repeatable test:

1. With Message Taking Off, ask to leave a message and confirm that no message intake begins.
2. Turn it On and save.
3. Start a new real call and ask to leave a recognizable test message.
4. Provide a name or decline, then choose caller ID, another number, or no callback.
5. Confirm the saved message in Inbox.
6. Turn it Off again only if that is your intended production setting, then confirm the historical test message remains visible.

If an expected message is missing, use Message was not saved.