Assistants
Messages, callbacks and urgent calls
What happens when a caller needs a person, how messages and callback requests reach your team, how urgent calls are flagged, and how to take over a live call.
4 min read Updated 24 September 2026
On this page
Some callers need a person. Your assistant does not put calls through to your team. It takes a message or a callback request with everything your team needs to follow up, and flags the ones that are urgent. This article explains how that works and how to make sure nothing is missed.
Switch it on
- Open Assistants, click the assistant and go to the Abilities tab.
- Switch on Take a message.
- Click Save changes.
Take a message is on by default for new assistants. It works on phone calls and in chats on WhatsApp, text messages and the website chat.
What the assistant does
When the assistant cannot help, or someone is unavailable, it offers one of two things:
| What the caller wants | What the assistant records | Title in the Inbox |
|---|---|---|
| To leave a message | The message, with the caller's name and a callback number | Message from [name] |
| To be called back | The topic and, if given, a preferred time | [name] asked for a callback |
Before it saves anything, the assistant:
- asks for the caller's name. It never saves a message without one.
- uses the number the caller is calling from, and only asks for another number if they want to be reached somewhere else.
- asks for an email address only if your instructions say so, and spells it back.
- confirms the details back to the caller.
It never tells a caller that someone will get back to them until the message or callback request is actually saved.
Tip: To collect more, say so in your instructions, for example: "Before taking a message, also ask for the caller's address and whether they are an existing customer." See Writing good instructions.
Urgent calls
When a caller's message is urgent, the assistant marks it urgent. It lands in the Inbox as High priority, sorted to the top and shown with a red dot.
Tell the assistant what counts as urgent for your business, for example:
Treat a burst pipe, a gas smell or no heating as urgent. Take the caller's address and mark the message urgent.
You can change the priority yourself at any time with Mark high or Normal priority.
Where messages go
Every message, callback request and voicemail lands in the Inbox, with a link to the call's transcript and the details the assistant collected. From there your team can:
- assign it to a person. Assigning moves it to In progress, and the person assigned is notified.
- call the person back with the Call link, or reply by text or WhatsApp when available.
- add notes.
- mark it Done, or reopen it.
Use the Open, Mine, Done and All filters to work through the list, and Export CSV to download it. See Inbox.
How your team is notified
| Channel | What happens |
|---|---|
| Dashboard and email | Team members with Calls that need attention switched on under Settings → Notifications are notified when a message is taken, a callback is requested or a call fails. |
| Connected apps | Messaging, help desk and task apps connected under Integrations, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Telegram or Discord, can receive new Inbox items. Task apps create a task, with urgent items at a higher priority. |
| Webhooks | Your own systems can receive a message.taken event. See Webhooks. |
Voicemails have their own notification, New voicemails. See Notifications.
When a caller asks for a callback and has given an email address, they also receive an email confirming that your team will call them back.
Take over a live call
Your assistant does not transfer calls, but a team member can step in while a call is in progress.
- Before you need it, add your phone number under Settings → Profile.
- Open Calls and click the live call.
- Click Take over and confirm.
Your phone rings. When you pick up, the assistant stops and the caller hears you. The call's outcome is set to Transferred. Only one takeover is possible per call, and your workspace needs enough minutes or credit for both legs of the call.
Test calls
Messages and callback requests from the Playground are simulated and do not reach the Inbox. On a test call, messages the assistant saves do appear in the Inbox, so you can see exactly what your team will receive.
Troubleshooting
Messages are not reaching the Inbox. Check that Take a message is switched on and saved for that assistant. Without it, the assistant can only say that the team will get back to the caller; it cannot save anything.
I do not get emails about new messages. Open Settings → Notifications and switch on Calls that need attention. Each team member sets this for themselves.
"Add your phone number in Settings → Profile first." Take over rings your own phone, so it needs your number. Add it under Settings → Profile and try again.
"This call is no longer live." or "This call has already been transferred." The call ended, or someone already took it over. Open the call page to see the transcript, and use Call back if you need to reach the caller.
Related articles
The inbox: messages, callbacks and conversations
How messages, callback requests, voicemails, leads and text, WhatsApp and chat conversations reach the Inbox, and how your team assigns, prioritises, answers and closes them.
What your assistant can do: abilities explained
Every switch on the Abilities tab, what the assistant does when it is on, what each one needs, and which plans the related features are part of.
Notifications: email, push and team alerts
Where Ringhum tells you about calls, messages and bookings, how each person chooses their own emails and phone notifications, and how to send alerts to a team chat such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Business hours and after-hours behaviour
How to set when your assistant is open, choose whether it answers or takes a voicemail outside those hours, and keep your opening hours, holidays and time zone correct.
Still stuck?
Email hello@ringhum.com or send us a message. Team and Scale plans get priority support.