Pre-Screen Inbound Calls and Track Your Sources
Have the AI answer and screen inbound callers from your ads and vendors, send the qualified ones to a licensed agent, book the rest, and see which sources pay off.
You're paying for the phone to ring, so every call should land somewhere useful. The goal: the AI picks up, figures out what the caller needs, and hands the ones who are ready to a licensed agent while they're still on the line. Everyone else gets a time on the calendar. And every call carries its source, so you know which ads and vendors are worth the money.
What you'll set up
- A softphone transfer destination for the agents who take qualified callers.
- Your Receptionist's escalations, so the AI on your main number knows when to transfer and when to book.
- A source and tracking number for each ad or vendor you want to measure.
- Guardrails for junk callers and for vendors who send live transfers.
- Source reporting to compare them.
How the pieces fit
Where a call lands depends on the number the caller dials:
| The caller dials | Who answers | Tracked by source? |
|---|---|---|
| Your main number | Your AI Receptionist, who screens and escalates. Or your agents first, with Direct Routing | No. Sources can't be assigned to the Receptionist |
| A source's tracking number | Whatever the campaign it's assigned to does (more in Step 4) | Yes, every call |
So the simple version is: your main number for organic callers (referrals, your website, existing members), and a tracking number for each paid source.
Step 1: Set up the agents who take qualified callers
Go to Configure > Transfer Destinations, click New Transfer Destination, and choose Softphone. This is the pool of licensed agents who pick up when the AI hands off a call.
- Agent Routing: add your agents and choose a strategy. Grouped is handy for tiers, for example your senior closers first, then everyone else. Select Save routing when you're done.
- Only route to state-licensed agents: turn this on if the caller's state has to match the agent's licenses.
- How the call connects: Wait for operator lets the agent read the AI's summary before the caller connects. Immediate transfer connects them as soon as the agent accepts.
- Voice AI transfer fallback: choose Appointment booking so a caller the AI couldn't get through to an agent can still book a time.
Select Save destination. Only agents who are online and Available in the softphone ring, so make sure your team is on when the calls come in. See Transfer Destinations.
Step 2: Have the AI pre-screen your main line
Open Receptionist in the sidebar. Under During business hours, calls go to, choose AI Receptionist so the AI answers every call.
Then open Escalations in the Receptionist's workspace. Each row is a situation the AI recognizes, with a Business Hours and an After Hours behavior:
- For callers who want to shop or review their options, set Business Hours to Transfer Call and pick the destination from Step 1.
- Set After Hours for those rows to Book Appointment, so after-hours callers still leave with a time.
- Leave everything else on Log Inquiry until you're ready.
Click Save changes. If the situation you care about isn't in the list, click Add escalation. See Escalations and Configure Your Receptionist.
Step 3: Create a source for each ad or vendor
Go to Configure > Sources, click Manage Sources, then New Source. Make one per ad, number placement, or vendor, so you can compare them.
- For calls you pay for, the Pricing Model is Duration. Set a Billable Call Threshold (seconds) to match your deal (0 bills on connect).
- Turn on Assign on create and pick a campaign marked "(Calls)". careCycle buys a tracking number and attaches it to that campaign.
The tracking number shows on the source's row. That's the number you put in the ad or give the vendor. See Source Tracking.
Step 4: Choose who answers each tracking number
Open the source's menu and click Assign to Campaign. Under Current Assignments, each tracking number has two modes:
- AI: the campaign's AI answers.
- Direct: the campaign's softphone agents ring. This needs a softphone transfer destination attached to the campaign.
Which one you get depends on the campaign. An agent-first Inbound desk always rings its agents during business hours, whichever mode the number shows. If you want the AI to screen callers on a tracking number before they reach an agent, it needs an inbound Voice AI campaign built for new callers. There isn't a ready-made template for that today, so talk to your careCycle representative and they'll set it up with you.
When vendors send live transfers
If a vendor transfers callers to you, set them up with Ping-Post. They ask careCycle whether someone can take the call before they transfer, get your tracking number back, and send the caller's details ahead so the record is filled in when the call lands. Each vendor gets its own source and API key, and you see every ping in your source reporting.
Keep junk off your agents' phones
- Block a number for good. Add repeat or abusive callers under Settings > Organization > Phone Suppressions. They're disconnected before the AI answers or an agent rings. See Suppress Unwanted Callers.
- Block a source for one agent. On the Wallboard, the air status board has a Sources menu on each agent and campaign cell. Use it when one agent shouldn't take a vendor's calls. See The Wallboard.
See which sources pay off
Open Wallboard and go to the Sources tab (you need wallboard access). Pick your campaign and a date range:
- Total Calls and Billable Calls show how much traffic each source sent and how much of it you pay for.
- Transfer Rate and Appointments show how many callers the AI or your agents moved forward.
- Sales, Source Spend, and CPA show what each sale cost.
Disposition Mix shows which sources send wrong numbers and Do Not Call requests, and State Performance shows where the callers are. The calls list also has a source filter. See Source Tracking.
For your main line, the Receptionist page shows what your AI Receptionist handled over the last 30 days: calls, after-hours calls, inquiries raised, and appointments booked.
Tips
- One source per placement. If the same vendor runs two campaigns for you, give each one its own source and number, so you can tell them apart.
- Book, don't drop. Point every transfer escalation's after-hours behavior at Book Appointment, and set the destination's Voice AI transfer fallback to Appointment booking.
- Mind your hours. Your business hours decide when the AI transfers and when it books, so keep them matched to when your agents are actually on.
- Keep it compliant. The AI never recommends or names specific plans. It screens and hands off to a licensed agent.
Common questions
Can I put a tracking number on my Receptionist? No. Sources can't be assigned to the Receptionist. Use a separate campaign for each paid source you want to measure.
What happens if nobody's free to take a transfer? The destination's Voice AI transfer fallback decides: book an appointment, try a different phone number, or neither.
What do callers hear after hours? On your main number with AI Receptionist, the AI answers and follows the After Hours column. On an Inbound desk tracking number, agents don't ring after hours, and callers hear the destination's after-hours message. See How Inbound Calls Route.
Can one source have more than one tracking number? Each campaign you assign it to gets its own tracking number. A source handles calls or leads, not both.
Source Tracking
Create sources, assign them, and read source performance.
Ping-Post
Let call vendors check availability before they transfer.
Configure Your Receptionist
Your main line's AI, voice, and routing.
Transfer Destinations
Agent pools, routing, handoff, and fallbacks.
How Inbound Calls Route
Who answers each of your numbers, and when.