Intercom Phone lets you make outbound phone calls or Messenger voice/video calls straight from the Help Desk and Contacts page.
Phone calls let you contact a customer on their saved number, while Messenger voice and video calls allow you to connect with customers directly through the Messenger, and enable screen sharing.
After you’ve set up Intercom Phone, all teammates can make a call. There are no set permissions for this feature.
Outbound calls from the Help Desk
Using the outbound dialer
Click on the + icon at the top of the inbox navigation menu and then select Phone call.
When the outbound dialer opens, the country will be set to the phone line selected to call from. Use the dropdowns to select another line or country dialing code. Then you can either use the dialer keypad or your keyboard to enter a number to call.
You can also switch to Contacts to search for an existing contact (by name or phone number).
This only displays results of existing contacts with a phone number.
When you make an outbound call it creates a new conversation with the contact.
If the phone number dialed matches the phone number of an existing contact, a conversation with the matching user is created.
If the phone number dialed doesn’t match the phone number of an existing contact, a conversation with a new lead is created.
Notes can be added to the conversation while the call is ongoing.
An option to open the keypad during the call is available while on an active call (both inbound and outbound calls).
From a conversation
To make a call from a conversation, simply select the phone icon in the top right, then choose Phone call.
Note:
The number shown comes from the phone number saved to the user or lead’s profile in Contacts.
If no phone number is saved, the option to make a phone call will be unavailable and grayed out.
The phone numbers you use for SMS are separate, it's currently not possible to use the same phone numbers for Intercom Phone.
If you’ve activated and set up multiple phone numbers on your workspace, you can also select which number you’d like to make the call from.
See pricing for outbound phone calls.
From a contact
You can make an outbound phone call directly from the Contacts page by selecting the phone icon next to a contact who has an existing phone number. This will open the dialer on the Help Desk with their phone number ready to call.
Scheduled calls
Outbound calling from the Help Desk also enables your team to schedule calls with our calendar integrations like Calendly or Google Calendar and keep the whole conversation in one place.
Messenger voice/video calls and screen sharing
Messenger calls are web-based voice or video calls that are perfect for connecting to customers while they’re active in the Messenger (i.e. during a live chat).
To make a Messenger call from the Help Desk, ensure the conversation is in the Messenger and the customer is online. Then click the phone icon in the top right and select from Messenger voice or video call.
Note:
Only teammates can initiate Messenger calls.
Messenger calls currently work on web, not mobile devices or mobile SDKs. If the customer is on a mobile device, the option to start a Messenger call with them will be grayed out.
Messenger voice call will initiate the call with only audio for the teammate and customer. Video can be turned on later if needed.
Messenger video call will initiate the call with audio and video for the teammate. The customer can turn on their video later if needed.
Use the call controls to start or stop video, adjust the video screen size, mute, or end call.
You’ll only see the customer on your screen if they enable video for the call on their end too.
Customer experience
When a teammate makes a Messenger call, the customer will receive a message in the Messenger to join the call.
Customers joining a Messenger call need to accept browser microphone/camera permission.
If recordings and transcripts are enabled, when a customer joins the call there’s a red indicator next to the time which indicates that the call is being recorded.
Screen sharing
Once the customer has joined the call, they can share their current screen, window, or tab with the teammate using the screen icon in the call controls.
This will present their screen to the teammate in the inbox.
Note: The ability to screen share is only available on the customers end in the Messenger, it is not possible for teammates to screen share.
Traditional phone calls
Alternatively, customers can make or receive traditional phone calls to the phone numbers activated on your workspace.
Customer calling your workspace phone number (inbound call to Intercom). | Customer receiving a call from your workspace phone number (outbound call from Intercom). |
Next, learn how to take calls from the Help Desk. 😃
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