Can my AI agent forward calls to my team during business hours and answer when nobody picks up?

Yes. Use the Call forwarding step in the agent's workflow. The step is conditional: it can forward only on the days and hours you set (for example Monday to Friday, 9 to 5), using the caller ID you choose, to the number or numbers you enter. It then branches on the result. If the call was answered, nothing more is needed. If nobody answered, or it is outside business hours, connect that branch to a conversation node so the AI takes over.

To set it up:

1. Open the agent's workflows and add a Conversation started trigger.
2. Add a conversation node with a greeting, for example: Thank you for calling, one moment please while I connect your call. Turn on Auto continue so it speaks and moves to the next step.
3. Add a Call forwarding step. Set the days and hours it applies, the number to forward to, and the caller ID to show. You need a phone number in your account so the outbound caller ID works.
4. From the no answer or outside hours branch, add a conversation node, for example: Sorry, all of our team are busy, but I can help you get set up. Then go to an Ask and Save step (name, email, phone) or a booking step, so the AI collects the details or books the appointment and the owner can call back.
5. Add a final node that tells the caller someone will call back, then a Hang up call step.
6. Give the flow a clear name, such as Inbound call, save and test it.

The Call forwarding step also has a whisper message you can play to the person you forward to, for example telling them to press 1 to accept the call and that it came from Google Ads, so they know where the call came from.

After the call, the AI can process the call transcript to extract the lead's information, decide whether the caller was a qualified lead and trigger what happens next, which suits pay per lead or pay per call setups.

Ringing the business first with the AI as backup is one of the best ways to work with a business that is reluctant to go fully AI, for example one with a long time receptionist, because no call is missed. For most businesses we prefer the AI to answer first and forward to the business conditionally.

If the business uses another phone system such as RingCentral, set conditional call forwarding there (for example, after business hours send calls to the AI agent's number) or port the phone number over to Votel. If the business uses a cell phone, most carriers have conditional call forwarding codes you type into the phone, so unanswered or busy calls go to the AI agent's number instead of voicemail.

Tip: end each spoken line in a conversation node with a period, otherwise the voice runs the sentences together with no pause.