Press Keys (DTMF)
Let an agent press keypad digits during a call, to get through an IVR menu or confirm a prompt, with fixed digits or digits it chooses.
Voice agentsPress Keys (DTMF) lets the agent press keypad digits on the call, for example to get through an IVR menu or to confirm a prompt. It is what an outbound agent needs when the number it dials answers with “press 1 for sales” instead of a person.
Adding it
- Open the agent and choose Tools under Build.
- Choose Add tool, then Press Keys (DTMF).
- Optionally fill Fixed digits (optional), then choose Add Tool and Save the agent.
The tool’s title defaults to Press Keys, so its ID is press_keys. AI
Response starts empty.
Fixed digits or chosen digits
The one setting decides who picks the digits.
- With fixed digits, the model only decides when to press them. Use this when the path is always the same, such as the same menu option on every call.
- Left empty, the model chooses the digits on each call. Use this when the right key depends on what the menu says, and let the prompt tell the agent how to choose.
Digits may only contain 0 to 9, *, # and A to D, up to 32 of them.
Lower-case a to d are accepted and saved in upper case.
Writing the description
The tool’s description is what the model reads to decide when to use it. Its default is Press keypad digits on the call, e.g. to navigate an IVR menu or confirm a prompt. Narrow it to your case, for example: Press the key for billing when the menu offers it. Never press keys while a person is speaking.