Overview
Inactivity and timeout settings enable your AI agents to gracefully handle periods of silence, manage natural conversation pauses, and enforce maximum conversation durations. These controls are essential for creating professional, time-aware conversations that respect both user needs and operational constraints. These settings work together to create natural conversation flow while preventing common issues like abandoned calls, excessive wait times, and runaway conversations.
Universal Application: Inactivity and timeout settings apply to all conversation types, including phone calls (SIP/PSTN) and web-based conversations.Configuration is available in Agent Settings → Operations → Inactivity & Timeout. Settings include check-in reminders, pause detection, and conversation timeouts.
Feature Overview
Three Key Components
Check-ins & Reminders
Periodic prompts during silence to ensure the user is still engaged
Pause Detection
Smart recognition of natural pauses when users need time
Conversation Timeout
Maximum duration for the entire conversation
Check-ins & Reminders
Detecting User Inactivity
Check-ins help ensure users haven’t dropped off, are still paying attention, or need assistance. When enabled, the agent will periodically check in with / remind the user during periods of silence.- Configuration
- Messages
- Use Cases
Core Settings
Inactivity Detection
Inactivity Detection
Master switch for check-in functionalityWhen enabled, the agent will monitor for periods of user silence and send check-in messages. When disabled, no check-ins will occur (though conversation timeout still applies).Default: Enabled
Check-in Timeout
Check-in Timeout
Seconds before sending a check-in message (5-300 seconds)How long the agent waits in silence before sending a reminder to the user.
- Typical recommendation (5-15s): Good for most conversations, maintains engagement
- Extended timeout (20-45s): For scenarios where users may need time to think
- Long timeout (60-300s): When users need to look up information or complete actions
Max Check-ins
Max Check-ins
Maximum number of check-ins before ending call (0-10)How many times the agent will attempt to re-engage before gracefully ending the conversation.
- 0 check-ins: Disabled (conversation continues indefinitely until timeout)
- 1-3 check-ins: Quick exit for likely abandoned calls
- 4-7 check-ins: Balanced persistence
- 8-10 check-ins: Very patient, multiple re-engagement attempts
How It Works
Pause Detection
Natural Conversation Pauses
Pause detection allows the agent to intelligently recognize when users need time for specific activities - without bombarding them with check-in messages. This creates a more natural conversation flow.- Overview
- Configuration
- Custom Overrides
How Pause Detection Works
The agent uses AI to detect when a user explicitly requests time to complete an action, then temporarily suspends inactivity check-ins.Common pause triggers:- “Let me check my calendar”
- “Hold on, I need to find that document”
- “Can you give me a minute to ask my colleague?”
- “I’m looking that up now”
- “Let me grab my credit card”
- ✅ Inactivity check-ins are suspended
- ✅ Maximum pause duration is enforced
- ✅ Overall conversation timeout still applies
Conversation Timeout
Overall Maximum Duration
Conversation timeout sets an absolute maximum duration for the entire conversation, regardless of activity level or engagement.Why Conversation Timeouts Matter
Conversation timeouts:
- Prevent runaway costs from endless conversations
- Enforce operational policies and SLAs
- Protect against abuse or system issues
- Enable predictable resource planning
- Ensure fair access in high-volume environments
Configuration
Maximum Conversation Duration
Maximum Conversation Duration
Maximum total conversation length in seconds (0-unlimited)The absolute maximum time for the entire conversation from start to finish.
- Short timeout (120-300s): Quick interactions, transactional use cases
- Medium timeout (300-900s): Standard customer service calls
- Long timeout (900-3600s): Complex support, detailed consultations
- Very long timeout (3600+s): Extended sessions, specialized scenarios
This is a hard limit that cannot be extended. Plan conservatively based on your typical conversation length plus buffer time.
Timeout End Message
Timeout End Message
Message spoken when conversation timeout is reachedThe agent speaks this message before ending the conversation due to reaching maximum duration.Default: “We’ve reached our maximum call time. Thank you for your time, and please feel free to call back if you need more help!”Custom examples:
- “We’ve reached our time limit. Thank you for calling, and please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you need assistance.”
- “Our session time is up. Please call back anytime if you need more help.”
- “We’ve reached the maximum call duration. A summary will be sent to your email. Thank you!”
Behavior
- Always enabled: Timeout runs independently of all other settings
- Absolute limit: Cannot be paused or extended by any mechanism
- Includes all time: Counts total elapsed time including pauses and silence
- Graceful ending: Agent speaks the end message and terminates politely
Troubleshooting
Common Issues and Solutions
Agent checks in too frequently
Agent checks in too frequently
Symptoms: Check-ins interrupt users who are still engagedSolutions:
- Increase check-in timeout (try 15s instead of 10s, or 12s instead of 8s)
- Enable pause detection if not already active
- Review if users are naturally pausing (thinking time)
- Consider if voice activity detection settings are cutting users off
Agent doesn't wait long enough during pauses
Agent doesn't wait long enough during pauses
Symptoms: Check-ins trigger while users are gathering informationSolutions:
- Increase default pause duration (try 300-600s)
- Create custom pause overrides for specific scenarios
- Verify pause detection is enabled
- Check pause detection events in conversation logs
Conversations end too quickly
Conversations end too quickly
Symptoms: Legitimate conversations are terminated prematurelySolutions:
- Increase conversation timeout to match typical call lengths
- Review max check-ins setting (may be too low)
- Analyze actual conversation duration in logs
- Consider if check-in timeout is too aggressive
Agent responses are too verbose
Agent responses are too verbose
Symptoms: Agent provides overly detailed or lengthy responsesSolutions:
- Update agent instructions to encourage brevity
- Add prompt guidance like “Keep responses under 30 seconds”
- Use examples of concise responses in instructions
- Consider if the AI model tends toward verbose responses
Conversations run too long and cost too much
Conversations run too long and cost too much
Symptoms: Excessive conversation durations impacting costsSolutions:
- Reduce conversation timeout to enforce hard limits
- Update agent instructions to encourage brief, concise responses
- Lower max check-ins to exit inactive calls faster
- Consider reducing check-in timeout for faster disengagement detection