Builtin tools

Builtin tools run inside Meddle. There is no URL, no headers, and no parameters to configure. You add one and it works.

Each ships with a description already written. Keep it, or sharpen it for your business. See Tools for how descriptions drive behaviour.

Ending and escalating

Tool	What it does
`transfer_to_human`	Hands the call to a person, either straight through or as a screened warm transfer that announces the caller first. With no destination configured the agent says so honestly and keeps helping. See phone numbers.
`end_call`	Ends the call after a warm closing line. The runtime refuses to hang up mid-task or on an ambiguous "that's okay", so a caller is never cut off early.
`escalate_emergency`	Speaks one fixed "hang up and call triple zero" line, then routes to a person. It never triages and never advises.
`take_a_message`	Gathers a name, a callback number and a short summary, then emails it to the inbox you configured.

transfer_to_human fires when the caller asks for a person, when policy requires an escalation, or when nothing else can resolve the request. end_call fires once the caller has clearly signed off and there is nothing left to handle.

take_a_message covers a caller who wants a callback, leaves an enquiry, or asks for someone who cannot take the call.

escalate_emergency fires on a genuine emergency: injury, a medical crisis, a fire, or a safety threat. It is biased towards escalating, because failing to escalate a real emergency is the worst outcome a voice agent can produce.

Answering questions

Tool	What it does
`search_knowledge_base`	Searches the agent's knowledge base and returns matching passages. The agent answers from what it found and cites the source by name.
`get_current_time`	Returns the date and time in the agent's timezone, and the caller's when known.

search_knowledge_base fires on factual questions about the business: pricing, hours, policies, products.

get_current_time matters more than it looks. A model cannot read a clock, so without it the agent cannot resolve "tomorrow" or ground a greeting in the time of day.

Texting the caller

Tool	What it does
`send_text_message`	Texts the caller a link or a short piece of information on the number they are calling from. If texting is unavailable, the tool tells the agent to read it aloud instead.
`send_live_link`	Creates a live web page for the call and texts the link. Companion tools push content onto that page while the conversation continues. In a text conversation it returns the link for the agent to send in its reply.

send_text_message fires when the caller asks for a link, or when reading a long URL aloud would be awkward. send_live_link fires when the caller would get more from seeing something than from hearing it.

Capturing details by form

Some values are slow and error-prone to take by voice: an email address, a postcode, an unusual spelling. These two tools work as a pair.

Tool	What it does
`request_details_form`	Texts the caller a link to a short web form. A location field opens a map and returns a tidy street address.
`check_captured_details`	Reads back what the caller submitted. This is the only way those values reach the agent.

The form is an accelerator, not a gate. If the caller cannot use the link, the agent takes the detail by voice instead.

The agent calls check_captured_details once it is ready to use the details and before passing them to another tool such as take_a_message.

Verifying an order

Another pair. The first sends a code, the second checks it, and only a correct read-back unlocks the order tools.

Tool	What it does
`send_order_verification_code`	Texts the caller a one-time six-digit code to prove they own an order.
`verify_order_code`	Checks the code the caller reads back. A match unlocks the order tools for the rest of the call. A wrong, expired or missing code keeps them locked.

The code goes out before any order detail is revealed. The agent asks the caller to read it back and verifies immediately.

Wire the gate with prerequisites so the order tools cannot run until verification succeeds.

Working the phone line

Tool	What it does
`press_keys`	Presses keys on the agent's own line. Accepts `0`-`9`, `A`-`D`, `*`, and `#`. Used for navigating an upstream IVR menu. Off a live call it says so and the agent carries on by voice.
`add_to_do_not_call`	Adds the caller's number to the workspace do-not-call list so outbound campaigns never dial it again.

add_to_do_not_call fires when the caller asks not to be contacted again. It confirms the opt-out only after the tool succeeds.