Caller context

Without caller context your agent has to ask every caller for their name, customer number and reason for calling. With it, the very first sentence can be:

"Good afternoon, Ms Weber. Good to hear from you — is this about the Acme GmbH case again?"

Caller lookup resolves the caller's phone number before the greeting is spoken and makes what it finds available as variables.

9:36

Enabling it

Under Instructions → Caller context, switch on Enable caller lookup. Two tabs appear:

The rest of the agent works identically — in both cases the results are ordinary {{variables}}.

Where the values land

A hit takes effect in three places at once:

1. In the greeting — placeholders are filled before the caller hears a word.
2. In the system prompt — the agent behaves differently per caller from the start.
3. In the conversation memory — even without placeholders the agent receives the data as a silent note and can bring it up naturally later. The caller never hears this.

Timing and failure behaviour

CSV file

The quick route — no developer needed.

phone,first_name,last_name,company,notes
+49123456789,Max,Mustermann,Acme GmbH,Existing customer
+49987654321,Anna,Schmidt,Tech AG,New lead
0151 12345678,Thomas,Müller,StartUp Inc,Callback pending
004930123456,Sarah,Weber,,Called last week

Numbers do not have to be clean

Both sides are normalised before matching. All of these find the same caller:

If several rows match the same number, the first one wins.

The file is stored encrypted and belongs to this agent only. Replace file swaps it — the new one applies from the next call.

API query

For live data out of your CRM.

Example endpoint:

https://crm.example.com/api/v1/customers?phone={{fromNumber}}

What your system must return — valid JSON with a 2xx status, within 3 seconds:

{
  "data": {
    "id": "C-12345",
    "firstName": "Maria",
    "lastName": "Garcia",
    "isVip": true
  }
}

Mapping response variables — with dot notation:

The number always arrives in E.164 format (+49…). If your database stores it differently, convert inside your endpoint.

Using the variables

In the greeting

Good afternoon {{callerName}}, good to hear from you.
Is this about {{callerCompany}} again?

In the system prompt

# Caller context
- Name: {{callerName}}
- Company: {{callerCompany}}
- Notes: {{accountNotes}}

If the caller is flagged VIP, prioritise their request. If they
are not in the system, politely ask which company they are with.

Placeholders also work in opening-hours messages and in the sign-off.

Caller memory

Directly below sits a related but separate feature: caller memory. When the same number calls again, the agent knows the variables from earlier conversations and does not have to ask the same questions twice.

When both are active

If caller lookup and caller memory both supply a value for the same variable, caller lookup wins. That is deliberate: CSV or API is the current source, while memory only fills in what the lookup does not provide. An address that changed since the last call is not overwritten with a stale value.

Caller context and variable extraction

The two work together but at different moments:

System variables

Always available, independent of caller lookup:

When it does not work

The greeting stays impersonal

1. Is Enable caller lookup on and the agent saved?
2. Does the variable name match exactly, including case?
3. (API) Did a 2xx come back within 3 seconds? The call detail view shows the attempt.
4. (API) Is the JSON path right? data.firstName — not $.data.firstName.
5. (CSV) Was the number found? See below.

The CSV never matches

The endpoint never receives a request

For a quick check, a request inspector such as webhook.site makes a good temporary endpoint — you see exactly what ScaleTalk sends.