Outbound Appointment Setter

This recipe shows how to trigger outbound calls to a list of customers to confirm their upcoming appointments.

Goal

Call a customer, remind them of their appointment time, and ask for confirmation. If they confirm, we update our database (simulated via Tool).

1. Create the Tool

We need a tool to update the appointment status. Tool Config:

{
  "name": "update_appointment",
  "description": "Updates the status of an appointment",
  "url": "https://api.your-backend.com/appointments/{appointment_id}",
  "method": "POST",
  "parameters": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "appointment_id": {"type": "string"},
      "status": {"type": "string", "enum": ["confirmed", "cancelled", "rescheduled"]}
    },
    "required": ["appointment_id", "status"]
  }
}

2. Configure the Agent

The agent needs a prompt that accepts variables. We use {{variable_name}} syntax in our conceptual model, but in Butter AI, we inject variables via the prompt_variables parameter in the make-call request. System Prompt:

You are calling {{customer_name}} to confirm their appointment at {{appointment_time}}.
- Verify you are speaking to {{customer_name}}.
- State the appointment time.
- Ask if they can make it.
- If yes, use the 'update_appointment' tool to set status to 'confirmed'.
- If no, ask if they want to reschedule.

3. Trigger the Call

When your backend logic determines a call is needed, hit the Butter AI API. Note how we pass the specific details for this customer in prompt_variables.

curl -X POST "https://api.getbutter.ai/api/make-call" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  ...
  -d '{
    "call_to": "+15550001111",
    "call_from": "+15559998888",
    "agent_id": "<AGENT_ID>",
    "prompt_variables": {
      "customer_name": "John Doe",
      "appointment_time": "Tomorrow at 2 PM",
      "appointment_id": "appt_123"
    }
  }'

4. The Conversation Flow

Bot: “Hi, is this John Doe?”
User: “Yes, speaking.”
Bot: “Great. I’m calling from Dr. Smith’s office to confirm your appointment for Tomorrow at 2 PM. Can you still make it?”
User: “Yes, I’ll be there.”
Bot: Calls update_appointment tool with status=‘confirmed’ -> “Perfect, we’ve marked you as confirmed. See you then!”

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Telephony

Cookbook

Best Practices

Resources

Advanced

Outbound Appointment Setter

Goal

1. Create the Tool

2. Configure the Agent

3. Trigger the Call

4. The Conversation Flow

​Goal

​1. Create the Tool

​2. Configure the Agent

​3. Trigger the Call

​4. The Conversation Flow

Goal

1. Create the Tool

2. Configure the Agent

3. Trigger the Call

4. The Conversation Flow