Trigger: Call Answered

The Call answered trigger fires an automation when a voice call is answered — different from "Call received" (fires when it starts ringing) or "Call ended" (fires on hang-up).

⚠️ About the exact timing: it only fires in real time ("the exact moment it's answered") for WhatsApp Calling calls accepted from the app's accept button. For calls routed through other SIP paths, the event only fires at hang-up (together with "Call ended"), not the instant the agent answers — that's the best approximation possible on those routes today. If you need the exact moment on any channel, it's currently only guaranteed on WhatsApp Calling.

When to use it

• Log in the contact's history the exact moment an agent answered, without waiting for the call to end (on WhatsApp Calling; on other SIP routes the log only lands when the call finishes).
• Alert a supervisor that a priority line is now being handled.
• Start a live service-quality timer (on WhatsApp Calling).

Requirements

• Lives under the Call triggers category, gated by your organization's plan (check Settings → Plans & Billing if you don't see it in the block panel).
• You need at least one connected voice channel (WhatsApp Calling or another voice channel).

Trigger settings

• Specific channel: restrict to one call channel. Empty = any.
• Direction: filter by Inbound / Outbound.

Available variables

$call.id, $call.wacid, $call.direction, $call.status, $call.from, $call.to, $call.duration, $channel.id, $channel.type, $channel.name, $call.answered_at, $user.id, $user.name (the agent who answered), plus every contact variable ($contact.display_name, $contact.phone, etc.).

Steps

1. In Automations, create or open one.
2. Drag "Call answered" from Call triggers.
3. Filter by channel and/or direction if needed.
4. Connect an action, e.g. "Log activity" or "Notify the team".
5. Activate and save.

Example

You want to alert the sales lead the moment an inbound call is answered on the "Sales" channel. Set Channel = Sales, Direction = Inbound, and add a "Notify the team" action: "{{$user.name}} answered a call from {{$contact.display_name}} ({{$call.from}})." If "Sales" is a WhatsApp Calling channel, the alert arrives the instant the call is answered; on other SIP routes it only arrives once the call ends.

Tips

• To test it, use the Test button and pick a recent call conversation from the inbox.
• Pair it with "Call duration threshold" if you also want to react when the call runs long.