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Making and Receiving Calls in Alivo

Use the browser Dialer for outbound and inbound calls, and see every call on the contact record.

The Dialer is how your team makes and takes phone calls inside Alivo. You might hear the term "VoIP," which just means calls run over the internet instead of a traditional desk phone line. In practice, that means your reps answer from a laptop in the office, a computer at home, or anywhere with a browser and a microphone. No desk phones required. Every call is logged automatically on the contact record so nothing falls through the cracks.

Getting the Dialer Ready

The Dialer lives at Settings → Phone System → Dialer. You will also see it as a floating phone icon across the app.

Before your team can call, two things need to be set up on your account:

  • Dialer provisioning. Alivo enables browser calling on your account. If you see a message that the Dialer is not enabled, contact Alivo support.
  • At least one phone number. Your outbound caller ID comes from your company phone numbers under Settings → Phone System → Phone Numbers.

On the Dialer settings page, each user can:

  • See their extension. A short 3-digit number for calling teammates inside Alivo.
  • Pick a microphone and speaker. Choose which audio devices to use. This is saved per browser.
  • Enable call notifications. Turn on browser push notifications so incoming calls ring even when the Alivo tab is in the background.

Your Availability Status

The Dialer has a presence setting that affects whether you get rung on inbound calls. Open the Dialer panel and set your status:

  • Available. You can receive calls from ring groups.
  • Busy. You are on a call or otherwise occupied.
  • Do not disturb. Ring groups skip you.
  • Offline. You are not available for calls.

Ring groups check this status before ringing you. If you are Do Not Disturb or Offline, the system moves on to the next member or the no-answer path in your call flow.

Making Outbound Calls

There are three ways to place an outbound call:

  • Dial pad. Open the Dialer, type a number, and press call.
  • Click-to-call. Click any phone number on a contact record in Audience. The Dialer opens with that number ready to dial.
  • Teammate extension. Dial a teammate's 3-digit extension to call them browser-to-browser inside Alivo.

Choose Your Caller ID

Before you dial, pick which company phone number the customer sees on their caller ID. This should be one of your business lines, not a personal cell. The customer calls you back on your business number, and the return call routes through your call flow.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

When you dial a customer's number, Alivo finds or creates a contact (audience record) for that phone number, opens a conversation, and logs the call. If outbound recording is turned on under Call Recording settings, the call is recorded and the disclosure message plays to both you and the customer before the call connects.

Your status switches to Busy while you are on the call and returns to your previous status when you hang up.

Receiving Inbound Calls

Inbound calls do not ring the Dialer directly unless your number's call flow includes a Ring Group step with you as a member. Here is the path:

  • Customer dials your business number.
  • Call flow runs. Greeting, business hours, phone menu, or smart routing decides where the call goes.
  • Ring Group step rings your team. If you are in the group and your status is Available, your browser Dialer rings with an incoming call popup.
  • You answer in the browser. Click accept and start talking. No need to pick up a separate phone.

If you enabled push notifications on the Dialer settings page, you will get a browser alert when a call comes in and the Alivo tab is not in focus.

Keep in mind: Inbound routing is controlled by your call flow, not by the Dialer settings page. If you are not getting inbound calls, check that you are in a ring group, your status is Available, and the call flow on that phone number includes a Ring Group step that points to your group.

During a Call

While on a call in the Dialer you can:

  • Mute your microphone.
  • Hold (mutes you locally; the other party may hear silence).
  • Send keypad tones (DTMF) if you need to press numbers during the call.

How Calls Get Saved to the Contact Record

Every call in Alivo ties back to a contact and a conversation. You do not need to log calls manually.

Inbound Calls

When someone calls your business number, Alivo:

  • Finds or creates a contact using the caller's phone number.
  • Tags the lead source from the phone number's source label (for example, "Google" or "Yard Sign").
  • Opens a conversation tied to that contact and the number they dialed.
  • Logs the call with direction, timestamps, and which call flow handled it.

If the caller is new, they appear in Audience as a new lead in the Inquiry stage. Your team gets a new-lead alert.

Outbound Calls

When you dial out from the Dialer, Alivo:

  • Finds or creates a contact for the number you dialed.
  • Opens or reuses a conversation for that contact and your chosen caller ID number.
  • Logs the outbound call on the conversation timeline.

What You See on the Contact

Open any contact in Audience and look at the conversation timeline. For each call you will find:

  • Call direction. Inbound or outbound, with the phone numbers involved.
  • Call journey. A step-by-step view of what happened (greeting, ring group, phone menu, AI agent, forward, voicemail, or Dialer). Each step shows whether it was answered, timed out, or went to voicemail.
  • Recording. Playable audio if recording was enabled for that call type.
  • Transcript and summary. For AI-handled calls, the full conversation text and a short summary.
  • Call outcome. A label like Booked, Transfer, Voicemail, or Unresolved so you can scan results without opening every recording.
  • Voicemail transcription. If the caller left a voicemail, the text appears on the timeline.

All of this stays on the contact record. When the call syncs to your CRM, your team sees the same history without re-entering notes.

Recents and Team View

The Dialer also has a Recents tab showing your recent inbound and outbound calls with links back to the contact. The Team tab shows which teammates are Available, Busy, or Offline, along with their extensions. Use it to see who is free before you try to hand off a live lead.

Common Questions

Do I need a desk phone?

No. The Dialer runs entirely in your browser. A computer with a microphone and speakers (or a headset) is all you need.

Can I forward inbound calls to my cell instead of the browser?

Yes. Add your cell number as a member of a ring group (or use a Forward Call step in your call flow). You can also uncheck Browser only on your ring group member so Alivo rings your cell if the browser does not answer.

Why does my outbound call show the right contact but inbound calls from the same person create a duplicate?

Alivo matches contacts by phone number. If the same person calls from two different numbers, they will appear as two contacts. Merge them in Audience if needed.

Where do I set up what happens when someone calls in?

That is your call flow, not the Dialer. Go to Settings → Phone System → Call Flows. The Dialer is how you answer once the call flow routes to you.

The Dialer is your team's phone in the browser. Outbound calls create or update contacts automatically. Inbound calls reach you through ring groups in your call flow. Everything lands on the contact record so your whole team sees the full story.

Still have a question this didn't answer? Reach out to our support team support@alivo.ai and we'll be glad to help.