Steps Overview

Step Types

Voxworks supports three step types:

Type	Purpose	Interactive	Awaits Response	Interruptible
Voice	Speak to user and listen for response	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tool	Call external services	No	No	No
Flow	Navigate to a sub-flow	No	Depends	No

Common Step Properties

All steps share these properties:

Property	Description	Default
`id`	Unique identifier for the step	Required
`type`	Step type (voice, tool, flow)	Required

Voice and Tool steps also have a script property for spoken output. Flow steps do not have a script, they simply navigate directly to the sub-flow.

Step-Specific Settings

Each step can configure conversation dynamics:

Setting	Options	Description
`eagerness`	keen, normal, patient	How quickly to respond after user stops speaking
`thinking_effort`	fast, normal, deep	LLM reasoning depth for this step
`silence_response`	hurried, patient, extremely patient, infinite	How long to wait before prompting silent users

See Conversation Dynamics for details on these settings. Two more settings live on the step’s menu:

Menu item	Available on	What it does
Key Terms	Voice steps	Words the speech recogniser should listen for while this step runs — see Key Terms.
Classifiers	Voice and Tool steps	Background data extraction that runs alongside the step — see Classifiers below.

Classifiers

A step can run up to three Classifiers — background AI extractions that run at the same time as the step and write what they find into variables. They never change where the call goes next. Open the step’s menu and choose Classifiers to fill the three slots (Classifier 1, Classifier 2, Classifier 3). The menu shows a count once slots are filled, and each configured slot names the tool it runs, with a control to remove it. A slot whose tool is no longer available reads Unavailable classifier.

Only the LLM Data and LLM Custom tools can be used as a classifier, and a step is capped at three.
On a voice step the classifiers start as the assistant begins speaking and never hold up the conversation — one that takes too long is simply dropped for that turn.
On a tool step they finish before the step moves on.
Whatever they extract lands in the variables you map them to, ready for later steps to read.

Typical uses: classifying what the caller just said, capturing a detail mentioned in passing, or scoring the call — all without adding a step or a pause to the conversation.

Voice Steps

Voice steps are the primary interactive component. They:

Speak a message to the user
Wait for the user’s response
Evaluate conditions to determine the next step

Voice Step: "Would you like to schedule a demo?"
   Condition: "User agrees" → Booking step
   Condition: "No" → Thank user and say goodbye step
   Condition: "Otherwise" → Loop back to current step

It’s recommended to use “Otherwise” to loop back to the current step, allowing the assistant to ensure step conditions have been met before continuing. Learn more about Voice Steps →

Tool Steps

Tool steps call external services. They:

Execute integrations (SMS, calendar, webhooks)
Return results that can be used in conditions
Can map outputs to variables

Tool Step: Check calendar availability
   Condition: true (slots available) → Speak options step
   Condition: false (no slots) → Apologize and offer alternative

Learn more about Tool Steps →

Flow Steps

Flow steps navigate to sub-flows. They:

Invoke another flow as a module
Variables are automatically available in the sub-flow
Return success or failure to the parent flow

Learn more about Flow Steps →

Step Execution Order

Steps execute in sequence unless conditions redirect:

Enter step — Step settings are applied (eagerness, idle, etc.)
Execute — Step-specific action runs
Evaluate — Conditions are checked (for voice/tool steps)
Navigate — Move to the next step based on conditions

Conditions

Most steps include conditions that determine navigation:

Step Type	Condition Basis
Voice	AI analysis of user response
Tool	Boolean result of tool execution
Flow	Result returned from sub-flow

Where a condition can send the call

Each condition’s Next step… dropdown offers every step in the flow, plus four outcomes:

Outcome	What happens
End Flow (Success)	Ends the current flow with a success result. In a sub-flow, control returns to the parent step.
End Flow (Failure)	Ends the current flow with a failure result.
End Call	The assistant finishes what it is saying and the call ends — but it leaves a short window in which the caller can speak and keep the call alive. Use it for a normal goodbye.
End Call (Strict)	The assistant finishes the sentence it is on and hangs up. The caller cannot talk it out of it. Use it when the call must end — abuse, a wrong number, or a compliance stop.

End Call and End Call (Strict) are available on any condition, including otherwise and the routing table on a tool step. The call record shows which of the two ended the call.

Best Practices

Keep steps focused — Each step should do one thing
Use clear scripts — Write naturally, as you would speak
Plan your conditions — Consider all possible user responses
Set appropriate dynamics — Adjust eagerness and thinking for each step
Test step transitions — Verify conditions work as expected

Next Steps

Voice Steps — Design interactive conversations
Tool Steps — Integrate external services
Flow Steps — Navigate between flows

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Step Types

Common Step Properties

Step-Specific Settings

Classifiers

Voice Steps

Tool Steps

Flow Steps

Step Execution Order

Conditions

Where a condition can send the call

Best Practices

Next Steps

​Step Types

​Common Step Properties

​Step-Specific Settings

​Classifiers

​Voice Steps

​Tool Steps

​Flow Steps

​Step Execution Order

​Conditions

​Where a condition can send the call

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Step Types

Common Step Properties

Step-Specific Settings

Classifiers

Voice Steps

Tool Steps

Flow Steps

Step Execution Order

Conditions

Where a condition can send the call

Best Practices

Next Steps