# Give every call a clear next step. Build greetings, phone menus and outbound notifications with spoken prompts, keypad choices and clear branches. Test a draft, publish a complete workflow and keep ongoing calls on the version they started with. [Start for Free](/dashboard/signup?returnTo=%2Fdashboard%2Fw%2Fvoice%2Fonboarding) [Contact sales](/demo?product=voice-sequences) ## Set up with your agent [Read the agent setup guide](/docs/ai/set-up-your-agent) Copy this prompt into your coding agent: ```text Bird connects customer communications, data and automation. Help me build with Bird using my coding agent. 1. Read https://bird.com/docs/ai/set-up-your-agent.md and follow its setup workflow for this client. Use an existing connected Bird MCP server or signed-in CLI when available. 2. Read the product guide for the task I want to complete and inspect my existing integration. Identify the workspace, available operations and required setup. 3. Help me complete a first example for the product and destination I choose. Follow the operation through to its actual result, explain any uncertainty, and help me choose the next step. First task: Map my call into prompts, inputs, decisions and failure paths. Read the workflow guide, discover available operations and prepare a testable implementation plan. First use the connected Bird MCP server or signed-in CLI for a read-only inventory. Discover the available tools and read their schemas or help; do not invent call-control operations. If neither surface is available, follow https://bird.com/docs/ai/set-up-your-agent.md. Read the linked guides through their .md alternatives. Present the exact target and configuration before changing routing, placing calls, recording audio, purchasing numbers or submitting a port. Obtain my approval for those actions. Use this Bird page as the starting context: https://bird.com/products/voice/call-sequences Read its Markdown alternative and linked guides. Keep the first example relevant to this page and the customer outcome I choose. Preserve the supplied campaign context when following Bird signup or sales links. ``` A menu with a purpose Service information “Press 1 for opening hours, or 2 for directions.” Read the opening hours The hours sequence speaks the opening times and ends the call. Explain how to reach us The directions sequence plays the prepared travel instructions. Published version · calls keep the version they start with Interactive workflow example. Selections change this illustration only. Trusted every day by teams that build world-class software [Read more customer stories](/customers) - [Airwallex](/customers/airwallex) - [Glovo](/customers/glovo) - [Zillow](/customers/zillow) - Uber - [Binance](/customers/binance) - Adobe - Meta - PayPal - Pinterest - Square - [Al Jazeera](/customers/aljazeera) - [Aramex](/customers/aramex) - [Bazaar Technologies](/customers/bazaar) - [ComparaOnline](/customers/compara) - [Emma](/customers/emma) ## What can a sequence do? A sequence defines the ordered steps a call follows. Speak a prompt, play an audio asset, collect keypad input, record a response or end the call. Use explicit branches for the caller’s selection and a deliberate path for no input or an unrecognized choice. ### Make the menu useful Keep prompts short and name the available choices. A service menu can offer opening hours or directions, with a useful response for each selection. ### Give every choice a clear next step Branch to a named sequence when a keypad selection completes. Define what happens after silence and an unmatched choice, and give the caller a clear ending. Keep live business actions in the application or conversational runtime that owns them. ## Test the change. Publish the whole journey. Keep related sequences in one workspace version. Edit the shared draft and test its latest saved content. Publish the complete version so a menu and the sequences it references change together. - **01** Preview with your team: Use selected test caller numbers to reach the draft through an inbound number. Test choices, silence and missing references. A draft test reads the latest saved sequence at each transition, so coordinate edits while testing. - **02** Keep ongoing calls stable: Calls using a published version keep its immutable sequence content. Publishing changes the version chosen for new calls. Draft previews keep their selected draft identity, with later transitions reading its latest saved content. ## Use the same behavior in both directions. An inbound number can enter a named sequence. An outbound call can select a published sequence or provide an inline entry. An accepted outbound request is the start of the lifecycle: ringing, answer, execution and the final outcome remain separate things to follow. ### Plan the complete result A recipient may not answer, media may fail, or keypad collection may end without a recognized choice. Follow the telephone outcome and the executed call path separately. ### Roll back deliberately Restore earlier sequence content by cloning it into a new draft and publishing a new version. This does not undo calls already made, external application changes, number bindings or customer actions. ## Questions about call sequences ### Is a call sequence the same as an automation flow? A call sequence controls prompts, keypad choices and recording inside a phone call. An automation flow coordinates a wider business process. Keep the two workflows and their publication decisions separate. ### Can I build an IVR menu? Yes. Combine a spoken or recorded prompt with keypad input and branches for recognized digits, timeout and unmatched input. ### Does keypad input mean speech recognition? No. Keypad collection reads DTMF digits. A natural-language voice agent needs a conversational runtime with its own speech and turn-taking behavior. ### What does publishing change for active calls? Calls using a published version keep that version’s immutable content. New calls use the newly published version. Draft test calls read the latest saved sequence at each transition and can observe draft edits. ### Does an accepted outbound request mean the recipient answered? No. It identifies accepted work. Follow ringing, answer and the final call outcome separately, and keep uncertain retries tied to the same operation. ## Build the next part of your calling path [Call sequences guide](/docs/guides/voice/call-sequences) Follow the setup, requirements and operational checks. [AI Voice](/products/voice/ai-voice) Bring a conversational runtime to the phone, with your context, tools and handoff. [Recordings and transcripts](/products/voice/recordings) Review captured audio and transcripts alongside the call that produced them. [Voice pricing](/pricing/voice) Review published destination rates and relevant call components. ## Design a call that finishes the job. Start with a greeting, an input and a useful next action. Define the timeout and failure paths, then test the complete journey with your team. [Read the workflow guide](/docs/guides/voice/call-sequences) ## Related resources - [Voice overview](/docs/guides/voice/overview) (docs) - [What is a voice API?](/explained/voice/what-is-a-voice-api) (answer) - [Voice](/products/voice) (product) [Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=voice)