Inbound vs Outbound
Picking the right direction for your use case.
Every Finn does one of two things: it makes calls (outbound) or it answers calls (inbound). They sound similar but the design considerations are different. This page explains both, when to use which, and how to think about Finns that do both.
Quick answer. Inbound = your customers dial you. Outbound = your Finn dials them. Most businesses end up running both, but you'll start with one. Pick the one that solves your most painful problem first.
Outbound calls — your Finn does the dialing
The Finn calls a list of contacts you provide. Each call is initiated by the platform on your schedule.
When outbound is the right choice
- You have a list of leads, customers, or contacts to reach.
- You want to do something proactively — qualify, remind, survey, collect, follow up.
- The conversation has a clear goal (book a meeting, confirm an appointment, get a payment).
- You can afford to call people who didn't ask to be called (legally and from a brand perspective).
Common outbound use cases
| Use case | Goal of the call | Typical success rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lead qualification | Decide if a lead is worth a sales rep's time | 30-50% of completed calls produce a meeting |
| Appointment reminders | Reduce no-shows | 85-95% confirmation rate |
| Payment reminders | Collect overdue balances | 20-40% payment-or-plan on first call |
| NPS / satisfaction surveys | Capture customer sentiment | 40-60% completion rate |
| Re-engagement of cold leads | Wake up dormant prospects | 5-15% reactivation |
| Welcome / onboarding | First-touch with new customers | 60-80% completion rate |
| Renewal calls | Retain expiring subscriptions | 30-50% renewal commitment |
What you'll need
- A list of contacts (CSV or CRM sync) — see Audience.
- A phone number to dial from — see Phone Numbers. For US, register caller ID.
- A clear goal for the call, baked into your Finn's Identity.
- Calling-hour windows — never call before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the recipient's local time. Most jurisdictions also have specific restrictions.
- Lawful basis to call — explicit consent for marketing, or an existing relationship for informational. See Compliance.
What can go wrong
- No answer rates are high. Don't expect 100% pickup. 30-50% is normal for cold lists; 70-85% for warm reminders.
- Spam labeling kills answer rates. Unregistered US numbers get labeled "SPAM LIKELY" and answer rates collapse below 5%. Register your numbers.
- Wrong calling hours = customer complaints + legal exposure. Calling-hour windows are non-negotiable.
- Cold lists never perform as well as warm ones. No Finn will fix a bad list. If you're getting <20% completion on outbound, it's probably the list, not the Finn.
Inbound calls — your Finn answers
A customer dials your business number. The Finn picks up. You set up routing rules to decide which calls the Finn handles vs. which calls go to a human.
When inbound is the right choice
- You miss calls — voicemails pile up, calls go unanswered after hours.
- Your team is overwhelmed by routine questions (hours, services, pricing, scheduling).
- You want 24/7 phone coverage without a 24/7 staff.
- Your existing IVR ("press 1 for sales") feels clunky and customers complain.
Common inbound use cases
| Use case | What the Finn does | Common transfer rate |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 receptionist | Books appointments, answers FAQ, routes urgent calls | 15-30% transfer to human |
| After-hours overflow | Handles calls outside business hours | 5-15% require call-back |
| IVR replacement | Routes by intent instead of menu numbers | Same routing depth, better UX |
| Order status / account lookup | Live data lookup via webhook | Self-service for 60-80% |
| Customer support tier-1 | Handles common issues, escalates complex ones | 25-40% escalation |
| Healthcare intake | Collects symptoms, books appointments, triages urgent cases | 10-20% transfer for clinical questions |
What you'll need
- A phone number for callers to dial — either a new one you buy through the platform, or your existing number routed via SIP trunk or call forwarding. See Phone Numbers.
- Routing rules — when should the Finn answer vs. forward to a human? Time of day, caller ID, dialed number.
- A solid knowledge base — callers will ask about anything. The Finn needs context. See Knowledge Base.
- A transfer destination — where calls go when the Finn escalates. Typically a human's cell, an office line, or a queue.
What can go wrong
- Caller expects a human. Some callers (especially older callers) hang up the moment they hear AI. Mitigate with a softer welcome message and an easy "I'd like a human" path.
- Knowledge base gaps cause loops. If the Finn can't find an answer, it loops or guesses. Audit knowledge base completeness for the top 20 caller questions.
- Calls go to voicemail unexpectedly. Almost always a routing rule misconfiguration. See Troubleshooting → Phone numbers.
- Transfer destinations don't pick up. If the human side is slow or unavailable, the transfer fails. Configure fallback (back to voicemail, back to Finn).
When you need both
Most businesses end up running outbound + inbound from the same account, often with the same Finn.
Example: a dental clinic
- Inbound Finn (Maya): Answers the business number 24/7. Books appointments, reschedules, transfers urgent calls.
- Outbound Finn (also Maya, same config): Calls patients with appointments tomorrow to confirm or reschedule.
Same identity, same voice, same knowledge base — but two different deployments (one inbound, one recurring outbound).
This is the standard pattern. Build one Finn well, then use it for both directions.
When to use different Finns for each direction
Sometimes the goal is different enough that separate Finns make sense:
- Inbound = receptionist (broad, flexible, friendly).
- Outbound = lead qualifier (focused, brief, results-driven).
Same business, different personalities. That's fine — you can run as many Finns as you need.
Hybrid: outbound that becomes inbound
A growing pattern: outbound calls that connect a customer to a human, then leave the call as an inbound Finn from then on.
Example: outbound qualifier calls a lead, gets them interested, transfers to a sales rep. If the lead calls back later, the inbound Finn answers and knows their context from the prior call.
This requires CRM connection so context flows between calls. See Integrations → CRMs.
How the dashboard separates them
In the platform:
- Dynamic Deployments is where outbound campaigns live.
- Live Deployments shows both inbound and outbound currently active.
- Settings → Phone numbers → [Number] → Default Inbound Finn wires inbound routing.
- Scheduled Deployments is exclusively outbound (recurring future-scheduled campaigns).
Some pages show both views combined (Analytics, Call History); some are direction-specific.
Common questions
Q: Can one Finn handle both directions? A: Yes. The Finn's configuration doesn't care which direction the call came from. You set it up once, then assign it to outbound deployments AND to your inbound number.
Q: Will the caller know whether it's inbound or outbound? A: From their perspective, it's just a phone call. The Finn knows internally (different metadata) but the conversation flow can be identical.
Q: Do inbound and outbound cost the same? A: Same AI cost per minute. Telephony cost differs — outbound charges the destination country's per-minute rate; inbound for your own number is included in the number's monthly rental in most plans.
Q: Can outbound call internationally? A: Yes, if your from-number supports it and your plan allows international dialing. International per-minute rates can be 10-50x US domestic — check Billing.
Next
- Phone Numbers → — get a number for either direction.
- Audience → — contact lists for outbound.
- Campaigns & Deployments → — launching outbound at scale.
- Browse all playbooks → — 46 ready-to-deploy templates for inbound and outbound scenarios.
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