Overview
When your Lexidesk AI receptionist transfers a call and nobody takes it, the caller comes back to the AI and the AI keeps helping them. The caller is not dropped and does not end up in a voicemail box. This article explains what your team member hears, what the caller hears, and which settings you can change.
This article is for office managers and firm owners who use live transfers.
Important: These transfers are off by default on accounts that started before October 5th, 2026. To switch them on, email [email protected] with your firm name. If you do not see the Email when unavailable field on your Call Transfers page, your account does not have them yet.
How a warm transfer works
Step 1. Your team member hears who is calling
When the AI transfers a call, it calls the number of the person or department first. When they answer, they hear:
"Lexidesk call for [their name]."
A short summary of the call, for example who is calling and why.
"Press 1 to accept the call."
The message repeats several times, so they have time to listen before they press 1.
Step 2. They press 1 to take the call
When your team member presses 1, the caller is connected to them. Your team member sees the client's real phone number on caller ID, not the Lexidesk number.
Step 3. If nobody takes the call, the caller comes back to the AI
The caller returns to the AI when:
Nobody answers
The line is busy
Your team member hangs up without pressing 1
Voicemail answers
The AI tells the caller that the person could not answer and continues the call. The AI remembers everything the caller said before the transfer, so the caller does not need to repeat anything. By default, the AI says: "I am sorry, it seems like [name] could not answer the call, but I can continue here."
Step 4. If voicemail answered, the AI leaves a message
When the transfer reaches voicemail, the AI waits for the greeting to end and leaves this message: "This is the Lexidesk assistant of [your firm]. A caller asked for [name]. The caller is back with the assistant now." Then it reads the call summary and says where the details are: "Details are in your email." or, when no email is set for that person, "Details are in the Lexidesk dashboard."
Step 5. The person who missed the call gets an email
When a transfer does not connect and that person has an email in Email when unavailable, they get an email with the call summary after the call ends.
Note: The whole call stays one conversation in your Lexidesk dashboard, with the full transcript before and after the transfer.
How to change the transfer settings
All settings are in Agents > Configure > Call Transfers.
Add an email for each person
To send a missed-transfer email, open the destination card for that person and enter an address in Email when unavailable. Leave the field empty if that person should not get an email. Click Save.
Change what the AI says when the caller comes back
To change the words the AI uses after a failed transfer, edit the box Message when the caller returns to the assistant after a failed transfer. Leave it empty to use the default text.
You can use {{destination_name}} to say the name of the person the AI tried to reach.
For example:
"Sorry, {{destination_name}} is not available right now. I can help you here, or take a message for them."
Tip: To say something different when an email was sent, use this pattern: {{#if is_fallback_email_sent}}I have sent them the details of your call.{{else}}I can take a message for them.{{/if}}
Choose warm or blind for each person
The press 1 step and the summary only happen on Warm transfers. On Blind transfers, the caller is connected directly with no summary and no press 1. For a blind destination, you choose what happens when the transfer does not connect in If the transfer does not connect:
Return the caller to the assistant (default)
Voicemail if there is one, otherwise return
No handling, the call ends as it did before
For the full setup of destinations, see How to set up call transfers to your team.
Troubleshooting
My team member answered, but the caller was not connected
The caller is only connected after your team member presses 1. If they answer and hang up, or do not press 1, the caller returns to the AI. Tell your team: when you hear "Lexidesk call for…", listen to the summary and press 1.
The caller always comes back to the AI, even when my team member is free
This usually means call screening answers the call before your team member does. Turn off call screening on every number you transfer to. This includes Live Voicemail and Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone, Call Screen on Android, and "press 1 to accept" prompts in your own phone system.
Nobody got the missed-transfer email
Check that the person has an address in Email when unavailable and that you clicked Save. The email goes out after the whole call ends, not during the call. Also check the spam folder. The email is only sent when the transfer did not connect.
I do not see these settings on my Call Transfers page
Your account still has the earlier transfers, which do not return the caller to the AI. Email [email protected] with your firm name and we will switch the new transfers on.
FAQs
Does the caller hear the summary that my team member hears?
No, the caller does not hear the summary. Only the person who answers the transfer hears it.
Can my team member see who is calling before they press 1?
Yes, your team member sees the client's real phone number on caller ID and hears the summary before they press 1.
Can I use different settings for different people?
Yes, you can set warm or blind and the missed-transfer email for each person separately. The message the AI says when the caller comes back is one setting for the whole agent.
Is a failed transfer still one call in Lexidesk?
Yes, a failed transfer stays one conversation in your dashboard. You see the full transcript, from before the transfer and after the caller came back.
Still stuck?
Email [email protected] with your firm name, the number you transfer to, and roughly when the call happened. We will check how that call was routed.