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Introduction

AlloMia’s voice agents are powerful on their own, but Tools & Actions unlock their true potential by allowing them to interact with external systems and perform specific tasks during a call. Think of them as specialized skills you equip your agent with. This guide explains the core concepts of Tools & Actions and the different types available.

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What are Tools & Actions (Function Calling)?

Technically, this capability is often referred to as ‘function calling’. It means your voice agent can pause the conversation, securely send information to another system (like your EHR, CRM, or scheduling software via an API), receive a result, and then use that result to continue the conversation intelligently.

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Example Scenario:

  • A patient calls to ask about their upcoming appointment details.
  • The agent recognizes the request and triggers the “Get Appointment Details” tool.
  • The tool securely sends the patient’s identifier (obtained earlier in the call) to your scheduling system’s API.
  • The API returns the appointment date, time, and provider.
  • The agent receives this information and relays it clearly to the patient: “Your next appointment is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:30 PM with Dr. Smith.”
This allows agents to handle complex, real-time requests that go beyond their pre-trained knowledge.

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Pre-built vs. Custom Tools

AlloMia may offer some pre-built tools for common integrations in the future. However, the real power lies in Custom Tools.

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Custom Tools:

These are tools you configure yourself to connect to specific APIs or webhooks relevant to your clinic’s workflow. You define:
  • What information the tool needs (input parameters like patient_id, requested_date).
  • Where to send the information (the API endpoint URL of your EHR, CRM, etc.).
  • How to send it (HTTP method like GET or POST, required authentication).
  • What information the tool expects back (output schema like appointment_details, available_slots).
Creating custom tools allows you to tailor the agent’s capabilities precisely to your operational needs, whether it’s fetching patient records, checking insurance eligibility, scheduling appointments, or updating contact information.

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Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, explore the other guides in this section to learn how to view, create, configure, test, and manage your tools.