Datasets · 12 min
Give a Voice Agent Customer Service Date Context with Datasets
Datasets give a voice agent structured context it can search during a call. For a service business, that can mean looking up a customer by phone number, finding their next service date, and checking a ZIP-code route schedule before answering questions about when you will be in their area.
Walkthrough
Step by step
Create the customer service dates dataset
Open Datasets, choose New dataset, and name it Customer Service Dates. Add columns for Customer Name, Phone, ZIP Code, Service Address, Last Service Date, Next Service Date, Service Window, and Service Notes.
Keep one customer or service location per row. This makes it easy for the voice agent to find the right record during a call.
Set Phone as the AI Search column
In the Customer Service Dates dataset toolbar, choose Phone as the AI Search column. When a caller provides a phone number, the voice agent can search that column and pull up the customer row with service dates and notes.
Phone is usually the best lookup key because callers know it and it is more specific than a name.
Create a form for adding service-date records
Inside the dataset, open the Forms panel and choose New form. Name it Customer Service Date Intake. Use Create records if the form is only for adding new customers, or Search and edit records if trusted staff should update existing service dates.
Dataset forms keep users out of the raw grid while still writing clean rows into the dataset.
Publish the form for the right audience
On the form settings page, set Status to Published. Use Workspace login for internal staff, dispatchers, or the owner. Use Public link only when a trusted outside helper needs to submit customer service-date details without signing in.
For customer phone numbers and service addresses, Workspace login is usually the safer default.
Submit customer data through the form
Open the Customer Service Date Intake form, enter a customer name, phone number, ZIP Code, service address, last service date, next service date, service window, and notes, then submit. VZFLO writes that submission into the Customer Service Dates dataset.
After submitting, return to the dataset grid and confirm the new row appears with the phone number and service dates filled in.
Attach the dataset to the voice agent
Open the voice agent that answers customer calls, find Dataset access, and attach Customer Service Dates with Read enabled. Read access lets the agent search the dataset and answer from the row. Add Write only if the agent should update service dates or notes during calls.
Start with Read access if the agent should only answer questions. Add Write later when you are ready for it to update records.
Tell the agent how to search by phone number
In the agent instructions, tell the assistant to ask for the caller phone number, search Customer Service Dates using Phone, verify the customer name or address, then answer using Next Service Date, Service Window, and Service Notes.
Example instruction: “When a caller asks about service timing, ask for their phone number and search Customer Service Dates by Phone before answering.”
Add a second dataset for route dates by ZIP code
Create another dataset named Service Routes by ZIP Code. Add columns for ZIP Code, Next Route Date, Route Window, Crew Notes, and Services Offered. Set ZIP Code as the AI Search column.
This dataset helps the agent answer questions like “When will you be in 85251?” even when the caller is not already in the customer dataset.
Add route dates through a form
Create a Service Route Date Intake form for the Service Routes by ZIP Code dataset. Publish it for workspace users, then submit rows for each ZIP code you plan to service, including the next route date and time window.
Updating route dates through a form keeps future availability context current without editing the dataset grid directly.
Attach the ZIP-code dataset to the same voice agent
Return to Dataset access on the voice agent and attach Service Routes by ZIP Code with Read enabled. In the agent instructions, explain that if a caller asks when you will be in their area, the assistant should ask for ZIP code and search Service Routes by ZIP Code.
With both datasets attached, the agent can search by customer phone number first, then use ZIP-code route dates when the caller is new or asks about area availability.
Test both lookup paths in a call
Run a preview call. First, provide a known customer phone number and ask for the next service date. Then test as a new caller by asking when you will be in a specific ZIP code. Review the transcript and confirm the agent searched the correct dataset before answering.
A good test proves the agent does not guess. It should use Customer Service Dates for known customers and Service Routes by ZIP Code for area schedule questions.
Before you finish
Launch checklist
- Customer Service Dates dataset exists.
- Customer Service Dates has Phone, ZIP Code, Last Service Date, Next Service Date, Service Window, and Service Notes columns.
- Phone is selected as the AI Search column for Customer Service Dates.
- Customer Service Date Intake form is published.
- A form submission creates or updates a customer row in the dataset.
- The voice agent has Read access to Customer Service Dates.
- Agent instructions tell it to search by customer phone number before answering service-date questions.
- Service Routes by ZIP Code dataset exists.
- ZIP Code is selected as the AI Search column for Service Routes by ZIP Code.
- Service Route Date Intake form is published and contains route dates by ZIP code.
- The voice agent has Read access to Service Routes by ZIP Code.
- A test call shows the agent using the correct dataset before answering.
Fix common issues
Troubleshooting
The voice agent cannot find the customer.
Confirm Phone is the AI Search column and that the stored phone value matches what callers provide. Use a consistent phone format in the form.
Submitting the form does not add a dataset row.
Open the form settings, confirm Status is Published, and make sure the form belongs to the correct dataset.
The agent answers with a service date that is not in the dataset.
Update the instructions so the agent must search Customer Service Dates or Service Routes by ZIP Code before answering service-date questions.
The agent finds customer details but not ZIP-code route dates.
Attach the Service Routes by ZIP Code dataset to the voice agent with Read access, then test with a ZIP code that exists in the dataset.
Keep learning
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