Scripting, Prompting & Information
Understand the differences between scripting, prompting, and informational inputs when configuring AVA scenarios. This guide breaks down each interaction type and highlights how to use custom values for personalization.
Overview
This document provides a complete breakdown of:
- The difference between scripting, prompting, and information fields
- A reference list of all customizable input fields used across AVA scenarios and roles
- Guidance on using custom values to personalize dialogue
Details
When configuring AVA outbound and inbound voice flows, there are three primary types of input fields you’ll use:
- Scripting – Fixed language that the AI speaks verbatim.
- Prompting – Flexible guidance that lets the AI dynamically generate a response.
- Information – Parameters or facts that shape how the AI behaves, but are not spoken directly unless referenced.
You can also use custom values to personalize what the AI says based on each contact’s data. These tokens are automatically replaced with real information during live calls.
1. Scripting: Structured, Controlled Dialogue
Scripting refers to explicitly written, predetermined phrases that AVA will say. Think of it as the “scripted lines” given to a human agent — designed to be consistent, repeatable, and compliant.
Scripts are typically used when:
- You need the AI to deliver precise messaging (e.g., legal disclosures, appointment confirmations, survey intros).
- You want to control the tone or style of a greeting, offer, or transition.
- The call needs to stay on-brand or within policy boundaries.
In AVA, scripted lines are often:
- Used at the start or end of a call (e.g., “Hi, this is Ava calling on behalf of…”)
- Included between actions like transfers or fallback steps
- Paired with response rules that restrict the AI’s freedom
Example:
“Just confirming, this is regarding your upcoming service appointment on Tuesday at 3 PM, correct?”
Scripting provides maximum predictability, but limited adaptability.
2. Prompting: AI-Driven Engagement
Prompting, by contrast, is about giving AVA guidance, not instructions. You describe what AVA should try to achieve — not how to say it word-for-word. The AI then generates responses dynamically based on the user’s input and the goal of the prompt.
Prompts are typically used when:
- You want the AI to engage naturally in a conversation.
- The flow depends on how the other person responds (e.g., answering questions, handling objections).
- You need flexibility in tone, length, or phrasing.
In AVA, prompts are written to set context and intent:
- “Ask the client to confirm their availability for a scheduled appointment.”
- “Politely explain the service and ask if they’re interested.”
Example Prompt:
“Politely explain that this is a follow-up about a previous inquiry and ask if they would like to proceed.”
The AI will then generate a voice response like:
“Hi! I’m just following up on your earlier request — would you like to move forward with that today?”
Prompting provides adaptability and personalization, but less predictability.
3. Information: Context That Powers Logic
Information fields are not spoken aloud by the AI, but they influence how it behaves behind the scenes. These values provide factual or contextual data that shape call logic, guide tone, or drive how dynamic content is inserted.
Information fields are typically:
- Parameters such as meeting length, profession, or location
- Used in custom values to personalize scripts and prompts
- Responsible for feeding conversation routing, calendar logic, and transfer workflows
They act as a foundation for call personalization — enabling AVA to sound informed without hardcoding every variation.
Example:
Setting the field “Profession = Real Estate Agent” may cause the AI to adopt appropriate language when referencing listings, showings, or clients.
While not spoken directly unless referenced inside a script or prompt, these fields are essential to maintaining contextual accuracy in every interaction.
What Are Custom Values?
Custom values are dynamic placeholders used to personalize AI speech by inserting real contact-specific information at runtime.
These values are embedded within user-defined fields like voicemail messages, introductions, or prompts.
| Custom Value | Description |
|---|---|
{{client_firstname}} | The contact’s first name |
{{appointment_time}} | Time of the scheduled appointment |
{{appointment_date}} | Date of the scheduled appointment |
{{representative_name}} | Human rep the AI is representing |
{{company_name}} | Name of your agency or company |
These tokens are automatically replaced during live calls. They’re not fields users fill out directly, but are available for insertion into other inputs.
Customizable User Input Fields
When configuring AVA scenarios, users define various fields that shape how the AI behaves, speaks, and responds — including introductions, calendar logic, objection handling, voicemail, and more. While many fields support scripting, prompting, or information input interchangeably, it’s important to focus on few uses for each field. The more clearly each field is structured and aligned with its purpose, the more effectively the AI will deliver consistent, smooth, and confident interactions.
Here are some suggested uses for each available field:
Inbound Calls
Scripting
Scripting
- Voicemail Message – Fallback message if the call is not answered.
- Key Information – Business-specific data that the Agent should know (e.g., pricing).
- Privacy Statement (if collecting data) – Explanation of how user data is handled.
- Closing Statement – Final line delivered by the AI before ending the call.
Prompting
Prompting
- Information to Gather – Details the Agent should collect from the caller (e.g., name, email).
- Primary Goal – The main task the Agent should accomplish.
- Persona Background – Short description of the caller’s context or situation.
- Personality Traits*(selectable)* – Tone and personality cues for the Agent to adopt.
- Interest Level*(selectable)* – Lead’s engagement level (e.g., just browsing).
- Interaction Type (selectable) – Defines the type of conversation (e.g., Sales pitch).
- Interaction Setting*(selectable)* – Context for the interaction (e.g., Intro call).
- Difficulty Level (selectable) – Expected challenge of closing the sale.
- Initial Attitude (selectable) – The customer’s disposition when the call begins.
- Solution Receptiveness (selectable) – Willingness to hear about the solution.
- Price Sensitivity (selectable) – How much price influences their decision.
- Decision Style (selectable) – How they typically make buying decisions.
- Communication Style (selectable) – Preferred communication tone and style.
- Objectives – High-level call goals (e.g., book appointment, answer FAQ).
Information
Information
- Representative Name – Name of the business representative the AI is assisting.
- Representative Title – Job title of the representative (e.g., Sales Manager).
- Company Name – The company the Agent is working on behalf of.
- Business Name – The business the Agent is representing.
- Customer Name – The name of the lead or prospect.
- Customer Age – Their age range if known or relevant.
- Profession – What the customer does for work.
- Lead Source (selectable) – Where the lead came from (e.g., Google search, referral).
- Service Type – Type of service being discussed (e.g., personal training).
- Calendar (if appointment scheduling involved) – The scheduling system used for booking.
Outbound Calls
Scripting
Scripting
- Initial Greeting – The AI’s opening line to begin the call.
- Introduction – Who the AI is, who they represent, and why they’re calling.
- Call Opener – Attention-grabbing line to start the pitch.
- Closing Statement – Wrap-up phrase that ends the conversation.
- Voicemail Message – Fallback script when the contact doesn’t answer.
- Privacy Statement – Disclosure about data or compliance.
- FAQ Message – Short script to handle a common question.
- Custom Message – Personalized phrase based on lead context.
- Objection Handling – Scripted response to common pushback.
- Gatekeeper Handling – Strategy for navigating receptionists.
- Question Set (1–16) – Custom Q&A inputs for the AI to ask.
- Positive Response Message / Neutral Response Message / Negative Response Message – Spoken response based on sentiment.
- Positive SMS Message / Neutral SMS Message / Negative SMS Message – SMS follow-up based on sentiment.
- What to Say Before Transferring the Call? – Scripted transition line used before handoff.
Prompting
Prompting
- Reason for Appointment / Reason for Meeting / Purpose of Call – Why the outreach is happening.
- Meeting Value Proposition / Long Term Value / Key Benefits / Specific Benefits – What the lead gains by taking the meeting.
- Services and Benefits / Key Inclusions – Details to emphasize during the pitch.
- Data Collection Purpose – Why the AI is asking questions.
- Event Purpose – Why the event invite is valuable.
- Objectives – What outcome the AI should achieve.
- Qualification Questions (boolean: mark as capture or disqualification) – Criteria to qualify leads.
- Disqualification Questions – Filter out unqualified leads.
- Capture Questions – Store relevant lead information.
- When Should the Call Transfer Take Place? – Logic to trigger the transfer.
- Identity – Defines the role or persona the AI should adopt.
- Conversation Flow – Logical structure of the interaction.
- Style Guardrails – Rules about tone, length, or vocabulary.
- Response Guidelines – Formatting or structure rules for AI replies.
Information
Information
- Agent Name – Name the AI uses to refer to itself.
- Representative Name – Name of the person or team the AI is representing.
- Representative Title – Job title of the representative.
- Company Name – Name of the business being represented.
- Profession – The profession being represented (e.g., consultant).
- Expert Name – Label for the rep when targeting expertise.
- Identity – Defines the role or persona the AI should adopt.
- Event / Event Name / Event Date / Event Time / Event Location / Event Occurrence – Context about the event referenced during the call.
- Product or Service / Product or Service Category / Service Type – Details of what is being promoted.
- Prospect Neighborhood – Area of interest for real estate clients.
- Market Trend – Highlighted industry insight shared during the call.
- Partner Context – Info about a partner brand or co-offering.
- Company Phone Number – Number used in voicemail or SMS.
- Phone Number to Transfer To – Target number for warm transfer.
- Calendar – Integrated scheduling tool.
- Default Meeting Duration (in minutes) – Standard meeting length.
- Alternative Meeting Duration (in minutes) – Optional fallback meeting time.
- Location of Meeting – Physical or virtual meeting location.
- SMS Enable (boolean) – Whether follow-up SMS should be sent.
- State Price – Allows mention of pricing when appropriate.
- Key Information – Details that the AI should reference in context.
General Advice
1. Keep Scripting Concise and Purposeful
Avoid stuffing scripting fields with excessive information, long introductions, or hardcoded names. The AI should quickly address the point of the call — such as confirming a meeting or prompting action — in a natural, professional way. Excessive exposition confuses contacts and leads to longer calls.
Remember what you’re buying AVA for — to replace a real human behind a desk making calls. Your virtual agents should be treated as trained staff, not static advertising tools. Configure them the same way you’d brief a new hire: give them clear goals, focused messaging, and the context they need to adapt. While selling your product is important, the AI works best when it earns attention through a genuine conversation. Its strength lies in adapting to client cues and delivering the right message at the right time — not overwhelming leads with one-sided pitches.
Also, avoid scripting client or representative names like “John” or “Daniel.” Use custom values such as {{client_firstname}} and {{representative_name}} to make scripts reusable and scalable.
❌ What not to do:
“Hi John! This is Ava calling from GrowthPartners Inc., and I work closely with Daniel our Senior Marketing Director. I’m calling because we wanted to offer you a chance to try our full package, which includes AI reporting, CRM integration, onboarding support, and a ton more. So are you interested today or should I follow up tomorrow?”
✅ Better approach:
“Hi client_firstname, this is Ava from company_name. I just wanted to follow up and see if you’d like to continue the conversation about our offer.”
Any additional service or feature info should be stored in Key Information, so the agent only references it if the client brings it up.
2. Structure Informational Fields Clearly
Fields like Key Information, are meant to store factual support content, not prompts, not scripts, and definitely not paragraphs full of filler. These fields are accessed conditionally by the AI, so clarity and clean formatting are critical.
Also, don’t include instructions or conversational phrasing in these fields. Avoid dumping disorganized thoughts with no punctuation, and absolutely avoid scripting names.
❌ What not to do:
“Tell John that our Standard Plan has unlimited calls and the pro plan is $349/month and Daniel gives 10% discounts to referrals and just say the analytics are good and also if they mention price tell them that the discount only applies if they pay yearly and say that right after.”
✅ Better formatting:
- Standard Plan – Unlimited calls
- Pro Plan – $349/mo
- Includes – AI analytics, onboarding support
- Discount – 10% for annual billing
- Representative – representative_name
Proper formatting keeps the field easy to parse and avoids errors during live responses.
3. Know When Scripting + Prompting Can Be Mixed
Some fields — such as Objection Handling — work well with a mix of both scripting and prompting. In these cases, you can give a general instruction (the prompt), followed by a sample line (the script). Just remember to keep it flexible and scalable using custom values.
🎯 Example of valid mixed scripting + prompting:
- Prompt: “If the client says it’s too expensive, explain the long-term ROI or offer a shorter free option.”
- Script: “Totally understandable, client_firstname. We also offer a free 15-minute strategy call to help you evaluate fit. Would that help?”
Final Note
Use each field for a streamlined purpose — and always pair it with custom values like {{client_firstname}} or {{representative_name}} to keep dialogue dynamic and scalable. Well-structured input reduces awkward pauses, interruptions, and confusion — making your scenarios more efficient and professional.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
General Questions
What’s the difference between scripting, prompting, and information fields?
What’s the difference between scripting, prompting, and information fields?
Scripting fields are fixed lines the AI reads word-for-word. Prompting fields provide flexible instructions that the AI interprets and adapts based on the lead’s responses. Information fields are not spoken but shape how the call logic, personalization, and context work.
Do I have to fill out every single field?
Do I have to fill out every single field?
No. Required fields will be clearly marked in the scenario editor. Many fields are optional and enhance performance or personalization but aren’t strictly necessary, although highly recommended.
Configuration
How should I write a good prompt?
How should I write a good prompt?
Write clear intent-focused instructions. For example: “Ask the client if they’d like to confirm their appointment for tomorrow.” Avoid writing full scripts inside prompt fields — that’s what scripting inputs are for.
Can I include custom values inside scripting or prompting fields?
Can I include custom values inside scripting or prompting fields?
Yes. You can insert placeholders like {{client_firstname}} or {{appointment_time}} inside any prompt or script field. They’ll be automatically filled in during the live call.
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