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Talkdesk AI voice agent integration

Talkdesk lets you bring your own AI voice agent over SIP through the Studio component Connect to Autopilot Voice, in External Voice Stream mode. A ThunderPhone agent can be that AI. The flow sends the caller with the interaction id and UUI. When the caller needs a person, the agent escalates with a SIP REFER to Talkdesk, and the hand-off id lands in a Studio variable.

Setup guide: Connect from Talkdesk has the endpoint request, the component settings, the escalation entry and the Execute Action lookup.

What it does for Talkdesk teams

The component exists for outside AI agents, so a ThunderPhone agent fits into a Studio flow without custom telephony. The flow hands over the call, the agent holds the conversation, and the escalation brings the caller back into Studio to route. The hand-off id is the bridge. One Execute Action step turns it into a summary to show the person who takes the call and an intent to route on.

How the call flows

In. Talkdesk documents only an IP allowlist, so the agent's SIP endpoint accepts Talkdesk's signalling ranges and answers SRTP when Talkdesk offers it. The component's target is the endpoint's SIP address with ;transport=tls added. Talkdesk sends SIP from Twilio's network, whose addresses every Twilio customer shares, so the endpoint's address is what keeps other callers out; don't publish it.

Talkdesk sends X-Talkdesk-Interaction-Id, stored as the call's external_call_id, and hex-encoded User-to-User, such as business_hours=open, which reaches the prompt decoded as {{sip_uui}}.

Back. The agent escalates with a REFER to Talkdesk's escalation address, sip:escalation@talkdesk.com, with the hand-off id as hex UUI inside that address, the only place Talkdesk reads it. Version 2.1 of the component reads the key autopilot_result=; version 1.7 reads escalate_to=. Talkdesk puts the value in a Studio variable, and an Execute Action step on a custom Connections integration calls ThunderPhone's hand-off lookup with it.

Setup at a glance

  1. Get Talkdesk's SIP signalling ranges and create an IP-allowlist SIP endpoint with SRTP optional.
  2. Add Connect to Autopilot Voice in External Voice Stream mode, targeting the endpoint over TLS.
  3. Add the escalation transfer entry with the right UUI key for your component version.
  4. Build a custom integration in Connections with your API key, and an Execute Action step for the hand-off lookup.
  5. Start a call through the flow, ask for a person, and check that the variable holds the hand-off id.

Limits and prerequisites

  • License. You need a Talkdesk Conversation Orchestrator license, which covers the component. Talkdesk bills it per minute while the agent holds the call.
  • UUI is small. Talkdesk reads at most 256 bytes of UUI and doesn't allow values separated by | or ;, so the agent sends a single value. The hand-off id fits.
  • SRTP. Talkdesk's article says it sends audio over SRTP but not whether it requires it. If Talkdesk says it does, set the endpoint to require SRTP.
  • Defined headers. Version 2.1 can send Defined headers, which Talkdesk describes as JSON over a WebSocket. Confirm whether they arrive as SIP headers before you rely on them.
  • Transcripts. Talkdesk's APIs can't read the agent's transcript. Use the hand-off lookup or ThunderPhone's call API instead.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring my own AI voice agent to Talkdesk?

Yes. Talkdesk's Connect to Autopilot Voice component, in External Voice Stream mode, sends calls to an outside AI agent over SIP. Point it at a ThunderPhone agent's SIP address over TLS and the agent answers inside your Studio flow.

How does a ThunderPhone agent escalate a Talkdesk call to a human?

It sends a SIP REFER to Talkdesk's escalation address with the hand-off id as UUI. Talkdesk puts that value in a Studio variable and the flow continues past the component, where you route the caller to a queue.

What does the Talkdesk agent see when the call is escalated?

Whatever your flow shows them. An Execute Action step looks up the hand-off by id and returns the AI agent's summary and intent. Route on the intent and show the summary to the person who takes the call.

What Talkdesk license do I need?

A Conversation Orchestrator license, which covers the Connect to Autopilot Voice component. Talkdesk bills it per minute while the AI agent holds the call. ThunderPhone bills its own minutes separately; see ThunderPhone pricing.

Is ThunderPhone on Talkdesk AppConnect?

No. ThunderPhone isn't listed on AppConnect today. The integration uses Talkdesk's own component for bringing an outside AI agent over SIP.

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