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OpenPhone

COMMS
Velocity0.0

OpenPhone turns Sona into a deployable front-line AI agent with transfers and per-scenario instructions.

business voipai phone agentcall routingsmb communicationhuman handoff
◆Current state
OpenPhone is hardening Sona, its AI phone agent, into something businesses can actually put in front of customers. Sona can now route calls to the right teammate when a human is needed, and admins can give it custom instructions per scenario (lead qualification, cancellations, booking) with templates to start from. Around it, the call flow builder keeps maturing: multiple routing setups with quick switching, in-place inbox switching during flow construction, and a Go-to Step primitive for cleaner branches.
◆Where it's heading
The core bet is an AI-handles-first-contact, humans-handle-edge-cases pattern. Each Sona release is closing a deployment-blocker (instructions, transfers, free trial), while the call-flow tooling underneath is getting more flexible so AI and human routing can coexist in one config. Plan-tier expansion (call hold on Starter) suggests OpenPhone is also chasing volume in the lower segment.
◆Prediction
Expect Sona to gain CRM-aware context (caller history, deal state) and outbound use cases — proactive callbacks, scheduled follow-ups. Pricing for Sona usage is likely to evolve from a flat add-on toward usage- or outcome-based once volume appears.

◆Recent moves

  1. 9mo ago

    Call hold now available on Starter plan

    Call hold rolls down to the Starter plan from Business/Enterprise. Tier expansion that aligns with OpenPhone's broader push into smaller teams.

    View source ↗
  2. 9mo ago

    Transfer calls from Sona to your team

    ⚡ SPARK

    Sona can now hand off calls to a specific teammate or department when human support is needed. The release that turns Sona from a standalone answering layer into a viable front line in a hybrid AI+human team.

    View source ↗
  3. 9mo ago

    Control how Sona responds in different situations

    Custom instructions plus templates let Sona handle different call types (lead qualification, cancellations, booking) with intent-aware behavior. Pairs tightly with the transfer capability and is the half of the same week's release that controls how Sona acts before transferring.

    View source ↗
  4. 10mo ago

    Create multiple call flows, and switch back and forth easily

    Multiple call flows with quick switching let teams toggle between holiday, campaign, or staffing setups without rebuilding routing. Operational ergonomics that complements the AI direction by making the underlying routing layer flexible.

    View source ↗
  5. 10mo ago

    Improved navigation for call flow building

    Call flow builder gets in-place inbox switching and other navigation cuts. Smaller-scale, but consistent with the broader push to make routing config faster to author.

    View source ↗
  6. 11mo ago

    Build cleaner call flows with the Go-to Step feature

    Go-to Step lets a call flow branch jump to any other step, eliminating duplicate-step workarounds. Small primitive that meaningfully cleans up complex menu trees.

    View source ↗