# Call transcripts and summaries

Read the transcript and summary of each call the AI receptionist takes, in Conversations and your email, with a recording link when recording is on.

Updated Oct 28, 2026. Source: https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/transcripts-and-summaries

## What this does

When a call ends, Small Business Chatbot writes a summary of what the caller needs, saves it with the full transcript in **Conversations**, and emails both to you. This covers calls the AI receptionist answers and AI calls your workflows place. With recording on, the email also links to the recording.

## Read a call in Conversations

1. **Open Conversations**

   In the app, open **Conversations**. The newest conversations are at the top. A call the voice agent answered carries a phone icon and the label **Phone call**. An AI call from a workflow carries **Outbound call**. Each card shows the caller's name, **Phone**, **Email** and the start of the **Summary**.

   ![The Conversations list showing call cards labelled Voice and OUTBOUND CALL with names and short summaries](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/transcripts-and-summaries-list-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Conversations, October 2026*

2. **Open a call**

   Click the card. The call opens beside the list with **Phone**, **Email**, **Summary**, **Attachments** and **Full conversation**.

   ![An open call showing its summary and a transcript with lines labelled Visitor and Assistant](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/transcripts-and-summaries-call-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Conversations, October 2026*

3. **Read the transcript**

   Under **Full conversation**, the caller's lines are labelled **Visitor** and the voice agent's lines **Assistant**. After a [transfer](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/transfer-to-a-person), the transcript covers the voice agent's part and ends with "*Call transferred to a human at this number:" and the number.

**Conversations** lists calls with at least two lines of transcript. A call that ends during the greeting reaches you by email.

## What the summary holds

| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Name | The first name the caller gave, if any. |
| **Phone** | The caller ID, unless the caller gave a clearly different number during the call. |
| **Email** | The email address the caller gave, if any. |
| **Summary** | What you need to do next, written to you. |

By default, the caller is also saved to [CRM › Contacts](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/crm/contacts), matched by phone number, and the call appears on their timeline as **Voice call**.

## The summary email

After each call, the app emails the address under **Admin › Primary Email for Conversations** and every address under **Additional Emails**, as [Summary emails](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/conversations-and-analytics/summary-emails) describes. The email has three parts: **Action Items**, **Contact Details** (First Name, Phone, Email) and **Conversation**, the full transcript.

| Call | Email subject |
|---|---|
| A call to your voice agent's number | New caller transcript with action items |
| An AI call from a workflow | Outbound Call AI Transcription |

A call flagged as [spam](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/spam-protection), and a workflow AI call that reached voicemail, skip the email.

## Recording

1. **Switch recording on**

   In the app, open **Voice Agent › Settings** and turn on **Allow voice agent to record calls**. It is off by default.

   ![The Allow voice agent to record calls switch turned on](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/transcripts-and-summaries-recording-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Voice Agent › Settings, October 2026*

2. **Save**

   Click **Save**. From the next call, people who ring your number hear "This call may be recorded for quality or training purposes." before the greeting.

3. **Listen**

   Summary emails now start with **Recording:** and a **Listen** link, except for transferred calls.

Recordings open from the **Listen** link in the summary email.