Working with Variables

Variables are placeholders in your agent’s prompt that get filled with real values during a call. They let your agent reference the right context, like the contact’s first name, the current date, or a custom field, without you having to write a different prompt for every call. Every contact property you set up in telli automatically appears here as a variable you can use in the prompt.

Types of variables

telli organizes variables into three categories. You can browse all of them in the Variables panel in the agent builder sidebar.

Category	What it contains	Example
Contact Properties	Information attached to the contact the agent is calling, including built-in fields and any custom properties you create.	The first name of the person being called
Agent Variables	Placeholders defined within the agent itself for values specific to that agent’s use case.	A campaign name configured on the agent
System Variables	Runtime values telli provides automatically, like the current date or time.	Today’s date when the call happens

Creating and Working with Variables

Create a custom contact property
Insert a variable in your prompt

If the built-in contact fields don’t cover what you need, you can create your own contact properties and use them like any other variable.

Add a new contact property in Settings

Go to Contacts → Contact Properties and create a new property. Give it a clear name and choose the right type (text, number, yes/no, date, etc.).

Use the new property in your prompt

Back in the agent builder, open the Variables panel and find your new property under Contact Properties. Insert it into the prompt wherever it’s needed.

Open the Variables panel

In the agent builder, switch to the Variables tab in the right-hand sidebar to see every variable available to your agent, grouped by category.

The custom contact properties you defined are now available here as variables you can use in your prompt.

Insert a variable where you need it

Place your cursor in the prompt where the value should appear, then click a variable in the panel. It will be inserted as a clearly styled pill so it’s easy to spot. A green dot next to the variable in the variables menu means that it is implemented somewhere in the prompt.

Insert a variable by selecting it from the Variables panel, or type {{ in the prompt and choose the variable from the dropdown.

Alternatively: Insert the variable directly via Charlie

Ask Charlie to insert the variable for you. Describe in plain language where you’d like it to appear, and Charlie adds it to the prompt.

Tips

Use clear, descriptive names for custom contact properties so they’re easy to find later.
Test with a real contact to make sure values get filled in as expected.
Contact properties can be imported in bulk via CSV upload.
Read through our Cookbook on Variables below

Build Your First Agent

Types of variables

Creating and Working with Variables

Tips

Variables

Next Steps

Test your Agent

​Types of variables

​Creating and Working with Variables

​Tips

Variables

​Next Steps

Test your Agent

Types of variables

Creating and Working with Variables

Tips

Next Steps