Glossary
A comprehensive dictionary of every term used in the Hanc.AI platform and the broader AI/voice technology landscape.
Use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to search for a specific term.
A
Action
A task your agent performs automatically. Actions run across three phases: Pre-fetch (before the call, e.g. look up the caller in a CRM to personalize the greeting), Live (during the call, e.g. send an SMS or email in real time), and Post-call (after the call — email, SMS, WhatsApp, or an external API call). Actions use data extracted from conversations via Retrieval Variables. Managed in the Actions tab.
Agency
A workspace configuration for resellers who manage multiple clients. Agencies get isolated Sub-accounts per client (clients never see each other's data) and can rebrand the platform with White-Label settings.
Agent Transfer
A Tool that hands the live call from one agent to another (a Sub-agent) mid-conversation — for example, a general receptionist transferring a caller to a specialist sales agent. The caller stays on the same call.
Agent
A configured AI voice assistant on the Hanc.AI platform. Each agent has its own prompt, knowledge base, voice settings, and behavior configuration.
API (Application Programming Interface)
A way for different software systems to communicate with each other. Hanc.AI provides APIs for integrating with external systems.
API Key
A unique identifier used to authenticate requests to an API. You can generate API keys in Hanc.AI to connect external applications.
ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition)
See Speech-to-Text (STT).
B
Business Hours
The operating hours of your business. Agents can use this information to inform callers and handle after-hours calls appropriately.
C
Calendar Integration
Connect your Google Calendar so your agent can check availability and book appointments during calls. Configured as a Tool in the Actions tab.
Callback Widget
A website widget that collects a visitor's phone number and has your agent dial them back automatically. Different from the in-browser widgets (Floating, Pill, Inline) — instead of starting a browser voice call, it places a real outbound phone call. Requires a paid plan, an outbound phone number, and a verified email. See Callback Widget.
Call Flow
The sequence of events that occur during a phone call with an agent, from greeting to conclusion.
Call Log
A record of a phone conversation including metadata (duration, time, caller ID), transcript, and optionally the audio recording. Viewed in the Dashboard tab.
Caller ID
The phone number of the person calling. This information can be captured and used for personalization or CRM integration.
Campaign
A batch of outbound calls placed by an agent from a contact list — useful for reminders, follow-ups, feedback collection, and promotions. The agent works through the list and logs the outcome of each call.
Chunk
A segment of text from a document in the knowledge base. Documents are split into chunks for efficient retrieval via RAG.
Command Palette (⌘K)
A keyboard-driven quick launcher in the dashboard. Press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) to jump between agents, tabs, and settings or trigger common actions without reaching for the mouse.
Conversational AI
AI technology that enables natural spoken dialogue between humans and machines. The core technology powering Hanc.AI voice agents.
CRM
The built-in customer-relationship layer on Hanc.AI. It stores Contacts, tracks Deals through a pipeline, holds Reminders, and surfaces AI Suggestions for next steps. Agents can read from and write to the CRM during and after calls, so conversations update your records automatically. (Separate from the external HubSpot CRM integration.)
Credit
The billing unit on the Hanc.AI platform. Each plan includes monthly credits; all usage (calls, phone numbers) is deducted from your credit balance.
Context Window
The maximum amount of text an LLM can process at once. Larger context windows allow for longer conversations and more reference material.
D
Dashboard
The main tab inside each agent showing call logs, analytics, sentiment overview, and usage metrics.
Deploy Agent
A one-click way to create an agent from a template with default values. The agent is immediately live — you can fill in your business details later using the Setup Wizard. See also Guided Setup.
Duplicate Agent
A feature that allows you to clone an existing agent with all its settings, prompt, and configuration.
E
Embedding
A numerical representation of text that captures its meaning. Used in RAG systems to find semantically similar content in knowledge bases.
Escalation
The process of transferring a call from the AI agent to a human operator. Configured through Call Forwarding tools or prompt instructions.
eTermin
An online appointment-booking service you can connect so your agent books slots directly into your eTermin calendar during a call. One of the platform's booking integrations, alongside resmio.
F
Fallback
The default action when the agent cannot fulfill a request. Typically involves apologizing and offering alternatives or transferring to a human.
First Message
The initial greeting that the agent speaks when answering a call. Edited in the Model tab alongside the prompt.
G
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
EU regulation governing data protection and privacy. Hanc.AI is fully GDPR-compliant with EU-hosted data storage.
Golden Template
A professionally crafted agent template with a complete prompt, knowledge base structure, greeting message, and conversation flow. There are 24 golden templates available — 14 customer-facing and 10 employee-facing roles.
Guardrails
Rules that constrain what an agent may say or do — keeping it on topic, blocking prohibited claims, and enforcing how it handles sensitive requests. Guardrails hold even when a caller tries to steer the conversation off course.
Guided Setup
A step-by-step wizard that walks you through filling in template variables (company name, services, hours, etc.) before creating the agent. The alternative to Deploy Agent. See also Setup Wizard.
H
Hallucination
When an AI generates information that is not true or not present in its knowledge base. RAG and well-structured prompts help mitigate this.
Hanc Phone
A browser-based phone system with a live AI agent inside the call. Part of the Hanc ecosystem. See hancphone.com.
Hanc Studio
An AI architect that builds a ready-to-run agent — role, workflow graph, knowledge base, and integrations — from a plain-language description. Part of the Hanc ecosystem. See studio.hanc.ai.
Hanc Voice
A voice-synthesis platform: 244 voices, synthesis in 10 languages, voice cloning, speech-to-speech, transcription, and a browser sound studio. Part of the Hanc ecosystem. See hancvoice.com.
I
Inbound Call
A call initiated by a customer to your business phone number.
Info Dropdown
A button in the agent header toolbar (ⓘ) that shows a quick overview of the agent's configuration — voice, language, knowledge bases, active tools, and role.
Integration
A connection between Hanc.AI and an external service (phone numbers, Google Calendar, CRM systems, webhooks).
Intent
The goal or purpose behind a caller's message. For example, "I want to book an appointment" has a booking intent.
K
Knowledge Base (KB)
A collection of documents containing business information that the AI uses to answer questions accurately. Each agent has a Knowledge Base tab for managing attached files. Files can be edited inline by clicking on them.
L
Latency
The delay between an action and its response. In voice AI, low latency is essential for natural-feeling conversations.
LiveKit
A WebRTC platform used by Hanc.AI for real-time voice communication in web widgets and test calls.
LLM (Large Language Model)
An AI model trained on vast amounts of text data, capable of understanding and generating human-like language. The "brain" that powers your voice agent's conversations.
M
Max Call Duration
An agent-level setting that caps the maximum length of any call (1–15 minutes). Off by default. When enabled and reached, the agent ends the call politely no matter what's happening in the conversation. Applies to every entry point — inbound, outbound, web, callback. Configured in the Settings tab. See Settings → Max Call Duration.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open standard for connecting AI assistants to external tools. Hanc.AI lets you register MCP-compatible servers under Integration → MCP servers and expose their tools to any of your agents — the agent discovers and calls them mid-conversation. See MCP Servers.
MCP Server
Your own (or a third-party) server that implements the MCP standard and exposes a set of callable tools. Once registered, its tools are available to whichever agents you attach the connection to.
Model Tab
The tab inside each agent where you edit the First Message (greeting) and the Agent Prompt. Shows a template warning if the agent was created from a golden template.
N
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
The field of AI focused on enabling computers to understand and generate human language.
O
Outbound Call
A call initiated by your business (or AI agent) to a customer. Used for reminders, follow-ups, feedback collection, and campaigns.
P
Phone Number
A telephone number connected to your Hanc.AI account for receiving and making calls. Managed in the Phone Numbers section.
Phone Toll-Fraud Gate
A safety check applied when you add or verify a phone number. Premium-rate, shared-cost, and structurally invalid numbers are blocked to prevent toll-fraud abuse — if a number can't be used you'll be asked to try another. Landlines that can't receive SMS are verified with an automated voice call instead. See Troubleshooting.
Prompt
Instructions given to an AI that define its behavior, personality, and constraints. The "programming" of your voice agent. Edited in the Model tab.
Prompt Engineering
The practice of crafting effective prompts to achieve desired AI behavior. See the Prompt Engineering guide.
R
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
A technique that enhances AI responses by retrieving relevant information from a knowledge base before generating a response. This is how your agent "knows" your business information.
Recording
An audio file capturing a phone conversation. Call recording can be enabled per agent in the Settings tab.
resmio
A restaurant and hospitality reservation service you can connect so your agent books tables and appointments directly into your resmio calendar during a call. One of the platform's booking integrations, alongside eTermin.
Reset to Template
A button that appears in the Model and Knowledge Base tabs when an agent's prompt or files have been manually edited. Clicking it restores the original template content and re-enables the Setup Wizard.
Retrieval Variable
A custom data field that the AI automatically extracts from conversations. Types: Text, Number, Email, Phone, Selector, and Checkbox. Used in pre-fetch, live, and post-call actions. Managed in the Actions tab.
Role Badge
A colored label shown on each agent card in the Voice Agents list. Orange badge = agent created from a template (shows role name like "Sales Agent"). Gray badge = agent created from scratch ("Own Role").
S
Setup Wizard
A step-by-step configuration tool that appears after creating an agent from a template. Indicated by a glowing wand icon (✨) next to the agent name. Shows progress as "X/Y sections completed". Lets you fill in business details section by section — you can skip sections you don't need. Disabled if you manually edit the prompt or knowledge base files (use Reset to Template to restore it).
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
A communication protocol for voice calls over the internet. SIP trunks connect existing phone infrastructure (PBX systems) to Hanc.AI.
Sentiment
The emotional tone of a conversation (positive, neutral, negative). Tracked automatically when Sentiment Analysis is enabled in the Settings tab.
Speech-to-Text (STT)
Technology that converts spoken audio into written text. Also called ASR. The Settings tab lets you configure up to 4 STT languages for speech recognition.
Sub-account
A separate workspace for managing a client. Each sub-account is isolated — clients cannot see each other's data. Used by Agencies managing multiple clients.
Sub-agent
A specialist agent that another agent hands the call to via Agent Transfer. Sub-agents let you split a complex call into focused roles — for example, a receptionist that transfers billing questions to a dedicated billing agent — without dropping the caller.
T
Template
See Golden Template. A pre-configured agent role with prompt, knowledge base structure, and conversation flow. 24 templates are available covering roles like Sales Agent, Receptionist, Support Agent, and more.
Text-to-Speech (TTS)
Technology that converts written text into spoken audio. Creates the agent's voice. Voice selection is done in the Settings tab.
Tool
A capability that works during a call — transferring calls (Call Forwarding), checking calendar (Google Calendar), booking appointments, or fetching data (API RAG). Managed in the Actions tab alongside post-call actions.
Transcript
A written record of everything said during a call. Available in call logs on the Dashboard tab.
V
Voice Agent
An AI assistant that communicates through spoken conversation. The core product of Hanc.AI. Voice agents support 25 languages (the platform UI is available in 14 locales).
Voice Widget
A web-based interface embedded on your website that lets visitors interact with your AI agent. Configured in the Widgets tab. Five types:
- Floating, Pill (inline), Pill Floating, Inline — start a voice conversation in the visitor's browser. Pill Floating uses the same compact pill shape as Pill, but follows the visitor with the page like the Floating widget.
- Callback — collect the visitor's phone number; the agent calls them back. See Callback Widget.
W
Webhook
An HTTP callback that sends data to an external URL when specific events occur. Used for CRM integrations and custom workflows.
WebRTC
Web Real-Time Communication — technology enabling real-time audio communication in web browsers without plugins. Powers the voice widget.
White-Label
Rebrand the Hanc.AI platform as your own — your name, logo, and colors — so clients experience your brand rather than Hanc.AI. A self-serve feature available on any plan, typically used together with Agency sub-accounts.
Workflow
A visual, node-based flow that gives a call deterministic stages and routing instead of relying on a single prompt. Built in the Workflow Builder, a workflow chains nodes (message, tool, integration, condition, sub-agent, and more) so the call moves through defined steps — "qualify, then collect details, then book or transfer." See Workflows.
Workflow Builder
The visual editor where you assemble a Workflow by dragging nodes onto a canvas and connecting them with edges. Condition edges branch deterministically on the caller's answers.
Workspace
An organizational container in Hanc.AI that groups agents, knowledge bases, and team members. Usually represents one business or project.
Acronym Reference
| Acronym | Full Form |
|---|---|
| AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| API | Application Programming Interface |
| ASR | Automatic Speech Recognition |
| GDPR | General Data Protection Regulation |
| KB | Knowledge Base |
| LLM | Large Language Model |
| MCP | Model Context Protocol |
| NLP | Natural Language Processing |
| PBX | Private Branch Exchange |
| RAG | Retrieval-Augmented Generation |
| SIP | Session Initiation Protocol |
| STT | Speech-to-Text |
| TTS | Text-to-Speech |
| WebRTC | Web Real-Time Communication |
Need a Term Added?
If you encounter a term that's not in this glossary, please contact support@hanc.ai and we'll add it.