How blocking a caller works
Yaplet checks every incoming call before it is answered. If the caller's number matches a blocked visitor, the call is dropped there and then. In practice that means:
- The agent never picks up, so there is no greeting and no conversation.
- No AI session is opened.
- No per-minute charge is incurred, because the call was never connected.
- No transcript, no recording and no inbox thread is created for the attempt.
A block is stored on the visitor record you placed it on, and from there it covers every phone number and every brand in your organisation — the same number is always the same caller to Yaplet, whichever of your numbers it dials. It does not automatically reach across to chat. A phone caller and a web-chat visitor are two separate records unless your own website has identified that visitor with the same phone number, so blocking someone in a chat thread does not stop their calls, and blocking a caller does not stop them chatting. To shut both down, block them once from the call thread and once from the chat thread.
Only a full block stops a call
When you block someone you choose a level, and the difference matters on the phone:
- Block from agents only — they can still use the AI in chat but cannot reach a human. This does not stop them calling. The voice agent still answers.
- Block completely — they cannot use the chat at all, and their calls are refused before being answered.
If your goal is to stop the phone ringing, pick Block completely.
Block someone from the inbox
You can only block somebody who has already reached you at least once, because the block attaches to their visitor record.
- Open that person's call thread in Communications → Inbox. If you also want them out of your chat, repeat these steps afterwards on their chat thread.
- In the sidebar, open the visitor and choose Ban visitor.
- Pick the Block level, write a Reason so your colleagues know why, and choose a Duration.
The reason is internal. The visitor is never shown the duration either — when it ends, chat and calls simply start working again.
Block or unblock from Security
To manage several blocks at once, open Audience → Security in the sidebar. It is one page with tabs across the top: Overview, Visitors, Blocked and Policy. The Blocked tab is the list of everyone currently blocked, and where you lift a block.
Security can also block somebody on its own, through its automatic rules. A block that came from Security has to be lifted in Security — undoing it from the inbox will not work, because the two systems are deliberately independent and the stricter one wins.
Timed blocks expire on their own
You can block for an hour, a day, three days, a week, a month, or forever. A timed block ends by itself; nobody has to remember to lift it, and the person is never told it has expired. The visitor's history keeps a record of every previous block, so you can see whether this is the third time.
What a blocked caller experiences
Nothing that tells them they have been blocked. Their call is refused before it is answered, so they hear whatever their own network plays for a call that does not connect. There is no Yaplet message and no explanation.
The first call always gets through
Yaplet only creates a visitor record when somebody first reaches you, so there is nothing to attach a block to before that. The first call from a new number will always be answered; every call after the block is applied is refused.
Because a blocked attempt leaves no thread and no transcript, there is no list of rejected callers to review afterwards either.
What to read next
For where calls appear once they are answered, see Listen to call recordings and read transcripts. For what a call costs, see Voice credits and per-minute billing.