End call phrases

End call phrases are configured phrases that end a call after the assistant says them. A customer can initiate the closing exchange by saying goodbye, but the customer’s words do not trigger the match directly. The assistant must respond with a configured phrase, such as “have a good day.”

The typical sequence is:

The customer indicates that the conversation is over.
The assistant responds with a configured end call phrase.
Vapi detects the phrase in the assistant’s transcript.
Vapi waits for the assistant to finish speaking, then ends the call.

How phrase matching works

Matching is case-insensitive and checks for each phrase as a substring of the assistant’s transcript. After a match, Vapi lets the assistant finish speaking before ending the call. Specific multi-word phrases are safer than short conversational words.

Your assistant’s prompt controls when it says the configured phrase. Instruct the assistant to use the phrase when the customer ends the conversation or when the assistant has completed its task.

Avoid unnecessary punctuation and whitespace inside a phrase. A short phrase such as bye can match unintended assistant speech and end the call too early.

Configure via Dashboard

Select an assistant

Open the Dashboard. Select Assistants, then select the assistant you want to configure.

Open Messaging

Select the Advanced tab, then locate Messaging.

Enter end call phrases

In End Call Phrases, enter phrases as a comma-separated list. Use specific phrases, for example, goodbye, take care, have a good day.

Align the assistant's prompt

Instruct the assistant to say one of the configured phrases when the customer ends the conversation or the assistant completes its task.

Publish the assistant

Select publish in the unsaved-changes message to apply the update.

API field

Use endCallPhrases when you create or update an assistant. The field is an array of strings, and each phrase must contain 2–140 characters.

1 {
2   "endCallPhrases": [
3     "goodbye",
4     "take care",
5     "have a good day"
6   ]
7 }

Choose phrases that avoid false matches

Use phrases that are specific to the end of a conversation. Test each phrase against the assistant’s normal speech so common words do not end calls unexpectedly.

Avoid	Prefer	Why
`bye`	`goodbye for now`	A multi-word phrase is less likely to appear inside unrelated speech.
`done`	`we are all done for today`	The longer phrase describes a clear conclusion.
`thanks`	`thank you for calling`	The specific phrase is less likely to match a routine acknowledgment.

Compare end call phrases and the End Call Tool

Both options let an assistant end a call, but they support different decision patterns.

Option	Use when
End call phrases	The assistant uses simple, predictable spoken conclusions.
End Call Tool	The model must decide when to end the call using conversation context or more complex conditions.

Troubleshoot unexpected call endings

Symptom	Likely cause	What to check
The call ends too early	A short or common phrase matched unintended assistant speech.	Replace the phrase with a more specific multi-word conclusion.
The call does not end	The assistant’s transcript does not contain the configured phrase as a substring.	Compare the configured value with the assistant’s transcript and remove unnecessary punctuation or whitespace.

Calls ended by a matched phrase use the assistant-said-end-call-phrase ended reason. This is an expected call ending, not a call error.

See call end reasons for the complete list of ended reasons. For additional diagnostic guidance, see Troubleshoot call errors.