How does click to call work?
The simplest version is a link that uses the tel: scheme, which the IETF defines in RFC 3966 for resources identified by telephone numbers. Tapping it on a mobile phone starts the call. On a computer, the browser passes the number to an app that can make calls, such as FaceTime on a Mac, if one is set up.
A callback widget, sometimes also sold as click to call, works the other way round. The visitor types their phone number into a pop-up, and the system rings them and connects them to someone on the business’s team, straight away or at a time they choose. Search ads use the same idea, with a call button that lets people phone the business without visiting its site.
Some contact-centre tools also offer browser calling, where the visitor speaks to the phone team through the computer’s microphone instead of a phone. The audio travels over the internet, but the call still ends up with the business’s phone system and its staff.
<a href="tel:+442079460018">Call us on 020 7946 0018</a>When does click to call make sense?
Click to call suits businesses that sell or support by phone. A visitor who wants to speak to a person can do it in one step, without copying a number, as long as someone is free to answer or a callback can be arranged.
Show the number as text beside the button as well. A computer without a calling app may do nothing when the link is clicked, and some visitors would rather dial from their own phone.
Is Kawl Now a click-to-call or callback widget?
No. With Kawl Now, visitors never dial a number or leave one for a callback. A visitor clicks the button, types what they need, allows the microphone and talks to an AI agent in their browser while they stay on your page. The audio streams over WebRTC to OpenAI’s voice service, and the agent answers from knowledge your team has approved.
The name is pronounced like “call now”, a common label for click-to-call buttons, but Kawl Now has no phone number for customers to call and never rings your visitors. Its handover to a person is an early release: your team verifies a UK or US phone number and turns handover on for the support or sales agent. The caller stays in their browser, and whoever answers your team’s phone hears a private briefing first. Customer routing is still being tested, so if your customers want to speak to a person, keep a phone number or callback option on the page beside it.
Common questions
What is the difference between click to call and a callback?
Click to call starts the call from the visitor’s side: their device dials your number. A callback reverses it: the visitor leaves their number and your system rings them, straight away or at a time they choose. Both end in a phone conversation with your team.
Do click-to-call links work on a desktop computer?
Only if the computer has an app that handles tel: links, such as FaceTime on a Mac. Otherwise the click may do nothing or the browser may ask which app to use, so show the number as text as well.