Initiate Call vs Meet

Vonative offers two ways to start a conversation with an AI agent. Both use the same assistants and workflows under the hood, but they are fundamentally different channels.

Which one should you use?

Use Initiate Call when...

You want to dial a real phone number (PSTN) — e.g. outreach, reminders, call centers.
You need scheduled calls for a future time.
Your end user is on a regular mobile or landline phone.
Outbound calling requires KYC Tier 2 verification on your organization.

Use Meet when...

Your end user is in a browser or app — e.g. meet links, embeddable widgets, video sessions.
You want video or avatar delivery in addition to voice.
You want to gate access with a rotating meet code or public link.
You do not want per-minute telephony costs.

Side-by-side comparison

	Initiate Call	Meet
Channel	Telephony (PSTN)	Realtime web session
Who joins	A phone number is dialed	A browser/app joins a meet room
Entry point	`POST /v1/calls`	`POST /v1/public/meets/{slug}/sessions`
Access control	API key + KYC Tier 2 for outbound	Public slug + rotating code + short-lived access grant, or org-managed
Scheduling	Yes — `scheduled_at`	No — sessions start immediately
Media	Audio only	Voice, plus optional video/avatar input
Billing	Per-minute telephony + runtime cost	Runtime cost only (no telephony minutes)
Typical use	Call center, sales outreach, reminders	Meet links, website widgets, product demos

How each flow works

Both flows converge on the same Vonative runtime — the assistant or workflow runs identically once the session starts.

Next steps

Initiate Call API

Dial a phone number or schedule a call

Meet Sessions API

Start a realtime web session with a meet link

Embed Widgets

Embed meet-style sessions on your website

WebRTC Overview

Realtime calls in your own app

WebRTC Calls Overview Web Quickstart