# During a call

What's on the call screen, how to mute, interrupt, and hold to talk, what the bot can make while you talk, and how to hang up.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/live/during-a-call

![A Live call on Machine Desktop](/images/docs/desktop/live-call.webp)

## The call screen

| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| **Bot name and status** (top left) | Who you're talking to, and what's happening now: **Connecting…**, **Listening**, **You're talking**, **Speaking**, **Muted**, or **Saving the call…**. Every status ends in **· Glyph**. |
| **✕** (top right) | Ends the call. Same as **End call**. |
| **The mascot** | The bot's avatar. Its mouth moves with its voice when it uses the plush mascot style. |
| **Tool results** | What the bot made or looked up during the call, such as a picture. Click a picture to open it in your browser. |
| **The caption** | What the bot is saying right now, in large text. |
| **Your last words** | What it heard you say, in quotes, underneath. Handy for checking it heard you right. |
| **Microphone button** | Mutes and unmutes you. A ring around it grows with your voice. |
| **End call** | Hangs up and saves the call to the thread. |

## Talking

You don't need to press anything. Talk, pause, and the bot answers. The
status switches between **You're talking**, **Listening** and **Speaking** so
you always know whose turn it is.

If the bot answers before you've finished, or waits too long, change how it
takes turns in [Live settings](/docs/desktop/live/live-settings): **When it
answers** and **Pause before answering**.

## Mute yourself

Click the **microphone** button. The status says **Muted** and the bot can't
hear you. Click it again to unmute.

## Interrupt the bot

Click (or tap) the **mascot** while the bot is speaking. Its tooltip says
**Tap to stop it talking**. The bot stops so you can talk.

- This works on Glyph's **Classic** voices. On the newer **Live** voices,
  just start talking over the bot and it stops by itself.
- On a phone in hands-free mode there's also a **Stop** button in the thumb
  bar. With **Hold to talk** on, that slot is **Mute** / **Unmute** instead.

## Hold to talk

If you choose **Hold to talk** in [Live settings](/docs/desktop/live/live-settings),
the bot only hears you while you hold the **Hold to talk** button. On Machine
Desktop you can also hold **Space** or **Enter**, but only while the **Hold to
talk** button has keyboard focus (press **Tab** to reach it). Use it in noisy
places, or when you want to think without the bot jumping in.

Hold to talk isn't available on iPhone and iPad yet: calls there are always
hands-free.

## What the bot can do on a call

On a call, the bot can use Glyph's tools while you talk. You see each one on
the call screen as it works (a spinner), then the result (a wrench icon):

| Tool | Shows as | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Make an image | **Image** · *Made an image: …* | Posters, sketches, ideas you're discussing. |
| Search the web | **Web search** · *Working on: …* | Facts, prices, opening hours. |
| Latest news | **News** | What's happening today. |
| Research | **Research** | Deeper look-ups that take a little longer. |
| Look at a picture | **Picture** | Describing or checking an image. |
| Do a calculation | **Code** | Sums, conversions, quick numbers. |

The last three results stay on screen, and the last four pictures show as
thumbnails.

> **Bigger jobs happen after the call**
> The call is for talking. Work that needs the bot's own computer, such as
> writing files, building a website, or using your connected apps, happens in
> the thread after you hang up. Just say what you want on the call, and the bot
> picks it up from the transcript. See [After the call](/docs/desktop/live/after-the-call).

## Hang up

Click **End call**, click **✕**, or press **Esc**.

The status changes to **Saving the call…** for a few seconds while the last
words and any final results arrive. Then the call closes and the transcript
appears in the thread. If nobody said anything, nothing is saved.

## Keep the screen on

While a call is starting or running, Machine keeps your screen from going to
sleep, so the call doesn't drop because you stopped touching the keyboard.

## If the call drops

If something goes wrong, the call screen shows a red message. On Machine
Desktop and Android it's Glyph's own message, or *"Glyph reported a
problem."* On iPhone and iPad, a lost connection says *"The call dropped. End
it to save what was said."* Either way, click **End call**. Everything said up
to that point is saved to the thread, and you can call again.

More messages and fixes are in [Live troubleshooting](/docs/desktop/live/troubleshooting).