Dynamic Variables

Introduction

Dynamic variables allow you to inject personalized data into your agent’s responses for each specific call. Using the {{variable_name}} syntax, you can create agents that adapt to different contexts while maintaining consistent conversation flows.

Common use cases

Personalized greetings: “Hello {{customer_name}}, I’m calling to confirm your interest in the {{form_type}} form”
Contextual responses: “I see you’re calling about order {{order_number}}”
Time-sensitive information: Reference {{appointment_date}} or {{deadline}} or {{current_time}}

Where variables work

Dynamic variables can be used in:

Agent prompt: Instructions and agent personality
Initial greeting: Welcome message to the user
Conversation nodes: Instructions in a specific node
Branch conditions: The conditions that route between nodes in a conversational path
Integrations and flows: Pass variable values into flows and their integrations to send personalized data to external systems

Add and test variables

Add variables in your prompts

Dynamic variables are placeholders surrounded by double curly braces. For example:

Hello {{customer_name}}, I understand you're interested in {{product_name}}.
How can I help you today?

When typing in the prompt or greeting editor, typing {{ will display a menu with available variables.

Test your variables

Before publishing, you can test your variables using the test panel. The values you enter here will simulate the data you’ll receive in production.

Configure default values (optional)

The values you set in that panel when creating a version will be used as defaults if no other values are passed when making the call.

Use in production

For outbound calls

When creating a call using the API, include your variables in the dynamic_variables field:

{
  "from_number": "+14155551234",
  "to_number": "+14155555678",
  "dynamic_variables": {
    "customer_name": "John Smith",
    "order_number": "ORD-12345",
    "delivery_date": "tomorrow at 3 PM"
  }
}

For inbound calls

It will use the default value you set in the published agent version.

Recommendation: Use string (text) values in dynamic_variables. Other data types such as numbers or booleans are accepted, but their values are converted to text when inserted into prompts and conditions, so using strings keeps the result predictable.

System variables

Diga automatically provides these system variables - no configuration required:

Variable	Description	Example
`{{agent_name}}`	Configured agent name	”Sales Assistant”
`{{user_phone_number}}`	User’s phone number	”+14155551234”
`{{current_time}}`	Current time in UTC	”Friday, January 10, 2025 14:30:00 UTC”
`{{current_time[timezone]}}`	Current time in specific timezone	”Friday, January 10, 2025 09:30:00 EST”

Timezone examples

To get the time in a specific timezone, use the syntax {{current_time[timezone]}}:

Current time in New York: {{current_time[America/New_York]}}
Current time in Los Angeles: {{current_time[America/Los_Angeles]}}
Current time in London: {{current_time[Europe/London]}}
Current time in Tokyo: {{current_time[Asia/Tokyo]}}

Use valid IANA timezone identifiers like Europe/London, America/New_York, etc. You can find the complete list on Wikipedia.

Variables from workflows

Pre-call flows can set dynamic variables for a call. For example, a flow that looks up the caller in your CRM can return their name, plan, or account status, and those values become variables you can use anywhere in the agent. When a pre-call flow provides a variable, it appears in the agent’s dynamic variables panel as read-only, labeled “Provided by [flow name]”. You don’t set its value here — the flow fills it in at call time. To change what the flow returns, use the edit shortcut next to it to jump to the flow. These variables also show up in the {{ autocomplete in your prompt and greeting editors, alongside your own variables and the system ones, so you can insert them without typing them by hand.

A during-call workflow parameter can also be filled from a dynamic variable instead of being extracted by the agent — useful when you already have the value (for example, from a pre-call flow) and don’t want the agent to ask for it again. See Filling parameters from dynamic variables.

Variable precedence

When the same variable is defined in multiple places, the following priority applies (highest to lowest):

Pre-call flow variables (highest priority): Values returned by a pre-call flow override everything else
Call variables: Specific values for each call, for example passed via the API
Agent variables: Default values configured in the agent. These are the variables previously configured in the variables panel.

This means you can set default values at the agent level and override them for specific calls when needed.

Precedence example

# Agent configuration
dynamic_variables: {
  "company": "TechCorp",
  "department": "Sales"
}

# Call variables
dynamic_variables: {
  "company": "ClientXYZ",
  "customer": "John Smith"
}

# Final result (values the agent will use)
{
  "agent_name": "Virtual Assistant",      # System
  "user_phone_number": "+14155551234",    # System
  "company": "ClientXYZ",                 # Call overrides agent
  "department": "Sales",                  # Agent (not overridden)
  "customer": "John Smith"                # Call
}

Best practices

Define default values

Configure default values at the agent level for frequently used variables. This prevents your prompts from showing empty variables.

Test with and without variables

Always test your agent both with defined variables and without them to ensure it handles both cases correctly.

Don't store sensitive data

Avoid storing sensitive information like passwords, API keys, or financial data in dynamic variables:

# Avoid
{{api_key}}
{{credit_card_number}}

# Better: use only identifiers
{{customer_id}}
{{order_reference}}

Usage examples

Customer service agent

You are a customer service agent for {{company_name}}.

You are making an outbound call to customer {{customer_name}} with account number {{account_number}} to get more information about their support inquiry.

Greet them by name and help them with their inquiry about {{call_reason}}.

Appointment reminder

You are an assistant for {{clinic_name}} calling to confirm an appointment.

Appointment information:
- Patient: {{patient_name}}
- Date: {{appointment_date}}
- Time: {{appointment_time}}
- Doctor: {{doctor_name}}
- Current date: {{current_time}}

Confirm that the patient can attend and remind them to arrive 15 minutes early.

Order tracking

You are a support agent for {{store_name}}.

Order information:
- Order number: {{order_number}}
- Current status: {{order_status}}
- Estimated delivery date: {{delivery_date}}

Help the customer with any questions about their order.
The current time is {{current_time[America/New_York]}}.

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Analytics

Dynamic Variables

Introduction

Common use cases

Where variables work

Add and test variables

For outbound calls

For inbound calls

System variables

Timezone examples

Variables from workflows

Variable precedence

Precedence example

Best practices

Usage examples

Customer service agent

Appointment reminder

Order tracking

​Introduction

​Common use cases

​Where variables work

​Add and test variables

​For outbound calls

​For inbound calls

​System variables

​Timezone examples

​Variables from workflows

​Variable precedence

​Precedence example

​Best practices

​Usage examples

​Customer service agent

​Appointment reminder

​Order tracking

Introduction

Common use cases

Where variables work

Add and test variables

For outbound calls

For inbound calls

System variables

Timezone examples

Variables from workflows

Variable precedence

Precedence example

Best practices

Usage examples

Customer service agent

Appointment reminder

Order tracking