Here's how to set up topic extraction and an overview of how it works to intelligently track conversation topics during a call.
User level: Admin
Extracting call topics or topics extraction describes the intelligent process which takes place when important conversation points in a transcript or other document are automatically detected and tracked for data analysis purposes. At CloudTalk, we have introduced topic extraction as part of our growing suite of Conversation Intelligence features. Our extracted topic timelines provide an insightful overview of the conversation topics being shared between agents and clients at your organization.
Prerequisites
Conversation Intelligence is part of the customer's current CloudTalk plan
Call recording enabled
CI Plus for custom topics on calls handled by human agents (calls handled by AI Voice Agents get custom topics as part of AI Voice Agents)
Setup
Turn on topic extraction
Only admin can set up this feature. To enable topic extraction:
1. Navigate to Settings > Conversation Intelligence.
2. Scroll down to Topic Extraction.
3. Make sure the users whose calls should be processed are listed under Users with CI enabled on the General tab. (Users need to be added there before topic extraction can run for their calls.)
4. Turn on Topic Extraction.
5. Save Changes.
Add custom topics (CI Plus)
Navigate to Settings > Conversation Intelligence > Topic Extraction.
Under Your custom topics, add a topic with a name and a description telling the AI what to look for. Up to 20 custom topics per account.
Save Changes.
Auto-generated topics
CloudTalk detects these on every call. They are managed for the customer, so there is nothing to set up. The topics detected on the account are listed under Auto-generated topics on the Topic Extraction tab.
Custom topics (CI Plus)
Topics the customer defines themselves, on top of the ones CloudTalk detects automatically. Up to 20 per account, each with a name and a description telling the AI what to look for (a product name, an objection, a competitor). Custom topics show up in filters and analytics like any other topic.
On CI Basic, the Your custom topics section shows the CI Plus card with the upgrade button for your situation: Upgrade to CI Plus if you pay for CI Basic, or Add CI Plus to your trial if you are on a trial.
On downgrade to CI Basic, custom topics are kept and paused, and come back if the customer upgrades again.
Turn off topic extraction
Only admin can disable this feature. To do so:
Navigate to Settings >Conversation Intelligence > Topic Extraction.
Switch off Topic Extraction.
To disable all AI features at once, remove all users from Users with CI enabled on the General tab.
Leaving the setting on and removing specific users from Users with CI enabled will disable the feature for only those users.
Data processing: Call data of any user not selected within the Users setting will NOT be processed by the AI tools.
Once switched off, topic extraction will be deactivated for all calls and any ongoing data collection will be halted.
Analytics View
Open Call Details from Analytics > Call log (or Analytics > AI Analytics on a CI account): click the three dots on a call row and choose Call details. Topic extraction is shown there, along with the call summary, transcription, recording, sentiment analysis, call score, and more.
Under the Recording tab, switch to Topic Extraction to see a visual timeline of colours over the length of the recording. The topics detected on the call are shown as a legend above the timeline, each with a dot of the same colour as its segments.
Speakers are separated into two recording timelines and labelled (“Contact”, “Agent”). Select any point in the timeline to jump to the corresponding part of the transcript.
Need help or have a question? Just reach out through our Support portal — we’re here for you.