Voice and video calls
You can talk with any Spark live. A call happens inside the same Space as your chat, so what you discuss on a call is part of the relationship afterwards.
Starting a call
Use the call button at the top of a Space.
- Tap for a video call.
- Press and hold for voice only.
Only one call runs at a time. If you call a different Spark while on a call, Calynta asks whether to Stay on this call or end it and call the other Spark.
Your microphone is required. Your camera is optional and you can switch it on or off during the call.
Presence: the video avatar
On a video call, the Spark can appear as a moving, speaking face. The first time, Calynta asks Turn on Presence? and explains that the avatar is always labelled AI and never shown as a real person. Choose Enable Presence or Stay audio-only.
- If nobody speaks for 90 seconds, the avatar rests and shows a still portrait. The call is still live.
- If the avatar cannot load, the call simply carries on as voice.
Call models
Tap the model pill at the top of the call (the Who answers sheet) to choose how the Spark talks. Switching reconnects the call for a moment and the conversation carries over.
| Model | Best for | How it sees |
|---|---|---|
| Ensemble (the default) | Everyday conversation. Expressive voice and quick to interrupt. | Looks at your camera when you ask it to ("look at this"). |
| Aria | When tone and expression matter. Can use tools. | Sees your camera continuously while it is on. |
| Duet | Fast back and forth. It listens while it talks, so interruptions feel natural. | Looks at your camera when you ask it to. |
A model that is not available shows Not in your plan or Not available at the moment. Pick another one and carry on.
With Aria, the camera being on costs a little for every second it is on. After a while Calynta suggests turning it off, with Turn off or Keep on. With Ensemble and Duet, the camera costs nothing until you ask the Spark to look.
Thinking modes
The mode pill changes how the Spark thinks on this call, straight away:
- Think it through: deeper work in the background, with quick spoken updates.
- Everyday (the default): the usual balance of speed and depth.
- Keep it short: quick back and forth that uses less.
During a call
- Controls: Mute, Camera, Board, Presence and End.
- Views: switch between the Spark, the Board, the Browser and the Screen (cards, pictures and checklists the Spark shares; you can tick checklists right there).
- Board: the first time, Calynta asks Share a board? Say yes once and the Spark can sketch whenever it helps. The Spark's strokes are tinted and labelled AI. See Whiteboard and boards.
- Captions: a live caption line floats on screen. On wide screens a Live captions panel shows the last three lines.
- Voice commands: ask the Spark to pause (it goes quiet until you speak again, up to ten minutes), to change language, or to hang up. The Spark can mute your microphone, but only you can unmute it.
- Mini call window: leave the call screen to check something and a small call window stays in a corner. Drag it anywhere, tap it to go back, or touch and hold it to end the call.
Guests
The host can bring other people into a call.
- Only the host sees the Invite pill. It shares a link that works for two hours.
- A call can have up to three guests.
- A guest opens the link and sees whose call it is before joining. The Spark acts only for the host: it will not book, send or spend anything for a guest.
- A guest can Bring my Calynta. Then, when the guest taps Ask my Calynta, their own Calynta answers the next thing they say. It uses the guest's credits and none of the guest's private memory.
- The host pays for the call. A guest pays only for their own Calynta.
- When the host leaves, the call ends.
The Spark listens to one person at a time and follows whoever is speaking. When the floor moves to a new speaker, their first few words can be missed. That is why guests have the Ask my Calynta button.
After the call
The end screen shows Call ended, The call dropped or Call unavailable, with Done, View summary and, if something was drawn, View board. After a failure it offers Call again.
The call's page holds the summary, key insights, action items, the transcript and Rate this call. Past calls also appear in Artifacts. A summary is not guaranteed: if it fails, the page offers Create my outcome so you can write it from what you remember.
Recording
Calls are not recorded. There is no setting in the app to turn recording on.
Costs
Calls use credits by the minute, and a video avatar costs more than voice alone. If your credits run out during a call, the call ends. A pause still counts as call time.
Do not assume every language works equally well on every call model. If a language matters, try a short call first.