Note: Keywords do not replace or add to call scoring or summaries. They are an added way to surface specific language across calls.

Keywords help you quickly see when certain topics come up in calls.

For example, your team may want to track when someone mentions:

- Pricing

- Contract

- Cancellation

- Competitor names

- Follow up

- Budget

- Specific services or products

- Compliance-related phrases

When Shilo detects a keyword, it can help your team review patterns, coach around common topics, and find calls that may need closer attention.

Shilo looks for the keyword or phrase in the call transcript.

A keyword can be:

- A single word

- A short phrase

- A competitor name

- A specific term your team uses internally

- A phrase customers commonly say during calls

For best results, keywords should be specific enough to be useful. Very broad keywords may appear too often and create noise.

Admins can add or update keywords in Shilo settings.

To add keywords:

1. Open Shilo.

2. Go to Settings > Integrations > Preferences > Edit

4. Add the word or phrase you want Shilo to track then press the "+"

5. Check spelling carefully.

6. Save your changes.

Once keywords are saved, Shilo will begin looking for those words or phrases in call transcripts going forward.

If you add a keyword after a call has already been analyzed, that keyword may not automatically appear on older calls.

Use keywords that point to something your team would actually want to review.

Examples:

- Agreement

- Lender’s name

- Approval

- Budget

- Contract

- Buyer broker agreement

- Referral

- Kickback

- Commission

- Cancel

These are useful because they usually connect to a clear coaching, sales, compliance, or follow-up moment.

You can use Advanced Filters to find calls where specific keywords were detected.

1. Open the Calls page in Shilo.

2. Select Advanced Filters.

3. Choose Keywords.

4. Check the keyword or keywords you want to review.

5. Apply the filter.

6. Open any matching calls to review the surrounding conversation.

When reviewing keyword results, treat the keyword as a signal that a topic may have come up. Open the call and review the surrounding conversation before drawing conclusions.

For example, if the keyword is “cancel,” the customer may be asking about cancellation, threatening to cancel, or saying they do not want to cancel. Reviewing the call context helps you understand what actually happened.

Use phrases when a single word is too broad.

For example, instead of using “price,” you may get better results with:

- Too expensive

- What does it cost

- Send me pricing

- Can’t afford it

Use customer language.

The best keywords often come from real calls. If customers usually say “too expensive” instead of “pricing concern,” use the phrase they actually say.

Review keywords regularly.

Over time, your team may notice that some keywords are too broad, too narrow, or no longer useful. Updating them keeps your reporting and coaching more focused.

You may want to update keywords when:

- Your team starts tracking a new topic

- A competitor is coming up more often

- You launch a new offer or service

- A keyword is creating too many irrelevant matches

- A keyword is not appearing even though the topic is happening in calls

- Your coaching priorities change

Yes. If the keyword is spoken in the native language and is spelled correctly in your keyword settings, Shilo can detect it in the transcript.

This works best for languages that use Latin-based letters. For languages that use character-based writing systems, such as Chinese, keyword detection may be less reliable.

If you are not sure which keywords to use, start with the topics your team reviews most often during coaching. Shilo support can also help you decide which keywords may be most useful for your goals.