Systems and methods for categorizing received calls based on early call information are disclosed. Early call information can be audio, video, other sensor data, or other data collected via a calling device during call setup or any time before the call is routed to or accepted at a receiving device. A call and early call information associated with the call are received. A call characteristic, which can be a purpose or topic of the call, is identified using the early call information. Based on the call characteristic, the received call is categorized and a relative priority for the call is assigned. The call can be routed based on the early call information, and a suggested response to the call can be identified. In some implementations, a machine learning model is trained to categorize received calls based on early call information.