Outbound Calls

How Outbound Calls Work

Outbound calling lets your agency or automation start a live phone call from an agent to a contact. This is useful for reminders, follow-ups, lead outreach, and reactivation campaigns.

Common Launch Flow

From the admin side

1. Open the client.
2. Go to the outbound calling area.
3. Choose the phone agent that should place the call.
4. Enter the target number in E.164 format.
5. Add any helpful context variables.
6. Start the call.

By API or workflow

Use the outbound call endpoint when another system should trigger the call for you. This is the better path for reminders, campaign follow-ups, or automated reactivation plays.

POST /admin/clients/{clientId}/outbound-call
{
  "agentId": "sales-agent",
  "targetPhone": "+155501234",
  "dynamicVars": {
    "full_name": "Sarah Chen",
    "reason": "Follow up on consultation request"
  }
}

Required Setup

Before an outbound call will work, confirm:

• the client is active
• the phone agent is enabled
• outbound calling is enabled for that agent
• the destination phone number is valid
• the agent has room under its concurrency limit

Choosing the Right Agent

If you do not pass an agentId, the system usually falls back to the client's primary phone agent. If you do pass one, make sure it is the correct live agent for that campaign and that outbound is turned on.

Why Dynamic Variables Matter

Dynamic variables give the agent context before the person even says hello. Good examples include:

• the contact's full name
• why you are calling
• the appointment or case reference
• a short internal note
• the offer or campaign name

This helps the call sound prepared instead of generic.

Standard Outbound Flow

1. The platform starts the call through Twilio.
2. Twilio dials the contact.
3. When the contact answers, the live session begins.
4. The agent speaks using its prompt plus the dynamic variables you passed in.
5. The agent uses tools if the workflow allows it.
6. Post-call processing runs after the conversation ends.

Inbound and Outbound Are Different

Good Outbound Use Cases

• appointment reminders
• missed lead follow-up
• estimate or consultation follow-up
• win-back campaigns
• schedule changes that need a live explanation

Operator Advice

Outbound quality depends heavily on targeting and context. If results are weak, do not only tune the prompt. Also check whether the right list, right agent, and right call reason were sent into the session.