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For agent setup, see Create Phone Agent. For caller number, trunk, and transfer settings, see Agent Configuration.

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Prerequisites

Before making outbound calls, the agent must have an outbound caller number configured: Set this under Telephony & Routing in Channels → Phone → Agents.

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How To Make Outbound Calls

To choose regional caller numbers and retry sequence calls from different numbers, create a BYOC number pool in Settings → Phone Numbers. Select it under the agent’s Telephony & Routing → Outbound Caller setting. Sequences use that selection automatically. Pools use your verified BYOC numbers and your selected SIP trunk. They prefer a regional match when available and can use another pool number when there is no match, including for international calls. If the pool’s trunk is unavailable or invalid, the call cannot start. One-time calls make one attempt; automatic retries apply to sequence phone steps. Connect your Twilio account only if you want automatic number replacement. In a sequence’s People tab, hover or focus a pool call step to see its attempt count and caller number. Calling from identifies the current attempt; Last called from identifies the latest attempt while waiting for a retry or after it finishes. The person’s step details show the same number. The next caller is selected when the retry starts, so a scheduled retry does not display a predicted number.

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Report on sequence pool calls

Ask Companion for a number-pool performance app to compare calls per caller number, answer rates, voicemail, retry positions, and connected duration. Filter by date, pool, agent, or sequence, and use daily trends to compare changes. This report includes only sequence calls that used a pool at call time. Single-number calls, direct trunk calls, and one-time calls continue as before and do not appear in these metrics. With no matching pool calls, the report is empty. Retries count as separate attempts; unique contacts are counted separately. The report uses the caller number recorded for each pool attempt, so replacing a number or changing an agent’s pool does not rewrite past results. An attempt appears once its call record is saved; its outcome updates when the call settles. Companion and mini apps use the number-pool call metrics API, which requires sequences:read access. Choose a date range of up to 31 days and group results by caller number, UTC day, or attempt position.
  • Answer rate: human-answered attempts divided by all attempts, including pending calls. Detected voicemail is counted separately.
  • Busy: includes declined calls. Failed: includes attempts settled as failed, canceled, or missed.
  • Unknown: a finished call whose pool outcome has not been classified. It is not counted as no answer.
  • Connected duration: answer-to-end time for ended calls, including voicemail; ringing is excluded.
Use the returned totals for overall figures. Adding per-number unique contacts would count people again when they received a retry from another number. Results contain up to 500 groups; if truncated is true, narrow the filters before presenting a complete breakdown.
1

Open The Agent

Go to Channels → Phone → Agents and open the agent that should place the call.
2

Start The Call Flow

Click Test, then select Make phone call.
3

Enter The Destination Number

Enter the destination number in , then click Call.
4

Let The Call Connect

OpenCX starts the outbound call immediately using the outbound caller number or SIP trunk assigned to that agent.

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Quick Validation

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Follow Up On Call Outcomes

After pickup, the agent starts its opening without waiting for the recipient to speak. The agent continues listening and transcribing during the opening so voicemail detection can run in the background. Incoming speech does not cut off the protected opening. If voicemail is detected, the agent stops speaking and ends the call; part of the opening may already have played. An inconclusive check does not interrupt the call. Use Call Finished and Call → Disposition (trigger.call.disposition) to distinguish no answer, busy, voicemail, and other results. The trigger covers AI outbound attempts, including failures before the agent speaks. See Call lifecycle and outcomes for the full field reference, uncertain results, and summary timing. Follow Phone follow-up workflows to send a WhatsApp template, configure a one-time callback, or log results in your CRM. These actions require explicit workflow configuration.

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Workflow Call Results

Make phone call waits up to 30 minutes for a call result. Use its Status output to decide what happens next: These results let the workflow continue to later steps, including contact cleanup. A timeout does not hang up the call. Missing agents or sessions and other runtime errors can still fail the step. Summary and Recording URL contain the available session summary and recording link. Either may be empty when the step finishes; an empty output does not fail the step. Recording links expire after one hour.
Agents using the organization knowledge base return success immediately without waiting for the call to finish. Use Call Finished for their completion handling. Use Call → Disposition whenever you need detailed answer evidence.
Update existing outcome branches. If a workflow checks this action’s Status for success after waiting for the call, replace that condition with the appropriate outcome above and handle timeout. The immediate success response for agents using the organization knowledge base is unchanged.

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Common Outbound Call Mistakes

Most failed first tests come from three issues: the destination number is not in E.164 format, the agent does not have a valid outbound number, pool, or SIP trunk selected, or the team tests with a number nobody can answer.

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Questions Teams Usually Ask Before Going Live

The recipient sees the agent’s selected caller number, the number chosen from its pool, or the caller ID configured on its SIP trunk in Channels → Phone → Agents. Test with a phone you can answer before calling customers.
Open the inbox to review the transcript and call record after the call starts.
First confirm the number is in E.164 format. Then open Channels → Phone → Agents and verify Telephony & Routing has a valid outbound number, BYOC pool, or SIP trunk selected.
Yes. If transfer destinations are assigned to the agent, it can transfer the live call during the call. Configure those destinations in Channels → Phone → Agents.

Agent Configuration

Set outbound caller number and trunk under Telephony & Routing.

Create Phone Agent

Set up the agent before placing live outbound calls.

SIP Integration

Configure outbound SIP trunks for BYOC.

Phone API

Make outbound calls programmatically.