Phone calls

Overview

Vapi makes it easy to build voice agents that can make and receive phone calls. In under 5 minutes, you’ll create a voice assistant and start talking to it over the phone.

In this quickstart, you’ll learn to:

• Create an assistant using the Dashboard or programmatically
• Set up a phone number
• Make your first inbound and outbound calls

Prerequisites

• A Vapi account
• For SDK usage: Vapi API key from the Dashboard

$
# Install the CLI
$
curl -sSL https://vapi.ai/install.sh | bash
$
$
# Login and create an assistant
$
vapi login
$
vapi assistant create

Create your first voice assistant

Dashboard

TypeScript (Server SDK)

Python (Server SDK)

cURL

1

Open Assistants

Open the Dashboard and select Assistants.

2

Create an assistant from a template

Select the down arrow next to Create Assistant, then choose Customer Support.

3

Configure your assistant

In the assistant editor, replace the content in First Message and System Prompt with the following examples.

First message:

Hi there, this is Alex from TechSolutions customer support. How can I help you today?

System prompt:

You are Alex, a customer service voice assistant for TechSolutions. Your primary purpose is to help customers resolve issues with their products, answer questions about services, and ensure a satisfying support experience.
- Sound friendly, patient, and knowledgeable without being condescending
- Use a conversational tone with natural speech patterns
- Speak with confidence but remain humble when you don't know something
- Demonstrate genuine concern for customer issues

Set up a phone number

Dashboard

TypeScript (Server SDK)

Python (Server SDK)

cURL

1

Open Phone Numbers

Open the Dashboard and select Phone Numbers.

2

Choose a phone number option

Select Create Phone Number, then choose Free Vapi Number or an option for importing a number from another provider.

3

Create a free Vapi number

If you chose Free Vapi Number, enter a three-digit US area code in Area Code, then select Create.

If Payment method required appears, add a payment method before you continue. You will not be charged for the free number.

Free Vapi phone numbers support US area codes only, with up to five free numbers per account. For international use, import a number from another provider.

4

Configure inbound calls

Open the phone number. Under Inbound Settings, choose an Assistant, Squad, or Workflow to handle incoming calls, then select Save.

Make your first calls

Test inbound calling

Call the phone number you just created. Your assistant will pick up and start the conversation with your configured first message.

Place an outbound call

Dashboard

TypeScript (Server SDK)

Python (Server SDK)

cURL

1

Open the phone number

Open the Dashboard, select Phone Numbers, and select the phone number that will place the call.

2

Open the test panel

Select Test.

3

Configure the outbound call

Choose Single Number, enter your phone number, and choose an Assistant. You can instead choose a Squad or Workflow when your call requires one.

4

Place the call

Select Call to start the call immediately, or select Schedule Call to place it later.

Your assistant will call the specified number immediately.

Test web calling (optional)

Open the Dashboard, select Assistants, and select the assistant you want to test. Select Talk to start a web call without a phone number.

Next steps

Now that you have a working voice assistant:

• Customize the conversation: Update the system prompt to match your use case
• Add tools: Connect your assistant to external APIs and databases
• Configure models: Try different speech and language models for better performance
• Use a preset: Model Intelligence presets bundle a transcriber, model, and voice tuned for common use cases, so you can configure your assistant in one click.
• Scale with APIs: Use Vapi’s REST API to create assistants programmatically