---
title: Create an outbound campaign
description: "Run a batch call: a voice agent calls a filtered list of contacts from one of your numbers. Name it, set the calling window and retries, pick the audience."
---

<Badge variant="accent">Voice agents</Badge>

An outbound campaign dials contacts one after another, inside a calling window,
and hands each answered call to the agent. It is created under **Launch AI
Voice** in a wizard of 3 steps, with one more when the agent declares dynamic
variables and another when you pick a post-call flow, and then runs on its own
until the list is exhausted or you stop it.

:::note[Before you start]
You need a published voice agent, a [phone number](/deploy/phone-numbers/overview)
and [contacts](/deploy/contacts) that share a **Source** or **Tag**. If the agent's
prompt uses [dynamic variables](/build/dynamic-variables), give the contacts
metadata fields with the same names.
:::

## Create it

1. **Choose the type**

    In the sidebar choose **Launch AI Voice**, then **Create Campaign**. In
    **Select Campaign Type** choose **Outbound**, described as *Make calls from
    your AI agent*.

2. **Campaign info**

    Type a **Campaign Name** of at least 3 characters. Pick the **AI Agent**
    (the list shows the workspace's voice agents, most recently updated first)
    and the **Outbound Phone Number** the calls come from. **Agent version** follows
    the agent's latest version unless you pin the campaign to a specific one; an
    agent with nothing published shows **Publish the agent** and *This agent has
    no published version yet. Publish it to pin a version.* Leave **Post-call flow** on
    **No flow** unless you have built an automation to receive results; picking
    one adds a mapping step at the end. **Next**.

3. **Schedule and retries**

    **Start Date** defaults to today; leave **End Date** blank for an ongoing
    campaign. Set **Call Time - From** and **To**, tick the **Days of Week**, and
    choose the **Timezone** the window is expressed in. Tick **Enable retry
    attempts** to call back numbers that did not answer. The options are
    explained in [Calling windows and retries](/deploy/campaigns/calling-windows-and-retries).
    **Next**.

4. **Audience**

    Choose at least one value in **Contact Sources** and **Contact Tags**;
    **Contact Categories** is optional. Each picker is a multi-select with
    **(Select All)**. A contact is called when it matches a selected source and a
    selected tag, and a selected category if any. See
    [Audience, tags and categories](/deploy/campaigns/audience-tags-and-categories).
    The button below is **Launch your AI**, or **Next** when a variables or
    flow step follows.

5. **Agent variables (agents with dynamic variables only)**

    **Agent Dynamic Variable Mapping** lists each variable the agent's prompt
    uses. For each one pick a **Data Source** (a contact field such as
    **Firstname** or **Metadata**) or **Use custom input** for a fixed value.

6. **Flow mapping (with a post-call flow only)**

    The chosen flow is shown with **Change**. **Webhook Variable Mapping** lists
    the variables the flow expects; map each to a data source. **Test Flow**
    sends a test run.

7. **Launch**

    Choose **Launch your AI**. The campaign appears in the list as a card with
    its status, agent, number, schedule and audience. A start date in the future
    lists it as **Scheduled**.

<video src="/media/deploy/create-outbound-campaign.mp4" autoplay loop muted playsinline></video>

*The outbound campaign wizard, from Create Campaign to the audience step.*

![The schedule step with retries enabled.](/media/deploy/campaign-schedule-step.webp)

## What the agent knows about each contact

The agent is told the contact's name and number, and any metadata field whose
name matches a <Term>dynamic variable</Term> in the prompt is filled in for that call. To
check or change the mapping after creation, pause the campaign and open its
**Settings** page: the **Agent variables** section, **Agent Dynamic Variable
Mapping**, lists each variable the agent declares and the data source it takes.
An agent with no variables shows *The selected AI Agent has no dynamic variables
defined*.

The **Settings** page also has a **Webhook** section to forward every call's
outcome to an integration or custom flow from [Automations](/operate/automations).

## Verify

- The card under **Launch AI Voice** shows the right agent, number, schedule
  and tag count. **View Details** opens the campaign's page.
- Inside the calling window, **Total Calls** on the page starts to climb and
  **Call Logs** on the campaign fills with rows. Open one to read the transcript.
- The campaign's **Status** filter and tiles (**Running Campaigns**,
  **Scheduled Campaigns**, **Completed Campaigns**) reflect where it is.

## Troubleshooting

- **Outbound is greyed out in Select Campaign Type.** No phone number is free
  for an outbound campaign; the card says why and offers **Add a phone number**.
- **Next stays disabled on the first step.** The name needs at least 3
  characters, and an agent and a number must be picked.
- **Launch your AI stays disabled.** Both **Contact Sources** and **Contact
  Tags** need at least one value.
- **The campaign is scheduled but nothing dials.** You are outside **Call Time**
  or **Days of Week** in the chosen **Timezone**. The campaign's page shows the
  window converted to your local time.
- **Calls go out slower than expected.** The trunk's **Concurrency Limit** caps
  simultaneous calls. See [SIP trunk](/deploy/phone-numbers/sip-trunk).
- **Variables are empty on the call.** The contact metadata field name and the
  prompt's variable name differ. Names are exact; check the **Agent variables**
  section in **Settings**.

## Related

- [Calling windows and retries](/deploy/campaigns/calling-windows-and-retries)
- [Audience, tags and categories](/deploy/campaigns/audience-tags-and-categories)
- [Campaign details](/deploy/campaigns/campaign-details)
- [Contacts](/deploy/contacts)
- [Answering machine detection](/build/speech-pipeline/answering-machine-detection)