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Quickstart

Get your first AI phone agent up and running in minutes.

Prerequisites​

  • A VOCALS account at dashboard.usevocals.com
  • API keys for at least one provider in each category (STT, LLM, TTS)
  • A SIP provider account (e.g., Twilio, Telnyx, or any SIP-compatible provider) with a phone number

Step 1: Configure providers​

Navigate to Configuration > Providers in the dashboard and add your AI provider credentials:

StageRecommended ProviderWhat it does
STTDeepgramConverts caller speech to text
LLMOpenAI (GPT-4o)Generates conversational responses
TTSElevenLabsConverts response text to speech

For each provider, enter your API key and select a model.

Step 2: Create an agent​

Go to Agents and click Create Agent:

  1. Name — Give your agent a descriptive name (e.g., "Customer Support")
  2. System Prompt — Define how the agent should behave: 
    You are a helpful customer support agent for Acme Corp.
    Be friendly, concise, and helpful. If you can't answer a
    question, offer to transfer the caller to a human agent.
  3. Providers — Select the STT, LLM, and TTS providers you configured
  4. Welcome Message — Optional greeting played when a call connects (e.g., "Hi, thanks for calling Acme Corp. How can I help you today?")
  5. Language — Set the agent's language (default: English)

Click Save to create the agent.

Step 3: Connect a phone number​

  1. Go to Configuration > SIP Providers and configure your SIP provider credentials
  2. Go to Configuration > Agents and assign a phone number to the agent you created
  3. VOCALS will route incoming calls on that number to your agent via SIP

Step 4: Make a test call​

Call the phone number you configured. You should hear the welcome message, and then be able to have a conversation with your AI agent.

Step 5: Monitor in the dashboard​

After the call, check the Dashboard to see:

  • Call duration and status
  • Conversation transcript
  • Latency metrics (STT, LLM, TTS)
  • Cost breakdown

Next steps​