Phone Numbers
Get calls to Octocom: test on the shared demo numbers with an access code, buy a US number in the dashboard (one per business, inbound and agent calls only), bring your own number by forwarding, through your Twilio account or over SIP (octocom.sip.twilio.com), and choose caller IDs for campaigns.
A phone line is where Octocom receives calls. Each line belongs to a business and has its own call routing. There are three kinds:
| Kind | How callers reach it | How to get one |
|---|---|---|
| Test line | Call a demo number and enter the line's access code | Add Voice Agent in the dashboard, or create_phone_line without an address |
| Phone number | Call the number | Buy one or bring your own |
| SIP address | Your phone system sends the call over SIP | create_phone_line with a SIP user as address |
All of them are listed in Settings -> Voice & SMS -> Phone numbers, and by list_phone_lines, which also says how to call each line.
Demo numbers
Every test line has a 5-digit access code. To call it, dial any of these numbers, then enter the code followed by #:
- +1 659-250-4864
- +34 960 321 974
- +44 7360 275518
Any demo number works with any access code. Add Voice Agent in Settings -> Voice & SMS -> Voice agents creates a voice agent with its own test line; its code is in the Demo access codes column. With Copilot or MCP, create a line without an address.
Test lines are for trying a voice AI before it answers a real number. Callers hear a prompt for the code first.
Buy a number
Open Settings -> Voice & SMS -> Phone numbers and click Purchase number. Pick the voice agent that should answer, accept the terms and click Purchase. The number answers immediately with a copy of that voice agent's settings.
- US numbers only. Octocom picks an available number; you can't choose it.
- One purchased number per business, ever. A released number still counts. Contact your account manager for more numbers.
- For inbound calls and calls by your agents. A purchased number can't be used for SMS or as a campaign caller ID.
- You need a voice agent first. Create one with Add Voice Agent.
With Copilot or MCP, use purchase_phone_number with the voice AI settings the number should answer with. Buying is paid, so only do it when you mean to. release_phone_number gives a purchased number up for good; the business can't buy another one itself.
Bring your own number
To answer calls to a number you already have, choose one of these:
| Option | How it works |
|---|---|
| Forward your calls | Forward calls from your number to a number that already answers on Octocom, such as a purchased number. Whether Octocom sees the original caller's number depends on how your carrier forwards the call, so test it with a call. |
| Use a Twilio number | Octocom connects your Twilio account, and the number sends its calls to Octocom. A number with another carrier can be ported to Twilio first. Contact your account manager to connect an account. |
| Use SIP | Your phone system sends calls to Octocom's SIP domain. See SIP. |
After the number sends calls to Octocom, add it as a line with create_phone_line and the number as address, in E.164 format such as +15551234567. Connected Twilio accounts are listed in Settings -> Voice & SMS -> Your Twilio accounts.
Getting a number in another country needs documents that vary by country: see Requirements by country.
SIP
Your phone system, PBX or carrier can send calls to Octocom over SIP, without a phone number in between.
- Create a SIP line with
create_phone_lineand a SIP user asaddress, such assupport. A SIP user is letters, digits,.,_and-, up to 64 characters, and can't be digits only. Each SIP user can belong to only one line across Octocom, so pick a distinctive one, such as your brand name. - Get the SIP credentials from your account manager.
- Send calls to
sip:<SIP user>@octocom.sip.twilio.com, for examplesip:[email protected], authenticating with those credentials.
If your system can only dial numbers, send sip:<number>@octocom.sip.twilio.com instead: it reaches the line whose address is that E.164 number.
Pass the caller's number in the SIP From header, or in a custom X-Customer-Number header when From carries your system's own identity. The call needs a caller number to be answered.
SIP lines are routed with Copilot or MCP (update_phone_line), not in the dashboard's Edit routing.
Caller IDs for campaigns
A campaign calls from one of the business's own numbers:
- A number of yours on a connected Twilio account can be a campaign caller ID. The call goes out through that account.
- The demo numbers are available as caller IDs for test campaigns when the business has a test line.
- A purchased number can't be a campaign caller ID.
get_campaign_resources lists the caller IDs a business can use. In the dashboard, they're the options under Phone number when you create a campaign.
When your agents call customers from the help desk, Octocom uses the business's purchased number if it has one. See Phone calls in the help desk.