Getting Started with Voice Agent
This guide walks you through creating your first voice agent from scratch, assigning it a phone number, and testing it with a live call. Most setups are done in minutes.
Getting here
In NZ Leads, go to Voice Agent → Voice Agents → Create New Agent.
Before you start
Have the following ready:
- Business name - what the agent says as the company name on calls.
- Agent name - what the agent calls itself (e.g., “Sarah”).
- A calendar / scheduling system (optional) - Cal.com, FieldPulse, GoHighLevel, HousecallPro, Quickbase, or leave it as Open Schedule for conversational scheduling.
- Your own business phone number (optional) - if you want callers to see your real number when the agent calls them, you will verify it as caller ID later.
Pricing for voice minutes and phone numbers is on the pricing page.
Create your agent
Open the Create Agent dialog
Click Voice Agent in the main navigation, then Create New Agent.
Fill in Basic Info
- Display Name - an internal label you use to identify the agent (e.g., “Main Answering Agent”). Not spoken on calls.
- Agent Type - choose one:
- Answering Agent - answers inbound calls to your business.
- Calling Agent - makes a single outbound call per new lead from your connected sources.
- Batch Calling Agent - runs outbound campaigns to a list of recipients.
- Business - select the business this agent belongs to.
- Company Name - spoken on the call (e.g., “ABC Plumbing”). Used wherever
{{company_name}}appears. - Agent AI Assistant Name - what the agent calls itself on the phone. Used wherever
{{agent_name}}appears. - Voice - preview and pick a voice from the library. See Voice Selection.
- Timezone - used for call hours and scheduling. Defaults to America/Los_Angeles.
Write the greeting and goal
Persona customization controls the name, voice, tone, and conversation style. It cannot make the agent claim to be human, deny being AI, or present itself as the business owner or a human employee.
The agent always identifies itself as AI, and this cannot be turned off. On outbound calls the platform prompt requires the first spoken sentence to be Hi, this is {agent_name}, AI Assistant from {business_name}., inserted before your configured greeting without rewriting the stored greeting text. The default inbound greeting introduces the agent as an AI Assistant too; keep that identification when you customize it. On every call the agent answers honestly whenever asked whether it is AI, a bot, robotic, virtual, automated, or recorded.
- Custom Greeting - the first line the agent says when the call connects. Max 500 characters. Supports
{{agent_name}}and{{company_name}}. - Main Goal - a one-sentence objective for every call. Max 2000 characters. For a Batch Calling Agent, this is personalized per recipient via the batch variables.
Add knowledge (optional but recommended)
On the Knowledge Base tab, upload your service list, price sheet, FAQ, or policy documents. Supported file types: .csv, .doc, .docx, .html, .md, .pdf, .txt, .xls, .xlsx. See Knowledge Base.
Connect a calendar (optional)
On the Integrations tab, choose a scheduling service. External services need credentials and connection validation. Open Schedule uses written rules and creates Jobs bookings on an AI text calendar. See Scheduling Integrations.
Assign a phone number
Open Voice Agent → Manage Business Phones and either buy a new number or select an existing one. Assign it to your new agent and toggle Accept inbound and/or Use for outbound as needed. See Phone Numbers.
Save
Click Save. The agent is live within a few seconds.
Make a test call
- Call the phone number you assigned to the agent.
- Let the agent greet you.
- Ask about a service, request pricing, or try booking an appointment.
- Open Voice Agent → Call Logs to hear the recording, read the transcript, and see the AI summary.
Common next steps
- Route your existing office line to the agent - see Call Forwarding Setup.
- Verify your real business number as caller ID so outbound calls show your number - see Caller ID & Trust Hub.
- Complete a Trust Hub profile so US carriers don’t flag your outbound calls as spam - see Caller ID & Trust Hub.
- Tune personality, rules, and closing questions - see Agent Configuration.
Troubleshooting
The agent isn’t answering inbound calls.
- Confirm the phone number is assigned to the agent and Accept inbound is on.
- Check the agent’s Timing (call hours) - calls outside your configured hours go to voicemail or are declined.
- If you are forwarding your own office line, confirm the forwarding rule points to the correct agent number.
The agent sounds robotic or rushed.
- Try a different voice from the library.
- Shorten the greeting - long greetings feel unnatural.
The agent gives wrong answers.
- Check your Knowledge Base - outdated pricing or conflicting documents are the most common cause.
- Add or refine a Custom Rule in Agent Configuration for edge cases.
Questions? Email support@nzleads.com.