Telnyx AI Outbound Voice Calls - Python

Make an AI assistant call any phone number. This skill covers the complete setup from purchasing a number to triggering the call.

Installation

bash
pip install telnyx requests

Setup

python
import os
from telnyx import Telnyx

client = Telnyx(api_key=os.environ.get("TELNYX_API_KEY"))

Prerequisites

Outbound voice calls require all of the following. Missing any one produces a specific error — see Troubleshooting.

1. A purchased Telnyx phone number
2. A TeXML application
3. The phone number assigned to the TeXML application
4. An outbound voice profile with destination countries whitelisted
5. An AI assistant with telephony_settings.default_texml_app_id set to the TeXML app

Model availability

Model availability varies by account. If client.ai.assistants.create() returns 422 "not available for inference", discover working models from existing assistants:

python
for a in client.ai.assistants.list().data:
    print(a.model)

Commonly available: openai/gpt-4o, Qwen/Qwen3-235B-A22B.

Step 1: Purchase a phone number

python
import time

available = client.available_phone_numbers.list()
phone = available.data[0].phone_number

number_order = client.number_orders.create(
    phone_numbers=[{"phone_number": phone}],
)
time.sleep(3)

order = client.number_orders.retrieve(number_order.data.id)
assert order.data.status == "success"
print(f"Purchased: {phone}")

Step 2: Create a TeXML application

The voice_url is required by the API but is not used for outbound AI assistant calls. The TeXML app ID is also used as the connection_id when assigning phone numbers.

python
texml_app = client.texml_applications.create(
    friendly_name="My AI Assistant App",
    voice_url="https://example.com/placeholder",
)
app_id = texml_app.data.id  # This is also the connection_id for phone number assignment

Step 3: Assign the phone number to the TeXML application

A phone number cannot make calls until it is assigned to a connection.

python
import requests

requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/phone_numbers/{phone}",
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['TELNYX_API_KEY']}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={"connection_id": app_id},
)

Step 4: Whitelist destination countries

By default only US and CA are whitelisted. Calling any other country without whitelisting it first returns 403 error code D13.

python
import requests

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['TELNYX_API_KEY']}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}

# Find the outbound voice profile
r = requests.get(
    "https://api.telnyx.com/v2/outbound_voice_profiles", headers=headers
)
ovp_id = r.json()["data"][0]["id"]

# Add destination countries (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes)
requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/outbound_voice_profiles/{ovp_id}",
    headers=headers,
    json={"whitelisted_destinations": ["US", "CA", "IE", "GB"]},
)

# Assign the profile to the TeXML app
requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/texml_applications/{app_id}",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "friendly_name": "My AI Assistant App",
        "voice_url": "https://example.com/placeholder",
        "outbound": {"outbound_voice_profile_id": ovp_id},
    },
)

Step 5: Create the AI assistant with telephony settings

telephony_settings with default_texml_app_id is required for outbound calls. Without it, scheduled_events.create() returns 400 "Assistant does not have telephony settings configured".

python
assistant = client.ai.assistants.create(
    name="My Voice Assistant",
    model="openai/gpt-4o",
    instructions=(
        "You are a helpful phone assistant. "
        "Keep your answers concise and conversational since this is a phone call."
    ),
    greeting="Hello! How can I help you today?",
    telephony_settings={"default_texml_app_id": app_id},
)

To add telephony to an existing assistant:

python
client.ai.assistants.update(
    assistant_id="your-assistant-id",
    telephony_settings={"default_texml_app_id": app_id},
)

Step 6: Trigger an outbound call

Use scheduled_events.create() with a time a few seconds in the future for an immediate call.

python
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta

event = client.ai.assistants.scheduled_events.create(
    assistant_id=assistant.id,
    telnyx_conversation_channel="phone_call",
    telnyx_end_user_target="+13125550001",  # Number to call (recipient)
    telnyx_agent_target=phone,               # Your Telnyx number (caller ID)
    scheduled_at_fixed_datetime=(
        datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(seconds=5)
    ).isoformat(),
)
print(f"Status: {event.status}")  # "pending"

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-----------|------|----------|-------------| | assistant_id | string (UUID) | Yes | The AI assistant that handles the call. | | telnyx_conversation_channel | string | Yes | Must be "phone_call". | | telnyx_end_user_target | string (E.164) | Yes | Phone number to call (recipient). | | telnyx_agent_target | string (E.164) | Yes | Your Telnyx number (caller ID). Must be assigned to the TeXML app. | | scheduled_at_fixed_datetime | string (ISO 8601) | Yes | When to place the call. ~5s in the future for immediate. | | dynamic_variables | object | No | Variables to pass to the assistant. | | conversation_metadata | object | No | Metadata to attach to the conversation. |

Complete minimal example

python
import os, time
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
from telnyx import Telnyx
import requests

api_key = os.environ["TELNYX_API_KEY"]
client = Telnyx(api_key=api_key)
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

# 1. Buy a number
available = client.available_phone_numbers.list()
phone = available.data[0].phone_number
order = client.number_orders.create(phone_numbers=[{"phone_number": phone}])
time.sleep(3)

# 2. Create TeXML app
app = client.texml_applications.create(
    friendly_name="AI Outbound App",
    voice_url="https://example.com/placeholder",
)
app_id = app.data.id

# 3. Assign number
requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/phone_numbers/{phone}",
    headers=headers,
    json={"connection_id": app_id},
)

# 4. Configure outbound profile
ovp = requests.get("https://api.telnyx.com/v2/outbound_voice_profiles", headers=headers).json()["data"][0]
requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/outbound_voice_profiles/{ovp['id']}",
    headers=headers,
    json={"whitelisted_destinations": ["US", "CA"]},
)
requests.patch(
    f"https://api.telnyx.com/v2/texml_applications/{app_id}",
    headers=headers,
    json={
        "friendly_name": "AI Outbound App",
        "voice_url": "https://example.com/placeholder",
        "outbound": {"outbound_voice_profile_id": ovp["id"]},
    },
)

# 5. Create assistant with telephony
assistant = client.ai.assistants.create(
    name="Outbound Bot",
    model="openai/gpt-4o",
    instructions="You are a helpful phone assistant.",
    telephony_settings={"default_texml_app_id": app_id},
)

# 6. Trigger call
client.ai.assistants.scheduled_events.create(
    assistant_id=assistant.id,
    telnyx_conversation_channel="phone_call",
    telnyx_end_user_target="+13125550001",
    telnyx_agent_target=phone,
    scheduled_at_fixed_datetime=(datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(seconds=5)).isoformat(),
)

Troubleshooting

400: "Assistant does not have telephony settings configured"

The assistant is missing:

python
telephony_settings={"default_texml_app_id": app_id}

Fix by updating the assistant with default_texml_app_id.

400: "Cannot make outbound call with no outbound voice profile"

The TeXML application does not have an outbound voice profile assigned.

Fix Step 4 above: patch the TeXML app with:

python
"outbound": {"outbound_voice_profile_id": ovp_id}

403 with detail.code == "D13"

The destination country is not whitelisted on the outbound voice profile.

Fix Step 4 above: add the destination country ISO code to whitelisted_destinations.

Call never starts / remains pending

Check:

1. scheduled_at_fixed_datetime is in the future and in UTC
2. telnyx_agent_target is your purchased Telnyx number
3. telnyx_end_user_target is the recipient number
4. The purchased number is assigned to the TeXML app

422 "not available for inference"

The selected model is not enabled for your account.

List existing assistants to discover working models:

python
for a in client.ai.assistants.list().data:
    print(a.model)