Phone numbers: buying, and pointing them somewhere

The Phone Numbers page lists every number on the connected account. A list of numbers is something your carrier console already gives you; what it cannot tell you is whether a number reaches a queue on your dialer, an AI agent, routing you set up yourself, or nothing at all. That is the column this page exists for.

Reading the list

The widest column is Answers with, and it is the only one that changes colour. It says, per number, what a caller actually reaches:

• An in-group on one of your dialers — the number rings your agents.
• An AI agent — the number is answered by software.
• Routing you configured yourself, outside VICIfast — left exactly as it is.
• Nothing. A number nobody can reach is the most expensive kind, so it is called out rather than left blank.

Buy a number

This is the only screen in Smart Carrier that spends money, so it is the only one that asks twice.

Telnyx fulfils number orders asynchronously, and an accepted order can still fail. The dialog waits and reports what actually happened rather than closing on a hopeful note, so if it says you own the number, you own it.

Point it at your dialer

Behind that, two things happen. On the carrier side the number is pointed at a connection that delivers to your box. On the dialer side the DID is created and routed to the in-group you picked, and an inbound trunk is set up on that server the first time you attach a number to it.

Point it at an AI agent

Attaching a number to an agent instead routes the call to Telnyx’s AI platform, where your agent answers it. Nothing reaches your dialer unless the agent hands the call off — see the AI Agents article for how handoff works.

Detach

Detaching unpoints the number, so nothing answers it any more.