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Overview

The Contacts section in Callin.io is where you store, manage, and organize all the people your AI agents can reach — including clients, leads, or even internal test users. Every entry in this section acts as a reference point for future interactions, enabling your agents to make personalized, automated, or direct calls using dynamic data. Contacts play three essential roles in the Callin.io ecosystem:
  • Direct Calls: Allows you to select one or multiple people and initiate calls immediately using any AI agent.
  • Campaigns: Contacts serve as the source data for automated outreach workflows, enabling mass communication without manual dialing.
  • Dynamic Variables: Information such as name, email, or appointment time can be inserted dynamically into prompts to personalize conversations.
Example: 
Hi {{name}}, I’m calling to confirm your appointment tomorrow at {{hour}}.
When the AI agent runs, {{name}} and {{hour}} will automatically populate with each contact’s specific information. This mechanism allows Callin.io to deliver customized and natural-sounding conversations at scale.

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Before You Start

Before creating or importing contacts, it’s important to understand how they integrate with your overall system:
  • Contacts are stored centrally and used across multiple tools like Telephony → Contacts and Campaigns.
  • Each contact record contains at least one required field — the Phone Number — which acts as the unique identifier for calls.
  • You can enrich contacts with optional fields like Name and Email, which become usable as variables in prompts.
  • Imported contact data is validated automatically to prevent duplicates and formatting errors.
Maintaining a clean, structured contact list ensures smoother campaign execution, better analytics, and more natural agent performance.

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Steps

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1. Open the Contacts Section

To start managing your contacts, go to Telephony → Contacts from the left sidebar. You’ll find a dynamic table that lists your existing contacts with columns for:
  • Name — the person’s full name.
  • Phone Number — must include the country code in international format.
  • Email — optional, but useful for verification or follow-up automation.
From this view, you can:
  • Add new contacts individually.
  • Upload a list of contacts using a CSV file.
  • Edit existing contact details.
  • Delete selected contacts.
  • Export your contact list for backup or data migration.
The interface supports both single-entry management and bulk actions, allowing you to handle large databases efficiently.

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2. Add a Contact Manually

Manual creation is useful when testing or adding a small number of contacts.
  1. Click + Add Contact.
  2. Fill in the required details:
    • Name: The person’s name (e.g., Laura Perez).
    • Phone Number: Required. Use full international format (e.g., +15551234567).
    • Email: Optional but recommended for multi-channel engagement.
  3. Click Save Contact to store it.
The newly added contact will appear immediately in your contact table. You can now assign it to an agent or include it in a campaign.

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3. Upload Contacts With a CSV File

If you need to import multiple contacts at once, you can upload them using a properly formatted CSV file. This method is ideal for large datasets such as lead lists, CRM exports, or existing client records. Follow these steps:
  1. Click Upload CSV.
  2. Choose your file from your local device.
  3. Map your CSV columns to the corresponding Callin.io fields:
    • Phone (required) — used as the unique identifier.
    • Name — ensures agents can greet customers by name.
    • Email (optional) — useful for personalized messages or follow-ups.
  4. If your numbers don’t include the “+” sign or country code, select a default country from the dropdown.
  5. Click Continue to preview your mapping and verify that the data aligns with Callin.io’s format.
  6. Once validated, click Confirm to finalize the import.
Tip: You can download a sample CSV template from the upload screen. This helps ensure your file headers and formatting match Callin.io’s requirements.
Validation and Import Behavior:
  • The system automatically checks for duplicates based on phone number.
  • Records missing a valid phone number are skipped.
  • Errors are displayed with specific row numbers so you can fix and reupload easily.
This validation ensures your contact data remains clean and consistent.

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4. Use Contacts With Agents

Your contact list is directly linked to your AI agents, enabling fast outreach and real-time testing. At the top of the Contacts page, you’ll find a Select Agent dropdown. Follow these steps:
  1. Open Select Agent and choose which AI agent should make the calls.
  2. Select one or more contacts using the checkboxes beside their names.
  3. Click Call Selected to start calling those contacts.
The selected AI agent will automatically begin calling each contact according to its assigned prompt, behavior, and voice configuration. This is especially useful for:
  • Running quick test calls to validate scripts.
  • Following up with leads or customers manually.
  • Conducting targeted outreach without creating an entire campaign.
You can also perform bulk deletions using the Delete Selected option to remove outdated or invalid contacts from your list. The system will ask for confirmation before deleting any data.

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5. Use Contacts in Campaigns

Every contact you create or import in Callin.io is immediately available in Telephony → Campaigns. You can group and segment contacts based on your needs, assigning them to specific campaigns or AI agents. Campaign integration allows you to:
  • Build automated call flows using your contact database.
  • Segment lists by agent, location, or purpose.
  • Automate outreach sequences such as reminders, feedback requests, or lead qualification.
  • Track engagement metrics — for example, how many contacts answered or scheduled an appointment.
When you launch a campaign, Callin.io dynamically references your contact data. This means any updates you make in the Contacts section (like name or phone number corrections) will automatically reflect in all related campaigns.

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Why It Matters

Having your contacts centralized within Callin.io creates a single source of truth for all your communications. This ensures that your AI agents always have accurate, up-to-date data to personalize every call. Advantages of proper contact management:
  • Organization: Keep all clients and leads in one structured database.
  • Automation: Launch campaigns seamlessly without re-uploading contact data.
  • Personalization: Use dynamic fields to make interactions sound human and relevant.
  • Scalability: Manage thousands of records efficiently through bulk actions and CSV imports.
  • Data Integrity: Built-in validation prevents duplicate entries or malformed numbers.
When your contact database is well maintained, your agents can reach the right people faster, perform at higher accuracy, and produce measurable business outcomes.

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Phone Number

  • Cause: Each contact must include a valid number with a country code.
  • Fix: Review your contact list and update any incomplete entries. The system will flag these automatically during import.

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CSV Upload Failed

  • Cause: File size exceeds 10 MB or columns don’t match required headers.
  • Fix: Reduce file size or verify that your columns are correctly mapped (Phone, Name, Email). Save the file in UTF-8 encoding to avoid errors.

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Agent Not Calling

  • Cause: No agent was selected before clicking Call Selected.
  • Fix: Ensure you choose an AI agent from the dropdown at the top of the page before initiating a call.

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Duplicated Contacts After Import

  • Cause: The same number appears multiple times in your CSV.
  • Fix: Use the built-in duplicate validation feature or clean your data before upload.

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Final Note

Your contact list is the foundation of every operation within Callin.io. Once it’s set up correctly, it enables your AI agents to call real people, launch campaigns, and personalize every conversation seamlessly. Think of your Contacts as the heartbeat of your AI workflow — every interaction, campaign, or prompt begins here. Keeping this section updated, validated, and organized ensures your agents always communicate in a way that feels relevant, professional, and human-like.