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What is Exotel used for in a Bolna voice agent?
Exotel is an Indian cloud telephony provider that Bolna uses to place outbound calls and answer inbound calls on your own Exotel phone numbers (ExoPhones). Pick Exotel if your business already runs its phone lines on Exotel and you want your AI agent to call from, and answer on, those same numbers.
How do I set up Exotel with Bolna?
- In your Exotel dashboard, open Manage, then App Bazaar, and create an outbound app: add a Voicebot applet with the URL https://api.bolna.ai/exotel_callback, then a Connect applet set to dynamic parameters with https://api.bolna.ai/exotel_connect_transfer so the agent can transfer live calls.
- Create a second app for inbound calls the same way, using https://api.bolna.ai/inbound_call in the Voicebot applet, and connect it to your ExoPhone. Note both app IDs.
- In Bolna, go to Settings, then Integrations, filter by Telephony and click Connect on the Exotel card. Enter your API key, API token, account SID, domain, the outbound and inbound app IDs and your ExoPhone number.
- Open your agent's Calling tab, choose Exotel as the telephony provider and save. You can now place calls from the dashboard or the call API, and the ExoPhone answers inbound calls with this agent.
Full walkthrough with screenshots: Exotel setup guide in the Bolna docs.
Which numbers and regions does Bolna support with Exotel?
| Feature | Exotel on Bolna |
|---|---|
| Supported country | India |
| Outbound calls | Yes |
| Inbound calls | Yes, through an Exotel inbound app linked to your ExoPhone |
| Bring your own Exotel account | Yes, required |
| Buy a number in Bolna | No, use your own ExoPhones |
| Call transfer to a human | Yes, through the Connect applet in your Exotel app |
| Call recording | Enable "Record this" on the Voicebot applet |
| Keypad input (DTMF) | Not supported yet |
| IVR menus | Not supported (Plivo only) |
If you'd rather connect Exotel over SIP, see Exotel SIP trunking. For Indian numbers you can buy inside Bolna, look at Plivo or Vobiz.
What can you build with Exotel and Bolna?
Inbound support lines. Put an AI agent on the ExoPhone your customers already call, and transfer to a human through the Connect applet when needed.
Outbound campaigns in India. Run reminders, collections or lead qualification calls from your Exotel numbers, and scale them with batch calling.
Appointment scheduling. Let the agent book and confirm appointments over the phone in Hindi, English or Hinglish, using the same numbers your front desk uses today.
Keep your number reputation. Because calls go out from your own Exotel account, customers see the numbers they already know, and call logs stay visible in both the Bolna and Exotel dashboards.