Build Your First Agent

An agent is an AI voice assistant that handles phone conversations autonomously. This guide walks you through creating your first one.

Two Ways to Create an Agent

BuildVoiceAI offers two approaches to agent creation:

1. Manual Form — Fill in each field yourself for full control.
2. AI Agent Builder — Describe what you want in plain language and let AI generate the configuration.

For your first agent, we’ll cover both methods so you can choose the one that fits your workflow.

Method 1: Manual Form

Open the creation form

1. Navigate to Agents in the left sidebar.
2. Click the New Agent button in the top right corner.
3. The agent creation form opens.

Fill in the fields

Name (required) Give your agent a descriptive name. This is for your reference and will appear in call logs and analytics. Examples: “Dental Receptionist”, “Lead Qualifier”, “After-Hours Support”.

Provider (required) Select the voice provider for this agent. Your connected providers appear in the dropdown. If you only connected one during onboarding, it will be pre-selected.

Prompt (required) This is the most important field. The prompt defines your agent’s personality, role, knowledge, and conversation flow. Write it in natural language as instructions to the AI.

Here’s a minimal example to get started:

You are a friendly receptionist for Bright Smile Dental.
Your job is to answer phone calls and help callers book appointments.

Key information:
- Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8am to 5pm
- Location: 123 Main Street, Springfield
- Services: cleanings, fillings, crowns, whitening

Always be polite and professional. If someone asks about pricing,
let them know they can get a detailed quote at their appointment.
If a caller has a dental emergency, advise them to call 911 or
go to their nearest emergency room.

Voice Choose a voice for your agent. The available voices depend on your selected provider. You can preview voices by clicking the play button next to each option.

Phone Number (optional) If you have phone numbers synced from your voice provider, you can assign one now. This enables inbound calls to reach your agent. You can also do this later.

Client (optional) Assign the agent to a specific client if you’ve created one. Leave blank if this is a general-purpose or test agent.

Active Toggle the agent on or off. Active agents can receive inbound calls and be used for outbound calls. Inactive agents are paused.

Save the agent

Click Create Agent. BuildVoiceAI saves the configuration and syncs it to your voice provider. You’ll be taken to the agent detail page where you can make a test call.

Method 2: AI Agent Builder

The AI Agent Builder lets you describe what you need in plain language and generates a fully configured agent for you.

Open the AI Builder

1. Navigate to Agents in the left sidebar.
2. Click the AI Agent Builder button (or the sparkles icon).

Describe your agent

In the chat interface, describe what you want your agent to do. Be as specific as possible. For example:

“I need a dental appointment booking agent for a practice called Bright Smile Dental. They’re open Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm. The agent should be friendly, collect the caller’s name and preferred time, and confirm the appointment.”

The AI generates a complete prompt based on your description.

Review the generated prompt

The right panel shows a live preview of the generated prompt. Review it to make sure it captures what you need. You can:

• Ask the AI to modify specific parts (“Make the greeting more casual”)
• Ask for additions (“Add handling for insurance questions”)
• Edit the prompt directly in the preview panel

Pick a voice

Select a voice that matches your agent’s personality. The voice picker shows options from your connected provider with preview playback.

Assign a phone number

Optionally select a phone number from the dropdown. You can skip this and assign one later.

Create the agent

Click Create Agent to save. The AI Builder creates the agent in BuildVoiceAI and syncs it to your voice provider.

What’s Next?

Your agent is created. Now make your first test call to hear it in action.

For more details on fine-tuning your agent, see:

• Agent Editor — All configuration options explained
• Prompt Engineering — Write better prompts for more natural conversations
• Voice Selection — Choose the right voice for your use case