Can AI assistants make phone calls?
An AI assistant needs a calling service to phone someone. Here's how it connects, what a call looks like, and where it stops.
Yes. An AI assistant can make phone calls if it has a service that connects it to a phone network. Some assistants have built-in calling. Others, such as ChatGPT and Claude, can request calls through an outside service like Bland.
We're Bland. We make AI that talks on the phone. Our Agent Phone Plan is a monthly plan that gives an AI assistant its own phone number for calls and texts. It plugs into an assistant you already use, such as ChatGPT or Claude. Some companies call their assistants agents; in this post both words mean the same thing.
Which AI assistants can make phone calls?#
Calls can come from a dedicated number, a shared number or your mobile number. We've put Bland's dedicated number first because we make it.
ChatGPT and Claude can't reach a phone network on their own, so the first two kinds connect a phone tool that dials and talks for the assistant. In the first, calls come from a number of the assistant's own. In the second, they come from a shared number.
The first kind is the assistant you already use, given a phone number of its own, which is what our Agent Phone Plan does. Your assistant passes Bland the task in plain words, such as "ask if they have drill bits in stock". Bland's voice AI then places that call from your plan's number and does the talking. When a call ends, your assistant gets a summary.
What does a number of its own add?#
Your assistant gets one US local number that it calls and texts from, and people can call or text that number back. Your agent can take calls on its number. Incoming-call setup is covered on the AI phone number page.
With the second kind, your assistant has a phone tool but no number of its own. Its calls go out from a shared number, so nobody can call or text your assistant back. When you try Bland for free, calls work this way.
How does an assistant use a phone tool?#
An assistant reaches anything outside the chat through a tool, and phone tools usually come from an MCP server. MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is a standard way for an assistant to use outside tools. Once a phone tool is connected, placing a call is one more thing the assistant can do, like reading a file.
Google builds the third kind into a phone. Its Call for Me feature, part of the Gemini assistant, works this way. Google's Gemini help page says you must be aged 18 or over and in the US, with a Pixel 11 and a US SIM card, the Gemini app, a Google AI subscription, the Public Beta Phone by Google app, and English. It only calls US numbers, and Google is rolling it out gradually.
The same page says Call for Me calls from your personal mobile number at your carrier's standard rates. Before it dials, it shows you a summary of what it will ask and the number it will call, and it won't handle payments or financial details.
Grok Bot also has built-in calling under terms that describe a temporary number. Meta says it is experimenting with Muse calling businesses. Those features are separate from connecting either assistant to Bland.
How do you add our plan to your assistant?#
Check your assistant's connection guide before subscribing, including ChatGPT plan eligibility. Then sign up for Bland, start the plan on our website and connect your assistant. Our setup for agents page has the steps for each one.
In ChatGPT, turn on developer mode in the settings for apps and connectors. Then add Bland as a custom connector, which is ChatGPT's name for an outside tool, and sign in with your Bland account. Placing a call counts as a write action in ChatGPT, because it changes something outside the chat, and some ChatGPT plans may not allow write actions. Check your ChatGPT plan can add a custom connector with write actions before you subscribe.
Grok Bot is an AI assistant from SpaceXSI, the company behind the Grok chatbot. Confirm compatibility with your version before subscribing. Phone with Bland is a ready-made template, but its connection method and compatibility remain unconfirmed. The setup for agents page shows where to find it; the documented developer routes have separate URL and authorization requirements.
The Claude app connects too, and so do Claude Code and Codex, the coding assistants from Anthropic and OpenAI. So do three personal assistants that run errands for you: Meta Muse from Meta, the open-source OpenClaw, and Poke.
How each assistant connects, for developers#
Most assistants connect to Bland's MCP server. Some sign in with Bland, and others use an API key, which is a secret code from your Bland account.
- ChatGPT: How it connects: Developer mode turned on for apps and connectors, then Bland's MCP server added as a custom connector; How it gets access: Sign in with Bland
- Claude app: How it connects: A custom connector under Settings, then Connectors; How it gets access: Sign in with Bland
- Claude Code: How it connects: One command that adds Bland's MCP server; How it gets access: Sign in with Bland or an API key
- Codex: How it connects: An entry in ~/.codex/config.toml; How it gets access: An API key in the BLAND_API_KEY environment variable
- OpenClaw: How it connects: An entry in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json; How it gets access: An API key in the BLAND_API_KEY environment variable
- Poke: How it connects: Bland's MCP server added by URL; How it gets access: An API key
- Meta Muse: How it connects: Bland's REST API, its direct web interface for developers, since Muse doesn't use MCP; How it gets access: An API key
Can an assistant sign you up by itself?#
Yes. Claude Code, Codex, Meta Muse and other assistants that can make web requests can start a Bland signup for you. The assistant shows you a link and a code, and our plan only begins when you approve the signup in a browser.
For a new Bland account, some assistants can use a digital wallet connected to Link, a payment app where you approve purchases. If yours has one, you pass it a one-time code sent to your phone by text, and it pays after you approve the charge in the Link app. The wallet payment covers the first month only; the owner must put a card on file for renewal.
Bland's setup instructions tell assistants never to handle your payment details. After that first approval, our plan renews monthly on the card on file until you cancel.
What does one of these calls look like?#
Say you type this to your assistant (the store and its number are made up):
Call the hardware store at (415) 555-0178, ask whether they have 12 mm masonry drill bits in stock and what time they close, then tell me what they say.
Your assistant should ask you before it starts a call, so keep that approval setting switched on. Bland then calls the store from your plan's number. When the conversation ends, your assistant brings back the two answers, something like "Yes, a pack of three, and they close at 6." Bland can't check the shelves itself, so the answer is only as good as what the store says.
You type your request and read the answer in your assistant. Bland handles the phone conversation in between.
Can the same number send texts?#
With an assistant whose texting setup is supported, you can ask it to text the store instead, and Bland sends the message from your number. If the store replies, Bland keeps the conversation going toward what you asked for.
ChatGPT places calls over the connector, and texting setup is covered separately. That does not confirm texting through ChatGPT's connector, which remains unverified. Bland's generic SMS guide does not establish ChatGPT support.
What are our plan's limits?#
Our plan is for one assistant doing one person's errands. The plan has these limits:
- Your account handles one call at a time.
- Your account has 20 calls an hour, 50 calls a day and 1,000 call minutes a day, with incoming and outgoing minutes counted together.
- Each outbound call can last up to 60 minutes.
- Your number can send 20 texts an hour and 100 a day.
- Calls and texts go to US and Canada numbers only.
While a call is running, a second outbound request is rejected and another inbound caller hears a busy message. Build is our bigger plan. If you need more calls at once, see Build on our pricing page.
Our plan costs $9.99 for the first month (once per account owner) and then $19.99 a month. Both prices include calls and texts to US and Canada numbers with no per-minute charge, up to our plan's caps. The AI phone number cost page has the details. You can try it for free. That try covers outbound calls only, from a shared Bland number: no dedicated number, no texting, no incoming calls.
Which kind should you pick?#
It depends on the assistant you already use and the phone you own.
If you already work in ChatGPT, Claude or Codex and want that assistant to have a number people can call back, our plan gives it one. Grok Bot, Meta Muse, OpenClaw and Poke can use our plan too, with the steps on the setup for agents page. If you own a Pixel 11 with a US SIM card, Google's Call for Me needs nothing from us, as long as you also have the Gemini app, a Google AI subscription and English set.
A shared number is enough when nobody needs to call your assistant back. Bland places your assistant's calls through its own phone service, so those calls don't use your mobile number.
To try Bland's calls for free or give your assistant its own number, start on the AI phone number page.