Making outbound calls

You can make outbound calls from either your browser or your phone, using lines that belong to brands you’re authorized to access. Keep in mind that while you can initiate outbound calls using your own phone, the call will be passed to and made from the call console. You can make outbound calls regardless of whether yourstateis online, offline, away, or transfers only. You must be aTalk agent or team leadto make outbound calls.

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You can make outbound calls from either your browser or your phone, using lines that belong to brands you’re authorized to access. Keep in mind that while you can initiate outbound calls using your own phone, the call will be passed to and made from the call console. You can make outbound calls regardless of whether your state is online, offline, away, or transfers only. You must be a Talk agent or team lead to make outbound calls.

This article contains the following topics:

Considerations for making outbound calls

Making an outbound call from the call console

Making an outbound call from an existing ticket

Making an outbound call from a user's profile

Considerations for making outbound calls

Making an outbound call from Talk, forwarding it to another Talk number, and then sending the caller to voicemail while they wait in a queue isn't supported. Your admin can disable voicemail on numbers used for outbound calls to prevent end users from leaving voicemails, particularly if you don't monitor those numbers.

Making an outbound call from the call console

When you make a call from the call console, the call details are added to a new ticket. If you use multiple lines, you can filter outbound calls to quickly find the specific outbound line you want to call from.

To make an outbound call from the call console

In Support, click the Call icon ( ) in the topbar.

In the call console, click the dial pad icon ( ) to enter the phone number you want to call.

The default number that will be used is displayed in the outbound call number dropdown ( ). The default number is usually the last one you used. If your browser cache has been cleared, the outgoing line resets to the default number for the default brand.

Tip: A brand is a customer-facing identity, represented by a collection of contact points for your customers. These can include email, help center, messaging Web Widget, and social media. See Multibrand resources.

Choose a phone line from brands you have access to.
If you don’t see a line you expect, contact your administrator to confirm your brand access and the line’s brand assignment.

You can use the default number displayed in the outbound call number dropdown or select another number from the dropdown.

If you call from multiple lines, you can filter the options by starting to type in the dropdown and then selecting the line you want from the filtered list. You can filter by name, number, or brand.

Finally, you can enter a phone number on the keypad or in the phone number field.

When you're ready, click Call.
If you're using your own phone, Zendesk will call your number and then dial the requester after you pick up.

Tip: Although speed dial numbers aren't supported, it’s possible to enter the name of the person you wish to call into the dial pad, rather than type the number manually, if they are a user in your account. If many numbers or users are displayed, they might obscure the Call button. In this case, choose one of the numbers or users or narrow your search for names.

Making an outbound call from an existing ticket

When you make a call from a ticket, the call details are added to that ticket. You can initiate an outbound call from any ticket that isn’t closed, even if it was not created by an incoming call.

To make an outbound call from an existing ticket

Open the ticket you want to use to call the requester.

In the channel switcher menu of the message composer, click Call <number> or Call Enter a number. Select the displayed number or select Enter a number to manually enter a new number to dial.
The call console opens. You can then edit the outgoing number or search for and change the outbound phone line. The country code of the number will automatically change to match the number you are calling. When you are ready, click Call to initiate the phone call.

Tip: Brands play an important role in which phone line is used for an outbound call. When making a call from a ticket, a line of the same brand associated with the ticket is used (if available).

More information about making outbound calls from a number in a ticket

The following list gives you more information about behavior when you make an outbound call from a phone number in a ticket:

Zendesk always uses a line associated with the ticket brand, usually the one called by the caller. If the line called by the caller is not available or enabled for outbound calls (for example if it has been deleted or disabled) or it no longer belongs to the ticket brand, Zendesk uses the next available line of the same brand (the first line of the same brand in the lines list).

If the brand has no available or enabled lines for outbound calls, Zendesk uses the first available line of any brand you have access to (the uppermost line in the lines pick-list).

If you disable a line, it will still be shown as available in the call console until you refresh your browser window.

If the brand of the ticket has been updated and it's now different from the one called by the user, Zendesk uses the first available line of the new brand for the call.

More information about making a call from a ticket by entering a number

When you choose Enter a number from a ticket, the call console opens where you can configure details about the call. For more information, see Making an outbound call from the call console.

Making an outbound call from a user's profile

When you make a call from a user's profile, the call details are added to a new ticket.

To make an outbound call from a user's profile

Open a user's profile.

Click their number in the Phone field.

In the list, select Call this number.

The call console opens and calls the selected number. The default number used is the last one used by the agent.