Set Up the Foundation for Agentforce Contact Center
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Identify the steps to provision a phone number for Salesforce Voice.
- Configure a voice channel to connect telephony with Salesforce.
- Set up media assets such as greetings and hold music.
A Unified Foundation for the Modern Contact Center
Your vision is for an AI-first contact center; now, it’s time to turn this vision into reality. As an admin, you’re the architect of your customer’s first impression. Before a single call is answered, before a single rep logs in, the infrastructure needs to be in place, and it all starts with the simplest yet most crucial component: the phone number!
Your executive team just approved a massive expansion into a new region in the US. Immediately, the pressure is on you, the admin, to launch a fully functioning contact center for this new market. In the past, this meant navigating endless paperwork, juggling external vendors, and waiting weeks for numbers to be provisioned. But now, armed with Agentforce Contact Center, that frustrating delay is over.
To get your contact center up and running, you set up the foundations by following these steps.
Steps to Manage Numbers and Channels
- Procure a new 10-digit long code or toll-free number right from the Salesforce setup screens. Once requested, the number moves through the provisioning queue, and when its status switches to Live, it’s ready to go. No disjointed, external vendor management, no long delays, just smoother setup and more administrative control for your contact center.
- Associate your newly provisioned public switched telephone network (PSTN) number with a voice channel. Once activated, the number connects to the core system and can start routing inbound calls to the right flow or queue.
- Enable call recording and transcription so every conversation is captured automatically. This gives reps and supervisors real-time transcripts and secure recordings they can review for coaching, accuracy, and compliance.
- Choose a number that’s tied to at least one voice channel and set it as your organization’s default caller line identifier (CLI). This ensures your service reps can start making outbound calls immediately using a consistent, professional caller ID.
- Upload custom audio files, like your welcome message or on-hold music, and assign them to the right points during the interaction. This gives you complete control over the in-call experience and keeps everything on-brand without needing engineering support.
By setting up these foundational steps, you turn a simple phone number into a fully functional communication endpoint, one that shapes the very start of the customer journey with speed, compliance, and a seamless, branded experience. Let’s set the voice capability by procuring a phone number.
Procure a New Phone Number
- From Setup, in the Quick Find Box, search for and select Communication Channels.
- Click New Number
. This opens up the Unified Number Management window that allows you to procure a new number.
- In the Select Country and Code section, select the country and the number type. For Number Type, you can choose either a 10-digit long code or a toll-free number. Review the available capabilities and click Next.
- In the Select Number section, enter your area code and click Search. This generates a list of phone numbers with that area code. Select a number from the list and click Next.
- In the Review and Save section, review your selections, your chosen phone number, its capabilities, and the direction, and click Finish.
The number is now queued for provisioning, and its status updates accordingly. Click 
to check for updates. After a few minutes, the status changes to Live, which means your number has been successfully provisioned.
Add a Voice Channel for Your Number
Now that a new number is successfully procured and provisioned, it’s time to associate that public switched telephone network (PSTN) number with a voice channel, effectively drawing a direct line from the outside world into your workflow. This critical step ensures that inbound calls using the number are seamlessly connected to your contact center, where they can be intelligently routed to the correct rep, AI agent or Omni-Channel Flow.
- From Setup, search for and select Communication Channels.
- In the Channels section, click New Channel, then click Start in the popup window.
- Since you’re setting up a voice channel, select Voice from the list of native channel types, review the setup steps, and click Next.
- Select the phone number you procured in the Phone Number field.
- Enter a channel name, if prompted.
- Select a call routing type, and click Next.
There are two call routing types. Omni-Queue routes calls to a queue where available reps can pick them up based on priority and routing methods. Omni-Flow routes calls through a flow (similar to IVR), allowing for automated menu options and conditional routing based on caller input or business logic. Be sure any required queues and flows are created before creating a new channel.
- Click Done.
- Find your channel under All Channels and click to open it.
- Make any changes as needed, then click Activate to activate the channel. Your number is now associated with a voice channel and ready to use.
You can also set up an enhanced WhatsApp channel to let your support team help customers over WhatsApp. For more information, check Resources.
Enable Recording and Transcription
Enable call recording and transcription to help your team capture every customer conversation for quality, training, and compliance. Once the feature is on, the system provides live transcripts and automatically records calls and generates searchable transcripts, giving reps and supervisors a clear view of what was discussed.
- From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and select Call Recording and Transcription.
- Enable Call Recording and Call Transcription.
And, that’s it! With these enabled, you’ve now paved the way for enhanced rep performance, improved supervisor oversight, and elevated overall customer experience.
Set the Number as Default Caller Line Identifier
With the voice channel enabled, the next step is to set the number you procured and provisioned as the default caller line identifier. This ensures all outbound calls display a consistent, trusted business number. It helps improve pickup rates, lets customers immediately recognize who’s calling, and makes sure callbacks reach the right destination. It also saves reps from having to choose a number manually every time.
- From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and select Communication Channels (Pilot).
- In Numbers, search for the phone number you want to use as the default caller line identifier. Make sure the number supports outbound voice calls and there is a channel created with this number.
- Click the number to open its details page, then click Edit.
- Check Set number as the default Caller Line Identification (CLI) for outgoing calls.
- Click Save, then click Confirm.
- To verify, return to the Numbers tab, search for the number again, and look for
next to it, that icon indicates it is the default line identifier.
Manage Default and Custom Media
It’s important to create a consistent, professional, and compliant caller experience across all your touchpoints. With Agentforce Contact Center, you can easily set up default and custom media for your welcome messages, announcements, hold music, and transfer music, giving you full control over how each interaction sounds.
- From Setup, in the Quick Find box, search for and select Media Management.
- In the Media File Library tab, click Add Media File.
- Enter the Media File Name and Media File URL.
- Click Save. Repeat these steps for each media file you want to add.
- In the Media Names section, click Edit and assign your uploaded media files as the default options, such as the welcome message, call recording message, and hold music.
- To create custom media for use in flows, go to the Custom Media Names section and click New Media Name.
- Enter a Media Name and select a Media File from your uploaded files.
- Click Save.
How Media Is Played to Callers
- When you configure a queue on the channel page for queue based routing, the system automatically plays the default welcome message followed by the default call recording message.
- In the flow, you can choose which media to play, either default or custom, using the Play Prompt action element.
- Hold music plays during queue wait time or during transfer scenarios when the caller is waiting for a service representative.
You’ve now set up consistent default media for every caller and enabled custom media that you can use in flows for deeper customization.
Wrap It Up
Now that you have set up the core pieces of your telephony foundation, your reps are set up for success. With numbers provisioned, channels activated, recordings enabled, and your branded audio in place, every call begins on the right note. Your team can pick up the phone with confidence because the infrastructure behind them is organized, predictable, and built for a smooth customer experience.
But there is still work to do. A great experience starts with a solid foundation, but it really shines when you bring in automation that eliminates repetitive work and gives your reps more time to focus on people instead of buttons. In the next unit, you learn how to boost efficiency with powerful tools that take your contact center from functional to truly intelligent.