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Why this use case exists

Many agencies and operators purchase phone numbers inside Retell. Historically, outbound setups required importing numbers directly from providers like Twilio/Telnyx, which created friction. Knotie now supports Retell phone number import, enabling:
  • Use of Retell-managed numbers in Knotie
  • Customer assignment + credit tracking in Knotie
  • Outbound dialing from external systems (GHL, forms, custom webhooks)

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What you’ll achieve

  • Import Retell phone numbers into Knotie Partner Portal
  • Assign the number to a customer
  • Assign a Retell agent to the number (Outbound enabled)
  • Generate an outbound webhook key (owk_...)
Knotie AI Pro Partner Portal → Phone Numbers page

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Prerequisites

  • A Retell account with phone numbers purchased
  • Retell API credentials
  • At least one Retell agent
  • A customer onboarded in Knotie

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Important: Import vs. Purchase flow

If your account has no phone numbers yet, the Phone Numbers page shows an empty state with a “Get Started →” button.
Do NOT click “Get Started →” if you want to import existing Retell numbers. That button opens the “Activate Phone Service” wizard (3-step: Business Info → Documents → Review) for purchasing new numbers directly from Knotie’s telephony partner.The actual import flow is via the Import Numbers button in the page toolbar (top-right, next to “Number Pool” and “Export”).

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Step 1 — Import Retell numbers

  1. Partner Portal → Phone Numbers
  2. Click Import Numbers (toolbar button, top-right)
  3. In the Import Phone Numbers modal, choose Retell under the Agent Provider Numbers section
    The Retell card shows a “Provider Locked” badge (the exact wording may differ slightly in your portal). It means numbers imported from Retell are scoped to Retell agents in the same Retell account and cannot be re-routed to other providers.
  4. Click Next
  5. Enter your Retell API Key (key_...)
    Helper text: “Your Retell API Key (found in Retell Dashboard → Settings → API Keys)”
    A notice panel states: “Credentials Saved Automatically — Your credentials will be securely encrypted and saved for future imports and managing your voice AI agents.”
  6. Click Validate & Load Numbers
  7. Select one or more numbers to import
Tip: Once you enter a Retell API key, it is saved permanently for future imports and agent management.
Import Phone Numbers modal on step 2 — Enter Retell Credentials, showing the Retell API Key field with helper text pointing to Retell Dashboard → Settings → API Keys, and a Credentials Saved Automatically notice

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Retell Agents page

Retell agents are managed at /partner/ai-agents/retell (sidebar: AI Agents → Voice Agents → Retell Agents). The page shows:
  • Heading: “Retell Agents”
  • Toolbar: Import Agents (green) + Create New Agent (blue)
  • Search: “Search by name or voice…”
  • Sort pills: All / Name / Voice
  • Per-card metadata: Voice ID, Language, Active badge, Created date, Last Modified date
  • Per-card actions: Reassign Customer (blue) + Manage Webhook (text link, green dot indicates live)
The live UI shows Premium Feature badges on most voice-agent provider entries (VAPI / Ultravox / ElevenLabs / GHL, plus N8N Chat Agents, N8N Automation, N8N Tokens, Agent Migration). Retell and Knova badges can vary by partner tier — check the live sidebar for the current state on your account.

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Step 2 — Assign the imported number to a customer

  1. In the Phone Numbers list, find the imported number
  2. If it shows Unassigned, click Assign
  3. Choose the correct customer
  4. Save
Assign Phone Number modal — shows the number being assigned, a customer search dropdown, and Cancel / Save buttons

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Step 3 — Assign a Retell agent (Outbound)

  1. In the Agent Assignment column, click Assign Agent
  2. Select a Retell agent
  3. Enable Outbound for the mapping
  4. Save
Assign Agent modal opened from the phone number detail panel — agent selector dropdown with Direction toggle (Inbound Only / Outbound Only) and Save button

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Step 4 — Generate an outbound webhook key

  1. Open the phone number detail panel
  2. Find Outbound Webhook
  3. Click Generate Key
  4. Copy and store it securely
Outbound Webhook section in the phone number detail panel — masked owk_ API key with an Active badge, Regenerate Key and Revoke buttons, and a curl usage example

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Step 5 — Trigger outbound calls

You can trigger outbound calls from:
  • GoHighLevel workflows (native)
  • Custom webhooks
  • Your backend

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Required fields

Your webhook request must include:
  • from_number (the imported Retell number)
  • to_number (the lead phone number)

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Authentication

Send:
  • Authorization: Bearer owk_...
ℹ️ The full webhook payload structure is shown in the JSON example in Step 5 above. Use the from_number (your imported Retell number) and to_number (the lead’s number), plus an Authorization: Bearer owk_... header.

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Operational notes

  • If you are using Retell-purchased numbers, billing for telephony may remain with Retell.
  • Knotie still provides the partner/customer management layer: assignment, tracking, and quota/credit enforcement.