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OPERATE / Numbers & routing

Connect a phone number

Agents answer real calls the moment a number points at their team. Buy one from us, or bring the numbers you already have.

Buy a number

Numbering → Buy number — search by UK area code or prefix, pick the one you like, and it's yours instantly. We currently offer UK numbers, with more countries to follow.

Or bring your own

Already have numbers with a SIP provider? Ask support to set up a private trunk, then add your numbers to it — in lists or whole ranges. Your carrier keeps the numbers; we take the calls.

Point it at a team

Choose which team answers — from the Builder's Connect inbound calls panel, or the agent drawer's Deploy tab. Changes take effect when you press Go live.

Good to know

Numbers route to the live version of a team. Drafts never answer real callers, so you can keep editing safely while calls come in.

Buy a number

Open Numbering and press Buy number. Search by area code or prefix, then buy directly from the results. The number is provisioned immediately and appears in your list, ready to route.

Every plan includes an allowance of purchased numbers: 1 on pay as you go, 3 on Pro, and 10 on Scale. The Numbering screen shows how much of your allowance is left; if you need more, upgrade your plan or release a number you no longer use.

Bring your own numbers

If your numbers live with another provider, we'll host them on a private SIP trunk — contact support to set one up. Once the trunk exists, Add number lets you attach single numbers, comma-separated lists, or whole ranges in one go.

Point your provider at us with the details from your trunk's drawer:

trunk sip.polite.ai:5060
number +44 20 7946 0821
auth registration · digest

You can also connect your existing PBX or SIP account the other way round — see SIP registrations.

Point it at a team

A number answers for exactly one agent team. Route it from either end:

  • In the Builder, the Connect inbound calls panel lists your unassigned numbers — pick one and it's wired when you go live.
  • On the Numbering screen, open a number's drawer to see where it routes today (Routed to) and whether it has ever received a call (Call received).

Outbound calls

Each number has an Outbound toggle in its drawer. Switch it on to let agents place calls presenting that number as the caller ID — used for transfers to your team and for outbound calling. You can bulk-edit the toggle across many numbers at once.

Releasing a number

Deleting a number releases it at the carrier — it stops answering immediately and may be reallocated to someone else, so the delete asks you to type the number to confirm. Releasing frees a slot in your allowance straight away.

Last updated 2026-07-30