Can ChatGPT Make Phone Calls? Here's How to Set It Up
Yes. Connect ChatGPT or Claude to your team’s phone line through Carly and you can have it call someone, text them, go through voicemail, or let a voice agent pick up your business line. Setup is one copied prompt, and it’s below.
What a phone call from ChatGPT looks like
In the walkthrough video, Carly calls a cell phone from the chat and the two talk live. On the call:
- Carly says what it can reach: calendar, email, texts, contacts, tasks, files and accounts.
- Asked mid-call, it texts a hello with a short poem and adds a to-do for the day. Both are done before the call ends.
- The call is logged with a summary and a transcript, and the CRM updates based on how the call went.
The same connection runs your inbound line. A new customer calls the number on your website, the voice agent qualifies them and books the meeting on your team’s calendar, or transfers the call live when you’d rather a person take it. You set the rules, like who calls go to.
What you need before you start
- A Carly account that belongs to your team. Calls and texts live on the team, so sign in with the account your team uses. Get started if you don’t have one yet.
- A phone line for the team. If your team already has a Twilio account, the prompt walks you through connecting it on the Phone page in Carly. If not, book a call and the Carly team sets up the number with you.
- An assistant that can add a connector. ChatGPT and Claude both work, and so do Grok, Perplexity, Cursor, Claude Code and Codex.
Copy the Carly business setup prompt
This is the same prompt as the Copy business setup prompt button at the bottom of your team’s Phone page in Carly, under “Use Carly Teams for business calls and texts.” Copy it from here or there.
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or any AI agent. It connects your team's calls, texts, voicemail and voice agents, one step at a time.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat.
I'll add Carly Teams to you myself. It isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it gets added as a custom connection by URL: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If you can run the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead.
1. Tell me how to add Carly Teams. Give me only the steps for the app you are:
- ChatGPT: I open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, I turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. I name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box I open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. Don't have me build, package or upload a plugin.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): I go to Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: run claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp then I run /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: run codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp then codex mcp login carly-teams
- Cursor: I add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: I create a Carly API key at carlyassistant.com/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with organization read and write scopes for the actions I need). You build a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp using the key as a bearer token and ask me for it in your secure credential prompt.
- Grok: I go to grok.com/connectors, choose New Connector, then Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: add a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams with https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, then I approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: I go to Settings > Connectors > Custom connector > Remote, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Anything else: I add a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams with https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
I sign in with the Carly account that belongs to my organization. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen before giving the next one.
2. When I say it's added, check that you can see the Carly Teams tools, including list_phone_lines. If you can't yet, tell me how to turn Carly Teams on for this chat, or tell me to open a new chat and paste this prompt again.
3. Check it worked: call list_phone_lines to show the teams and phone lines I can access. Don't tell me it's connected until that call succeeds. If I have several teams, ask which to use. If the team needs a phone line, help me connect its existing Twilio account on the Phone page in Carly.
4. Ask what I want to do first, for example: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." I can also read and answer business texts, have the team's agent make a call, or edit the voice and text agents. Before sending texts or making calls, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. Respect my team permissions.
For my email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows, add the regular Carly plugin as a separate connection. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and anywhere else it connects at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/.Paste it into ChatGPT or Claude
Paste the prompt into a new chat. The assistant works out which app it’s running in, gives you that app’s steps one at a time, and waits for you to confirm each one. You don’t need to know what an MCP is to follow it.
In ChatGPT, it sends you to Plugins, then Add, then Create MCP App. You name the connection Carly Teams, paste the address, and sign in with your Carly account. Skip Create plugin and Upload plugin archive: those only run in the ChatGPT desktop app. If Create MCP App isn’t in the menu, turn on Developer mode first.
In Claude, it’s Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector. Paste the address and sign in.
Either way, the assistant then lists your team’s phone lines and doesn’t call the setup done until it can see them. If you’re on more than one team, it asks which one to use.
Make your first call
Start by having it call you, then hand it real work:
- “Call my cell and tell me what’s on my calendar today.”
- “Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers.”
- “Text Emily that her quote is ready and ask when she’s free to go over it.”
- “Have our agent call Josh back about the roof inspection and book him for Thursday.”
The prompt tells it to confirm the team, the recipient and the message with you before it sends a text or places a call, and to stay inside your team permissions.
Build voice, text and email agents from the chat
Once calls work, ask for the agents themselves: a voice agent that answers after hours, a text agent that texts back missed calls, an email agent that follows up on quotes. Describe what each one should do and edit its instructions in the same chat. Speed to lead is a good first build: call every new web lead within a minute of the form.
Your email and calendar are a second connection
Calls and texts run through Carly Teams. Your own email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows run through the regular Carly connection, which you add separately: Get the Carly plugin in ChatGPT, or Get the Carly connector in Claude. That’s also the connection where Carly reaches thousands of apps.
FAQ
Can ChatGPT make phone calls?
Yes, with a phone agent connected. Add Carly Teams under Plugins, then Add, then Create MCP App, and ChatGPT can have Carly place calls, send texts and go through voicemail on your team’s business line. The setup prompt on this page walks you through it.
Can Claude make phone calls?
Yes. Add Carly Teams under Customize, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and Claude can call, text and run voice agents on your team’s line the same way ChatGPT does.
What number does it call from?
Your team’s business line in Carly. If your team already has a Twilio account, you connect it on the Phone page. Otherwise the Carly team sets up a number with you on a short call.
Will it text or call someone without asking me?
The setup prompt tells your assistant to confirm the team, the recipient and the message or task with you before every text or call, and to stay inside your team permissions.
Do I need to know what MCP means?
No. The prompt handles the technical part. You paste it, click where it tells you, and sign in.
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See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
