Triggering Agentless Outbound Voice Campaigns for Automated Alerts
What This Guide Covers
This guide details the architectural configuration and API-driven execution of fully automated outbound voice campaigns in Genesys Cloud CX. You will configure a compliant contact ingestion pipeline, design a flow that handles the entire call lifecycle without agent intervention, and construct the exact API payloads required to trigger high-volume alert campaigns with deterministic rate control.
Prerequisites, Roles & Licensing
- Licensing Tier: CX 2 or CX 3 core license per contact center user. The Outbound module add-on is mandatory. Text-to-Speech (TTS) add-on required for dynamic audio generation.
- Permissions:
Outbound > Campaign > EditOutbound > Contact List > EditFlow > EditAdmin > System Admin > Organization Settings(for TTS quota verification)
- OAuth Scopes:
outbound:campaign:write,outbound:contact:write,outbound:contact:read,flow:execute,analytics:report:read - External Dependencies: Provisioned SIP trunk capacity matching peak concurrent call targets. Third-party compliance scrubbing service (optional but recommended for TCPA/FTC compliance). WFM forecasting data for trunk right-sizing.
The Implementation Deep-Dive
1. Contact List Schema Design and API Ingestion
Agentless campaigns fail when contact data lacks deterministic field mapping. The platform requires a strict schema to handle dialing, TTS variable substitution, and compliance filtering. You will create a contact list via the API rather than the UI to enforce schema validation at ingestion time.
Execute a POST to create the list definition. The name field must be unique within the organization. You must define contactFields with explicit dataType and required flags. Missing required fields during ingestion causes silent drops in the outbound engine.
POST /api/v2/outbound/contactlists
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
Content-Type: application/json
{
"name": "ALERT_CAMPAIGN_SCHEMA_V1",
"description": "Schema for automated alert notifications",
"contactFields": [
{
"name": "phone_number",
"dataType": "string",
"required": true,
"isDnc": false
},
{
"name": "alert_type",
"dataType": "string",
"required": true,
"isDnc": false
},
{
"name": "customer_id",
"dataType": "string",
"required": false,
"isDnc": false
},
{
"name": "tcpa_consent_timestamp",
"dataType": "string",
"required": true,
"isDnc": false
}
]
}
The Trap: Defining phone_number without enforcing E.164 formatting at the ingestion layer. The outbound engine will attempt to dial malformed numbers, triggering carrier rejection codes (SIP 480/486) and inflating your failure metrics. More critically, malformed numbers bypass DNC scrubbing filters because the hash comparison fails on non-standardized strings. Always validate and normalize phone numbers to E.164 before sending the POST /api/v2/outbound/contacts payload.
Ingest contacts using the bulk endpoint. The platform processes these asynchronously. You must poll the POST /api/v2/outbound/contactlists/{contactListId}/contacts/add job status via the returned id to confirm successful ingestion before triggering the campaign.
POST /api/v2/outbound/contactlists/{contactListId}/contacts/add
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
Content-Type: application/json
{
"contacts": [
{
"phone_number": "+14155552671",
"alert_type": "SYSTEM_MAINTENANCE",
"customer_id": "CUST_8842",
"tcpa_consent_timestamp": "2023-11-15T08:30:00Z"
},
{
"phone_number": "+14155552672",
"alert_type": "PAYMENT_REMINDER",
"customer_id": "CUST_8843",
"tcpa_consent_timestamp": "2023-12-01T14:15:00Z"
}
],
"replaceDuplicates": true
}
Architectural reasoning dictates that you separate alert types at the data layer rather than creating separate campaigns for each notification category. A single campaign with a unified flow reduces administrative overhead and allows dynamic TTS branching based on the alert_type field. This pattern scales to hundreds of notification categories without multiplying campaign configurations.
2. Flow Architecture for Fully Automated Execution
The flow must handle the complete call lifecycle: answer detection, TTS playback, input gathering (if required), data logging, and controlled disconnect. You will build this in Genesys Cloud CX Architect. The flow type must be Flow (not Routing Flow or Queue Flow).
Begin with a Start node. Immediately chain a Set Contact Data node to extract fields from the outbound contact record. Use the expression contactData("phone_number") to validate dialing readiness. Route to a Play TTS node. Configure the TTS engine with explicit voice selection, speed adjustment, and SSML formatting for precise pronunciation.
The Trap: Using raw string concatenation for TTS payloads without SSML boundaries. Dynamic variables like {{customer_id}} or dates will be read at unnatural speeds, causing listener comprehension failure and increased call abandonment. Wrap dynamic fields in <say-as interpret-as="digits"> or <break time="500ms"/> tags. Additionally, TTS generation occurs synchronously during call setup. If the TTS engine quota is exhausted, the flow hangs in a WAITING state until the timeout threshold triggers a disconnect. Always implement a fallback Play Audio node with pre-recorded generic alerts for quota exhaustion scenarios.
Configure the TTS payload expression:
<speak>
This is an automated alert for customer <say-as interpret-as="digits">{{contactData("customer_id")}}</say-as>.
<break time="300ms"/>
Your alert type is {{contactData("alert_type")}}.
<break time="500ms"/>
Please take the necessary action immediately.
</speak>
After playback, insert a Gather Input node if acknowledgment is required. Set timeout to 5 seconds and maxDigits to 1. Route to a Condition node checking gatherResult("input"). If input is captured, proceed to a Set Contact Data node to log response: ACKNOWLEDGED. If timeout occurs, log response: NO_RESPONSE. Both paths converge to a Disconnect node.
Critical architectural decision: You must enable Allow outbound on the flow properties. Without this flag, the outbound engine rejects the flow assignment, and the campaign fails validation. Additionally, set the flow Timeout to 120 seconds. Agentless alerts should never exceed two minutes. Longer flows increase carrier termination rates and trigger spam filters.
3. Campaign Configuration and Dial Strategy
Navigate to the Outbound module. Create a new campaign with the following deterministic settings. The campaign type must be Agentless. This type bypasses queue routing and connects directly to the flow.
Configure the dial strategy as Time-Based. Predictive or Progressive strategies introduce unnecessary complexity for alert campaigns. Time-Based allows exact control over calls per minute, which aligns with carrier capacity and prevents sudden traffic spikes that trigger STIR/SHAKEN verification failures.
Set Calls Per Minute to a value matching your SIP trunk concurrent channel capacity divided by the average call duration. If your trunk supports 100 concurrent channels and average call duration is 15 seconds, set Calls Per Minute to 400. Exceeding this ratio causes SIP 486 Busy Here responses from the carrier gateway.
Enable Do Not Call filtering at the campaign level. Map the tcpa_consent_timestamp field to the compliance filter. The platform natively supports date-based DNC logic. Configure the filter to exclude contacts where consent is older than 12 months or explicitly marked as withdrawn.
The Trap: Disabling Allow Retry while simultaneously setting aggressive Max Attempts values. When Allow Retry is disabled, the engine treats every non-answer as a final disposition. For alert campaigns, you require at least two attempts spaced 4 hours apart to accommodate voicemail pickup and network congestion. Enable Allow Retry, set Max Attempts to 2, and configure Retry Interval to 14400 seconds. This prevents duplicate alerts while maintaining delivery reliability.
Assign the previously created flow to the campaign. Enable Use Flow for Outbound. The platform validates the flow signature against the contact list schema. Mismatched field names cause silent failures during campaign activation. Always run a Validate check before publishing.
4. API-Driven Triggering and Payload Construction
Manual UI activation does not scale for event-driven alert systems. You will trigger the campaign via the API using a webhook or middleware service. The outbound engine requires explicit contact assignment before dialing begins.
First, verify campaign status. A campaign must be in RUNNING state before accepting contact assignments. Query the status:
GET /api/v2/outbound/campaigns/{campaignId}
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
Once confirmed running, assign contacts using the campaign contact assignment endpoint. The payload must reference the contact list ID and specify the assignment type as ADDITIONAL. This prevents the platform from overwriting existing campaign assignments.
POST /api/v2/outbound/campaigns/{campaignId}/contacts/add
Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
Content-Type: application/json
{
"contactListId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
"assignmentType": "ADDITIONAL",
"status": "NEW"
}
The Trap: Triggering the assignment endpoint without implementing idempotency keys in your middleware. If your event bus retries a failed webhook, duplicate assignments cause the same contact to receive multiple alerts. The platform does not deduplicate active assignments automatically. Implement a distributed lock or idempotency header (Idempotency-Key) in your middleware to guarantee single execution per alert event. Additionally, monitor the POST /api/v2/outbound/campaigns/{campaignId}/contacts/remove endpoint for emergency stop procedures. Campaign cancellation does not immediately terminate active calls; it only halts new dial attempts. Active calls complete their flow execution.
Configure rate limiting at the API gateway layer. The outbound engine processes assignments asynchronously. Flooding the endpoint with bulk contact loads causes queue saturation and delayed dialing. Throttle ingestion to 500 contacts per second. Use pagination for larger datasets. Monitor the outbound:campaign:contacts metric via the analytics API to track assignment latency.
Validation, Edge Cases & Troubleshooting
Edge Case 1: TTS Concurrency Saturation
The failure condition manifests as calls connecting but remaining silent for 30-45 seconds before disconnecting. The root cause is TTS engine quota exhaustion. Genesys Cloud CX provisions a fixed number of concurrent TTS generation threads per organization. When dynamic alert campaigns spike, the queue backs up. Calls wait for TTS synthesis, exceed the flow timeout threshold, and terminate.
The solution requires architectural decoupling. Pre-generate static TTS audio files for high-frequency alert types and host them in a CDN. Reference these files in the Play Audio node instead of Play TTS. Reserve the TTS engine exclusively for highly dynamic payloads like transaction amounts or real-time status codes. Monitor TTS utilization via GET /api/v2/analytics/flows/query with the ttsDuration metric. Implement a circuit breaker in your middleware that switches to a generic pre-recorded alert when TTS latency exceeds 2 seconds.
Edge Case 2: Mid-Call Flow Timeout and Orphaned Sessions
The failure condition appears as calls disconnecting prematurely without logging disposition data. The root cause is misconfigured flow timeouts interacting with carrier answer detection delays. Some carriers inject IVR menus or voicemail greetings that delay the actual answer signal. The flow begins execution before the endpoint is ready, causing TTS to play into a buffer that never reaches the end user.
The solution requires explicit answer detection handling. Insert a Delay node of 1 second immediately after the Start node to allow carrier answer signaling to stabilize. Configure the Play TTS node with stopOnSilence: true and maxSilenceTime: 3000. This prevents the flow from continuing if the call drops mid-playback. Additionally, implement a Set Contact Data node at every major branching point to log flowState. This enables post-call reconciliation by matching flow execution logs against campaign disposition reports.
Edge Case 3: Carrier Rejection and SIP Error Handling
The failure condition manifests as high rates of FAILED dispositions with SIP 480 (Temporarily Unavailable) or 486 (Busy Here) codes. The root cause is STIR/SHAKEN verification failures or carrier spam filtering. Agentless campaigns trigger aggressive spam traps when dialing patterns deviate from established baselines. Carriers analyze call volume velocity, caller ID consistency, and answer rates.
The solution requires deterministic dial pattern control. Enforce a fixed Calls Per Minute rate that matches historical baselines. Never burst dial. Configure the campaign to use a single, verified caller ID number registered in the STIR/SHAKEN attestation database. Route all outbound traffic through a dedicated SIP trunk with explicit P-Asserted-Identity headers matching the registered caller ID. Monitor carrier rejection rates via GET /api/v2/analytics/outbound/query filtering on disposition: FAILED. If rejection exceeds 5%, implement an exponential backoff in your middleware and pause campaign assignment until carrier reputation recovers. Cross-reference with the WFM trunk capacity planning guide to ensure channel allocation matches carrier contracted limits.