Phone Numbers in Alivo

A phone number in Alivo is more than a line on your desk. It is the front door for inbound calls and texts, the label you use to track where a lead came from, and the tie-in point for your AI agents and call flows. Keeping all your numbers inside Alivo means every call is recorded, every contact is logged, and you can see which marketing channels actually produce booked jobs. This guide walks through how your number list works, how to bring in numbers you already own, how source labels track call attribution, and what happens when a number is free, tied to an agent, routed through a call flow, or flagged as a manual number.

Your Phone Number List

Every number on your account lives in one place: Settings → Phone System → Phone Numbers. The table shows four columns that tell you everything at a glance.

• Name. A short friendly label you choose, like "Main Office" or "Google Ads Line." This helps your team tell numbers apart.
• Number. The actual phone number callers dial or text.
• Status. Available (green) means the number is not tied to an agent, a call flow, or a manual flag. In Use (orange) means it is assigned to one of those.
• Destination. Where inbound calls go: an agent name, a call flow name, Manual, or None with a warning icon if no destination is set yet.

Click the pencil icon on any row to open the edit dialog. There you can update the name, set a source label (covered below), and pick a call flow as the call destination. If the number is already tied to an agent, the destination field shows the agent name and is read-only. You change that assignment from the Agents page, not from here.

Good to know: Alivo's phone system keeps call recordings, transcripts, and contact records tied to each number. When a source label is set, that attribution rides along with the call so you can report on which lines and channels are producing leads.

Getting New Numbers and Porting Numbers You Already Own

There are two ways a number ends up on your account: Alivo provisions a new one for you, or you port an existing business number in from your current carrier.

Requesting a New Number

To add a number, go to Settings → Phone System → Phone Numbers and click Add New. From there, reach out to your Alivo account manager and they will get a number provisioned for you. Once it is on your account, it shows up in the phone number list and is ready to configure.

Porting Your Existing Numbers

If you want every business line to live inside Alivo, you can port the numbers you already have. Porting means moving your existing phone number from your current carrier over to Alivo so callers keep dialing the same digits and you manage everything from one platform.

Porting is handled by Alivo not through a self-service screen in the app. Reach out to support@alivo.ai with the numbers you want to move, and they will walk you through the paperwork (called a Letter of Authorization, or LOA) and coordinate the transfer with your current carrier. Once the port completes, the number appears in your phone number list just like any other Alivo number, and you can assign a name, source label, call flow, or agent.

Keep in mind: Porting timelines depend on your carrier and can take a few days to a few weeks. Plan ahead if you are moving a main line. Your account manager can give you a realistic estimate for your specific numbers.

Source Labels for Call Attribution

A source label is a plain-language tag you attach to a phone number so you know where the lead came from. If you run a separate tracking line on a yard sign, a Google Ads campaign, or a radio spot, give each number a label like "Yard Sign" or "Google Ads." When someone calls that number, Alivo records the label on the contact and the conversation.

How to Set a Source Label

1. Go to Settings → Phone System → Phone Numbers.
2. Click the pencil icon on the number you want to tag.
3. Enter a label in the Source label field (for example, "Google Ads" or "Yard Sign").
4. Click Submit.

Leave the field blank if you do not need tracking on that line. If a caller reaches a number with no label, the source is recorded as "Call."

What the Label Affects

Source labels apply to inbound phone calls. When a new caller dials a tagged number, their contact record gets that label as the lead source. Each conversation also stores the label so you can filter and report on it later.

If the same person calls back on a different number, their original source is not overwritten. The first source sticks on the contact, but each new conversation gets its own label for that specific call.

Heads up: Source labels do not apply to inbound text messages. When someone texts a number, new contacts are tagged with "Text" regardless of the source label on that line. If you need to track text leads by channel, use a dedicated agent on that number so texts route into the agent workflow.

Where Inbound Calls and Texts Go

What happens when someone reaches your number depends on how that number is set up. Inbound calls follow a clear priority order, and texts follow a simpler path.

Inbound Call Routing Priority

When a call comes in, Alivo checks the number's setup in this order:

1. Active call flow. If the number has an active call flow assigned, the call flow handles routing (business hours, phone menus, ring groups, AI answering, and so on). The call flow takes priority over everything else on that number.
2. Active agent. If no call flow is active but an agent is tied to the number, the agent handles the call (voicemail greeting, AI voice answering if enabled, or call forwarding per the agent's settings).
3. Inactive agent. If an agent was tied to the number but is no longer active, the caller hears an inactive-number message.
4. No agent and no call flow. The call forwards to your company's default call forwarding number if one is set. If no forwarding number is configured, the caller gets your voicemail.

What Happens With Inbound Texts

Texts work differently from calls. If an active agent is assigned to the number, the text routes into that agent's conversation and the agent can respond automatically. If no active agent is on the number (including numbers with only a call flow, or numbers with no destination at all), the text creates a manual conversation that your team handles directly. No automatic agent reply is sent.

Rule of thumb: If you see None with a warning icon in the Destination column, inbound calls have no call flow and no agent. Assign a call flow in the edit dialog, or tie the number to an agent, so calls route the way you expect.

Assigning a Number to an Agent

When you want an AI agent (like Lilly for phone or Evan for text) to handle leads on a specific line, you assign the number during agent setup.

1. Go to Agents and click to add a new agent.
2. During the setup wizard, pick a phone number from the available list. Only numbers that are not already in use, not flagged as manual, and not assigned to a call flow will appear.
3. Finish the wizard and activate the agent.

Once activated, the number's status changes to In Use and the Destination column shows the agent's name. That number cannot be assigned to another agent until the current one is ended. Ending an agent releases the number back to Available.

While an agent holds the number, you cannot assign a call flow to it from the phone number edit screen. If you need call-flow routing (business hours branching, ring groups, phone menus), use a call flow instead of an agent on that line, or set up the agent's own call forwarding and AI voice settings.

Manual Phone Numbers

A manual number is a special flag on a phone line that is reserved for your team's direct texting, not for AI agent automation. In the Destination column, manual numbers show Manual and their status is always In Use.

What Manual Numbers Are For

When someone on your team sends a text from a contact record (not through an agent), Alivo sends it from your manual number. This gives your team a consistent outbound line for human conversations. If your account does not have a manual number set up and someone tries to start a manual text, they will see a message to contact their account manager.

What Manual Numbers Are Not For

Manual numbers cannot be assigned to agents. They also cannot have a call flow. If a number is flagged as manual, any call flow on it is cleared.

For inbound calls to a manual number, there is no agent attached, so the call follows the "no agent" path: it forwards to your company's default call forwarding number if one is set, or goes to voicemail. Inbound texts create a manual conversation with no automatic agent reply.

Good to know: The manual number flag is set by Alivo staff during setup. If you need a manual number added or changed, reach out to your account manager.

Common Questions

Can I Use the Same Number for an Agent and a Call Flow?

A number should have one primary destination. If both a call flow and an agent are somehow active on the same number, the call flow wins for inbound calls. In practice, pick one approach per line: either route through a call flow or through an agent.

What Happens to My Source Label if I Change the Number's Setup?

The source label stays on the number itself. Changing the call flow or agent assignment does not clear it. As long as the label is saved on the number, new inbound calls will keep using it for attribution.

How Do I Free Up a Number That Is "In Use"?

If it is tied to an agent, end the agent to release the number. If it is a manual number, contact your account manager. If it has a call flow, open the edit dialog and set the call flow destination to None.

Keeping your phone numbers organized inside Alivo is what makes attribution, call recording, and agent routing work together. Give each line a clear name, tag tracking numbers with a source label, and make sure every number has a destination so inbound calls never hit a dead end.

Still have a question this didn't answer? Reach out to our support team support@alivo.ai and we'll be glad to help.