> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.voicebip.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.voicebip.com/_mcp/server.

# Introduction

> Voicebip is the developer platform for giving AI agents real Nigerian phone numbers, WhatsApp, and SMS — through a single API.

**Voicebip** gives your AI agents a real presence on the phone network. With one API you can provision a Nigerian phone number, a WhatsApp identity, and SMS capability, then point them at an agent that talks to callers, answers messages, and takes actions on your systems. It runs on NCC-licensed Nigerian carrier infrastructure built by Temlio Communications Limited — so you have numbers that are real `+234` DIDs on Nigeria Telecom Provider.

If you've used a voice-AI platform before, Voicebip will feel familiar — with two differences that matter here: it's **Nigeria-first** (local carrier numbers, Naira billing, English + Hausa/Yoruba/Igbo/Pidgin), and it's **multi-channel** (voice, WhatsApp, and SMS behind one agent, not voice alone).

## How it works

A call or message flows through the same shape every time: Voicebip handles the telephony and speech, your agent supplies the intelligence, and you get events back.

```
Caller / customer ──▶ Voicebip (carrier + STT/TTS) ──▶ your agent (AI)
                                                          │  answers, or calls a tool
        ◀── spoken reply / WhatsApp message ◀────────────┘
                          │
                          ▼
          webhooks to your server  (call.completed, message.received, …)
```

For voice, Voicebip answers the call, transcribes the caller (speech-to-text), runs your agent, and speaks the reply (text-to-speech) — managing barge-in, endpointing, and carrier failover for you. For WhatsApp and SMS it delivers inbound messages and sends your replies. Every meaningful moment is emitted as a signed [webhook](/guides/webhooks).

## What you can build

#### [Answer your business line](/use-cases/inbound-support-kb)

A +234 number answered 24/7 by an AI agent grounded in your own docs.

#### [Agents that take actions](/use-cases/tool-calling)

Let the agent call your backend mid-conversation — "track my order", "check my balance".

#### [WhatsApp AI agent](/use-cases/whatsapp-agent)

Hold a full WhatsApp conversation — the channel most of Nigeria actually uses.

#### [Outbound campaigns](/use-cases/reminder-campaign)

Confirm appointments, chase payments, run surveys across a whole list.

#### [Multi-channel cascade](/use-cases/multi-channel-cascade)

Reach someone on WhatsApp, then SMS, then a call — automatically.

#### [More recipes](/use-cases)

Verification calls, multi-agent routing, browser voice widgets, and the MCP server.

## Two ways to power your agent

Every agent runs one of two ways. Pick per agent — it's a single field (`ai_provider`).

|                  | **Hosted AI**                                                      | **Bring Your Own Model (BYOM)**                         |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Who runs the LLM | Voicebip's hosted model                                            | Your endpoint                                           |
| You provide      | A `system_prompt` (and optional tools + knowledge base)            | A `webhook_url` that returns replies                    |
| Best for         | Fastest path to a working agent; tool-calling and RAG built in     | Full control over the model, prompt, and data residency |
| Guide            | [Agents](/guides/agents) · [Tool-calling](/use-cases/tool-calling) | [BYOM](/use-cases/byom-custom-llm)                      |

Both share the same telephony, transcription, recording, and webhook plumbing — the only difference is where the thinking happens.

## Core concepts

A quick glossary before you dive in:

* **Agent** — the AI persona that handles calls and messages. Owns a prompt, a voice, and (optionally) tools and a knowledge base. Hosted or BYOM. See [Agents](/guides/agents).
* **Number** — a phone identity you provision: a Nigerian geographic DID (`geo_did`), a mobile virtual number, or an international DID. Bound to an agent, and enabled for `voice` / `sms` / `whatsapp` channels. See [Phone Numbers](/guides/phone-numbers).
* **Hosted AI vs BYOM** — whether Voicebip runs the model (hosted) or relays each turn to your server (BYOM). See [above](#two-ways-to-power-your-agent).
* **Knowledge Base** — your documents (PDF/DOCX/TXT/URL), chunked and embedded so a hosted agent can answer from them (RAG). See [Knowledge Base](/guides/knowledge-base).
* **Campaign** — an outbound run over a list of recipients (voice, SMS, or WhatsApp), with pacing and retries handled for you. See [Campaigns](/guides/campaigns).
* **Webhook** — an HTTPS endpoint we POST events to (`call.completed`, `message.received`, …), signed with HMAC-SHA256 so you can trust them. See [Webhooks](/guides/webhooks).

## Get started

#### [1. Authenticate](/authentication)

Get an API key and learn how requests are authorized. Start in the sandbox with a `pk_test_` key — ₦0, no real calls.

#### [2. Nigeria Quick Start](/quickstart)

Create your first agent, provision a `+234` number, and take a live call in a few minutes.

#### [3. Build a use case](/use-cases)

Follow an end-to-end recipe — inbound support, a WhatsApp agent, or an outbound campaign.

> **Note**
>
> **Base URL** `https://api.voicebip.com/v1` — all endpoints are versioned under `/v1/`. **Auth** `Authorization: Bearer pk_xxx`. Timestamps are ISO 8601 UTC and phone numbers are E.164 (`+234…`). Sandbox keys (`pk_test_`) route to synthetic call/message lifecycles with real signatures and zero billing.

## Developer tools

* **SDKs** — [TypeScript/JavaScript](/integrations/sdks/typescript), [Python](/integrations/sdks/python), [Go](/integrations/sdks/go), and a [Browser SDK](/integrations/sdks/web) for in-page voice.
* **MCP server** — drive Voicebip from an AI assistant (Claude, Cursor) via the [MCP server](/integrations/mcp/overview); 46 tools covering the full API. Walkthrough: [Drive Voicebip from an AI assistant](/use-cases/mcp-tour).
* **Sandbox** — build and test the whole flow with a `pk_test_` key before going live. See [Sandbox Mode](/reference/sandbox-mode).