> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.retellai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Build your first phone agent in 15 minutes
> Build your first Retell AI phone agent in 15 minutes — create an account, pick a template, test in the dashboard, deploy to a phone number, and make a call.
**Retell** is a platform for building, testing, and deploying **AI phone agents** that hold natural conversations over the phone. This quickstart takes you from a new account to a live agent you can call, in about 15 minutes.
1. Visit the [Retell Dashboard](https://dashboard.retellai.com)
2. Sign up for a new account
1. Navigate to the "Agents" tab
2. Click "Create an agent"
3. Choose a template
1. Click the "Test" button to start a web call with your agent
1. Before buying a phone number, you need to add a payment method to your account
2. Go to the "Billing" tab and click "Change payment methods"
1. Go to the "Phone Numbers" tab
2. Click "Buy New Number"
3. (Optional) Enter the area code you want to buy the number for
4. Purchase your number
5. Assign your agent to the number in the configuration settings
1. Incoming Calls:
* Dial your purchased number
2. Outbound Calls:
* Click "Make an outbound call"
* Enter the phone number including the country code (e.g., `+12137774445`)
Congratulations! Your agent is now live. It can:
* Receive incoming calls
* Make outbound calls
* Handle natural conversations 24/7
## Next steps
Now that your agent works, keep going:
Learn prompt engineering techniques to improve your agent's responses
Integrate APIs and external services into your agent
Track call metrics and analyze agent performance
Ensure reliability and optimize for production use