# Manage contacts Add, organize, and maintain contact records through the UI and CSV import. Contacts are the people your agents call or receive calls from. Each contact record stores personal details, a phone number, custom fields, tags, and a full history of every call. ### What a contact record contains Each contact record includes the following fields:

Field	Description
Name	The contact's first and last name.
Phone number	The phone number used for inbound and outbound calls.
Custom fields	Fields you define to capture business-specific data, such as company name, interest level, or appointment date.
Tags	Labels you apply to organize contacts and filter them in campaigns.
Call history	A log of every call with this contact, including the recording and full transcript.

### Add contacts You can add contacts manually or import them in bulk using a CSV file. #### Add a contact manually Use this option to add a single contact quickly without using a CSV file. Follow these steps: 1. Go to **Contacts** from the sidebar. 2. Click **+ Add Contact.** 3. Enter the contact details: * **First name** * **Last name** * **Phone number** (use international format, e.g. `+1XXXXXXXXXX`) * (Optional) **Email address** 4. (Optional) Click **+ Add New Tags.** 5. Click **Create Contact.** {% hint style="info" %} **Custom fields**\ Custom fields cannot be added from this screen if none exist yet. Create them first in the **Custom Fields** tab. {% endhint %}

#### Import contacts from a CSV file Use CSV import to upload multiple contacts at once. This is the fastest way to add large contact lists. Follow these steps: 1. Go to **Contacts** from the sidebar. 2. Click **Upload Target Audience from CSV File.** 3. In the **Upload** step, click **Download the template (CSV)** to get the correct format. 4. Fill in your contact data and save the file.

Before you upload

Make sure your CSV file includes at least a phone number column.

5. Drag and drop your CSV file into the upload area, or click to select it from your computer. 6. In the **Map Columns** step, review the column mappings and update any field if needed using the dropdown. 7. (Optional) Select **Skip this column** for any data you don’t want to import. 8. Click **Continue**. 9. In the Tag & Review step, add tags in the **Global Tags** section by selecting existing tags or adding new ones. 10. Review the summary, including the file name, mapped columns, and applied tags. 11. Click **Import Contacts.** 12. In the **Result** step, click **Close** to finish the process. You will see a table with all imported contacts.

### Automatic contact creation from inbound calls When someone calls one of your Agentalk phone numbers and their number is not already saved, a contact record is created automatically. The system stores: * The phone number. * The call in the contact’s history. ### Organize contacts Use custom fields and tags to structure and filter your contact data. #### Custom fields Custom fields allow you to store structured, business-specific data on each contact. Follow these steps: 1. Go to **Contacts** from the sidebar. 2. Select the **Custom Fields** tab 3. Click **+** **Add Field.** 4. Enter the field name. 5. Select **Field Type** from the dropdown list. 6. Click + **Create Field.**

Custom fields are added to every contact record once created, allowing you to capture and standardize key information across your contacts. Common examples include: * `Company Name`: the contact's business. * `Interest Level`: a qualification score set by the agent. * `Appointment Date`: a date captured during a booking call. The **Update Contact** agent function writes to custom fields automatically during a call. See [**Use built-in functions**](https://docs.agentalk.io/ai-agents/agent-functions/use-built-in-functions) for details. #### Tags Tags help you organize contacts and filter them during campaigns. Follow these steps: 1. Go to **Contacts** from the sidebar. 2. Select the **Tags** tab. 3. Click + **Add Tag.** 4. Enter a tag name. 5. Click the checkmark to save. New tags will show **0 contacts** until assigned. {% hint style="info" %} **Using tags effectively** * You can apply multiple tags to a contact. * Tags are especially useful in campaigns. For example, you can target only contacts tagged `new_lead` or `follow_up_required`. {% endhint %}

### Search and filter contacts Use the search bar at the top of the Contacts page to find contacts by name or phone number.

Use filters to narrow results by: * Name * Phone * Email * Tag * Custom fields ### Access call recordings from a contact record Open a contact and scroll to the **Call history** section. Each entry shows: * Date * Duration * Agent used * Recording * Full transcript ### Automatic contact creation Agentalk creates a contact automatically when a new phone number calls your system. The system stores: * The phone number. * The call in the contact's history. ### Manage contacts programmatically You can create, update, and search contacts using the API. The API uses upsert logic. If you create a contact with an existing phone number, the system updates the record instead of creating a duplicate. See the [**Contacts API reference**](https://docs.agentalk.io/contacts/broken-reference) for full endpoint details. ### Next steps Here are the recommended next steps after managing your contacts: * [**Create an outbound campaign**](https://docs.agentalk.io/campaigns/create-an-outbound-campaign): Use your contact list to start calling leads. * [**Setup checklist**](https://docs.agentalk.io/getting-started/setup-checklist): Continue setting up your workspace.