Automated AI Cold Calling System with VAPI.ai, Airtable, and Smart Follow-ups

Automate your cold calling process with AI-powered conversation handling, smart scheduling, and comprehensive call tracking

How it works

This comprehensive cold calling system automates your entire outbound calling workflow in 4 high-level steps:

  1. Automated Dialing - System automatically calls prospects from your Airtable database at scheduled intervals
  2. AI Conversation Handling - Advanced AI assistant conducts natural conversations, handles objections, and books appointments
  3. Smart Call Processing - Real-time call analysis determines outcomes (answered, voicemail, busy) and updates prospect status
  4. Intelligent Follow-up - Automatically schedules callbacks, creates calendar appointments, and maintains detailed call records

Key Features

  • Automated Prospect Management - Pulls contacts from Airtable and manages call status
  • AI-Powered Conversations - Uses VAPI.ai for natural, human-like phone interactions
  • Research Integration - AI can research prospects using Wikipedia, Hacker News, and web search
  • Calendar Integration - Automatically books meetings in Google Calendar
  • Call Analytics - Tracks costs, duration, transcripts, and outcomes
  • Smart Routing - Different workflows for successful calls vs. callbacks

Set up steps

Total setup time: ~30 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Airtable account with prospect database
  • VAPI.ai account for AI calling
  • Google Calendar (for appointment booking)
  • OpenAI API key
  • SerpAPI key (for web research)

Quick Setup (5 steps)

  1. Import workflows - Import all 4 workflow files into your n8n instance
  2. Configure Airtable - Connect your Airtable base with prospect data (Name, Mobile, Status columns)
  3. Set up VAPI.ai - Configure AI assistant and phone number in VAPI dashboard
  4. Connect integrations - Add credentials for Google Calendar, OpenAI, and SerpAPI
  5. Test & Launch - Run a test call and activate the scheduler

Database Structure

Your Airtable should include these tables:

  • Data - Main prospect list (Name, Mobile, Status)
  • Recordings - Call logs and transcripts
  • Call Later - Scheduled callbacks

Detailed configuration notes are included within each workflow as sticky notes