# Outbound API calls not using updated prompt

**URL:** <https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185>\
**Category:** Support Help\
**Tags:** bug\
**Created:** [June 24, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185 "2026-06-24T21:13:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![fuska70](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/fuska70/32/2213_2.png) [@fuska70](https://community.retellai.com/u/fuska70)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185/1 "2026-06-24T21:13:45Z")

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Hi,

I’m experiencing an issue where outbound calls made via API always use an old version of the agent prompt, even after updating it.

**Steps to reproduce:**

1. I have an agent (`agent_c0cd0840fd60882f793ebb629f`) with a Retell LLM (`llm_cfe7c999f84e89b496b826531538`)
2. I update the prompt via the dashboard or via PATCH `/update-retell-llm`
3. I trigger an outbound call via POST `/v2/create-phone-call`
4. The call uses the OLD prompt, not the updated one

**What I noticed:**

- Test Audio in the dashboard works correctly with the new prompt ✅
- Outbound API calls always use the old prompt ❌
- The agent shows `"is_published": false` even after clicking Publish in the dashboard
- `base_version` in the API response is different from `version` — it seems the published version is cached

**Question:** How can I force outbound API calls to use the latest version of the prompt? Is there a way to publish the agent via API?

Thank you

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shah-Fazal](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/shah-fazal/32/2522_2.png) [@Shah-Fazal](https://community.retellai.com/u/Shah-Fazal)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185/2 "2026-06-24T21:20:24Z")

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Hey @fuska70 , thanks for providing the details and the Agent ID. Let me check this with the team, and I’ll get back to you with an update as soon as possible.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TONNIC](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/tonnic/32/131_2.png) [@TONNIC](https://community.retellai.com/u/TONNIC)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185/3 "2026-06-25T01:59:01Z")

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what does your payload look like for the outbound calls?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fuska70](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/fuska70/32/2213_2.png) [@fuska70](https://community.retellai.com/u/fuska70)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 9:57am UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185/4 "2026-06-25T09:57:23Z")

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Rispondi con questo:

* * *

Hi, here is the payload we use for outbound calls:

```auto
{
  "from_number": "+3901211976101",
  "to_number": "+39XXXXXXXXXX",
  "agent_id": "agent_fe6dff49276e099dd25c69ef50",
  "retell_llm_dynamic_variables": {
    "to_number": "+39XXXXXXXXXX",
    "business_name": "Nome Attività",
    "zona": "Oulx",
    "indirizzo": "Via Roma 1, Oulx",
    "tier": "HOT",
    "tpv": "€15.000",
    "note": "note qualifica"
  }
}

```

We have also tried adding `override_agent_version: 2` and `override_agent_version: 3` but the result is the same — the call always uses the old published prompt (v2.6) instead of the updated one (v2.7).

The agent shows `is_published: false` and `base_version: 3` via the GET agent API, even after calling `publish-agent-version` with version 2 and 3.

The Test Audio in the dashboard works correctly with the new prompt, but outbound API calls always use the old one.

* * *

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shah-Fazal](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/shah-fazal/32/2522_2.png) [@Shah-Fazal](https://community.retellai.com/u/Shah-Fazal)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-api-calls-not-using-updated-prompt/3185/5 "2026-06-25T12:46:46Z")

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Hey @fuska70 Just checked with the team, the agent itself is publishing correctly. Latest published version on agent\_c0cd0840fd60882f793ebb629f is v99 (isPublished: true). The actual issue is on the phone-number side has its outbound agent pinned to agent version 81, so every call from POST /v2/create-phone-call loads that old version regardless of how many times you republish.

Test Audio works because it resolves the agent’s latest published version directly, bypassing the phone-number binding.

Fix: in the dashboard, open Phone Numbers → Outbound Agent, re-select Sofia and save set the version dropdown to “Latest” so future publishes flow through automatically. Or via API: PATCH /update-phone-number/ with the outbound agent’s version set to 99 (or the version you want).

About is\_published: false and base\_version that’s the in-editor draft, which is expected. Drafts always carry isPublished: false and a baseVersion pointing at the version they were forked from; the published row (v99) carries isPublished: true. There isn’t currently a “publish via API” endpoint publishing is a dashboard action that creates a new version record.

Thank You