When you add contacts to Campaigns using tags or CRM lists, CloudTalk applies stricter validation rules than during a regular contact import. This means contacts that appear correctly in the Contacts section may still be missing from a Campaign. This guide explains the symptoms, causes, and the steps to fix it.
User level: Admin
Symptoms
You may see one or more of the following:
Contacts appear in Contacts, but not in the Campaign audience
The Campaign shows fewer contacts than expected
Contacts appear in the audience, but not in the Dialer list
A tag-based Campaign includes only part of the tagged contacts
A CRM list Campaign has fewer contacts than the CRM list itself
CRM list Campaign stays empty even though the CRM list contains contacts
How Campaign audience building differs from Contact imports
Importing contacts into a Campaign is not the same as importing them into the Contacts section.
A Contact import only needs to save the contact in your directory.
A Campaign import also needs to check whether the contact can be used inside the Campaign.
Because of this, Campaign imports include additional steps, such as:
Checking that the contact matches the Campaign filters
Confirming that the phone number can be used for outbound calling
Preparing the contact for the Campaign’s dialing flow
This means contacts may appear correctly in Contacts, but still result in an empty or incomplete Campaign audience if some Campaign conditions are not met.
Root Causes
Tags do not match Campaign conditions
Campaigns require exact tag matches.
If the Campaign uses demo_leads, but the contact has demo-leads or Demo_Leads, the contact will not be included.
Tags were not applied correctly
Contacts may not have the tag due to:
Incorrect tag name
Tag missing in Settings > General > Contacts
Automation/CRM sync not applying the tag as expected
CRM list membership issues
Contacts from CRM lists will not appear in a Campaign when:
The CRM list does not include the contact
The list is private or restricted, so CloudTalk cannot access it
The CRM sync has not updated the list yet
The CRM list filter conditions exclude the contact
Note: CRM list membership is not visible inside CloudTalk. You must check it directly in your CRM.
Duplicate contacts across multiple CRM lists
When selecting multiple CRM lists:
CloudTalk automatically removes duplicates
A contact appearing in multiple lists is added only once
This can make the total number of Campaign contacts lower than expected.
Contacts were merged due to matching phone numbers
CloudTalk merges contacts that share the same phone number.
This may result in:
A tag being overwritten
The merged contact losing the expected value that Campaign uses
CRM sync overwriting CloudTalk data
Dialer eligibility issues
Contacts may appear in the Campaign audience but be skipped by the Dialer if:
The number has no country code
The number contains formatting issues
The outbound number cannot reach the country
No agent is assigned
No outbound caller ID is selected
Recently dialed contacts are excluded
Step-by-Step Solution
1. Review the Campaign settings
Open the Campaign.
Check how the audience is built:
Tags
CRM contact lists
Compare these settings with the contacts you expect to see.
Example:
If the Campaign requires the tag demo_leads, but the contact has demo-leads, it will be excluded. Tags must match exactly.
2. Verify that the correct tags are applied to the contacts
Since tags do not appear in any import history, you need to check both that the tag exists in your workspace and that it is assigned to the contact.
Go to Contacts.
Open the Filters panel and search using Filter by tag.
If the tag does not appear in the list, it means the tag does not exist in CloudTalk.
Create or correct the tag under Settings > General > Contacts.
Search for a contact that should be included in the Campaign.
Open the contact and check whether the required tag is displayed in the contact details.
If the Campaign uses a CRM list, you will not see that list in CloudTalk.
To confirm CRM list membership, you must check directly in your CRM.
For more details on how tags work, see the article on Contact Tags.
3. Check CRM list membership (in your CRM)
If the Campaign uses a CRM list:
Open your CRM.
Open the list used in the Campaign.
Confirm the contact is included.
Confirm the list is:
Public / accessible
Not set to limited access
Not filtered too narrowly
If the list does not include the contact, CloudTalk cannot add it to the Campaign.
4. Re-open the Campaign so it reloads the audience view
CloudTalk does not provide a manual "refresh" button for Campaign audiences.
To reload the audience:
Leave the Campaign page.
Open it again from the main Campaign list.
Wait a moment for the audience to regenerate.
If contacts appear after reopening, the audience simply needed to reload.
5. If contacts appear in the audience but not in the Dialer list
This means the Campaign accepted the contacts, but the Dialer did not add them to the calling queue.
Check the following:
Outbound number
Make sure the Campaign has a valid outbound number (caller ID).
Agent assignment
At least one agent must be assigned.
The agent must have permission to make outbound calls.
Phone number eligibility
The Dialer may skip a number if:
It has no country code
The number format is invalid
The selected outbound number cannot reach that country
Deduplication
If multiple contacts share the same phone number, CloudTalk adds that number to the Dialer list only once.
Recently dialed contacts
Contacts may be excluded if the same number was dialed recently according to your Dialer logic.
Testing
If you're unsure whether the Dialer is working correctly, create a small test Campaign using a single simple tag and check if the Dialer prepares the contacts.
Contact Support if
Contacts appear in Contacts, but never in the Campaign audience
The correct tag is applied, but the audience stays empty
A CRM list Campaign shows fewer contacts than the CRM list
The Dialer list remains empty despite valid numbers and Campaign audience
Reopening the Campaign does not update the audience
The same tag or CRM list behaves differently across Campaigns
Send:
Campaign name
Whether the Campaign uses tags or a CRM list
Expected vs actual number of contacts
Screenshots of:
The contact details of an affected contact (showing tags)
The Campaign audience
The Dialer list
For CRM list Campaigns:
The CRM list name
A screenshot of the contact inside the CRM list
Confirmation that the list is public / unrestricted