aiReceptionist

Your receptionist, set up in an hour

Take a tour of the aiReceptionist setup in five parts, with screenshots of the real portal. When you’re ready to try it yourself, simply tell it about your business and decide what happens on a call. Connect your phone, choose where messages go, then test and go live.

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DIY: 5 parts, 12 steps, one hourOr we will build it for you. See the SMB plan

Set up your aiReceptionist

Every screenshot is the real portal, set up for Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. Do the same for your business and make your first call today.

  1. 1Tell aiReceptionist about your business
  2. 2Decide what happens on a call
  3. 3Connect the phone
  4. 4Get messages where you’ll read them
  5. 5Test, then go live

Part 1 of 5

Tell aiReceptionist about your business

Who you are, what you know, how you sound.

  1. Step 1 · Info › Company Information

    Tell your AI receptionist where you are

    Available · All plans

    Your receptionist needs to know where you are. Company Information holds your billing address, website, phone and fax. Outerbanks Handyman is at 102 Main Street, Chesapeake. Callers hear the address in your knowledge base, so enter it in both places.

    • Use the address customers know, not the registered office.
    • Add your staff so they can access the system on day one.
    The Company Information card in the portal with Outerbanks Handyman’s billing address in Chesapeake, Virginia, and empty website, phone and fax fields.View full size

  2. Step 2 · Call Handling Setup › Manage Knowledge

    Give your AI receptionist the answers

    The knowledge base is everything your receptionist knows. Who it is, what it must ask, and what to say about services, prices and scheduling. Outerbanks Handyman sets the tone first: empathetic, thoughtful and friendly. Then it splits calls into two paths, scheduling and questions. On a booking, it asks for a preferred day and time and says a team member will confirm it. Hours, service area and the questions callers repeat go on the Frequently Asked Questions card. You can upload a PDF to the knowledge base, and it still uses the text you wrote. Add FAQs one at a time.

    • Write it the way you would brief a new hire on their first morning.
    • Give it guardrails on what it should and should not promise.
    • Address, hours and prices, in plain words. Callers ask for all three.

    Watch step 2 in the portal ·

    The knowledge base is pasted in and saved. Then the FAQs go in one at a time. The examples typed here are discounts, seasonal hours, call backs and pricing.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The Knowledge Base card in the portal, expanded, with the start of Outerbanks Handyman’s instructions: an empathetic, thoughtful and friendly tone, one path for scheduling and one for questions, and a team member to confirm every appointment time.View full size

  3. Step 3 · Call Handling › Agent Personas

    Give aiReceptionist a persona

    Available · All plans

    A persona is who your receptionist is on the call. It has a profile name, the name it gives callers, a role, instructions, a tone and a voice. Outerbanks Handyman’s persona is Grace. She answers questions, collects the caller’s details and sorts urgent jobs from the rest. Her tone is professional, bright and approachable.

    • Write the role in one sentence a new hire would understand.
    • Pick a tone and keep it. Warm and concise beats clever.

    Watch step 3 in the portal ·

    A persona gets a profile name, an agent name, a role, instructions and a tone. One instruction is do not promise a callback time.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The card for Grace, Outerbanks Handyman’s persona, in the portal: her role, the voice rachel, her professional, bright and approachable tone and the start of her instructions.View full sizeThe Agent Personas tab in the portal with Outerbanks Handyman’s five personas, Eryn, General Calls, General Calls - Main, Bella and Grace - General, each with its role, voice, tone and instructions.View full size

Part 2 of 5

Decide what happens on a call

What it collects, what it can send, who it can transfer to.

  1. Step 4 · Call Handling › Workflows

    Build the workflow

    Available · All plans

    The workflow is what happens on a call, drawn as nodes on a canvas. Start holds the greeting. Unified Agent holds the instructions and the details to collect. Outerbanks Handyman collects the caller’s name, urgency, phone number, email, a short description of the job and the address. End says goodbye. Every connection can carry a condition, so the path depends on what the caller has said so far. Here, a caller who says the job is urgent goes to a warm transfer.

    • Start with Start, one Unified Agent and End. Add branches after your first test call.
    • Version history keeps every save. Make a version live only after you have called it yourself.
    • To change a live workflow, duplicate it to edit. Version history compares the two.

    Watch step 4 in the portal ·

    A new workflow gets a name and a description of the business. On the canvas, Start holds the greeting and the next node collects the caller’s details. A condition sends urgent calls to a person and the rest to End.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The workflow editor in the portal: Edit - Main - General Calls, v4 Live, Workflow is valid, with Hide Settings, Validate, Version History and Duplicate to Edit buttons, a Live, read-only lock, the Add Node panel and the canvas.View full sizeThe workflow canvas for Outerbanks Handyman: a Welcome node with Grace’s greeting, a Unified Agent node that answers questions and lists the details to collect, a second that routes by urgency, a warm transfer for urgent jobs with its number masked, and a Close Call node.View full size

  2. Step 5 · Contacts

    Add the people AI can transfer calls to

    Contacts are the people your receptionist can transfer a call to. Add them before you add a Transfer node. Blocked Numbers keeps out the callers who should never get through: the robodialer, the ex-supplier, the prankster.

    • Blocks stop a caller from reaching your account.
    The Contacts card in the portal listing one contact, with name, business, title and actions columns.View full sizeThe Blocked Numbers card in the portal with the Outerbanks Handyman account selected and a field to add a number.View full size

  3. Step 6 · Call Handling › Global Tools, then a Transfer node in Workflows

    Let AI text a link or transfer calls

    Available · All plansAvailable · All plans

    Global Tools are actions your receptionist can take on any call. Add an SMS tool. Choose the tool type, then give it a name and a description it can match to a request. Write the message. Outerbanks Handyman has five tools. Three are texts: a rescheduling link, a pricing link and an arrival alert. One emails the pricing link. One transfers vendors making a delivery. To hand a call to a person, add a Transfer node after Unified Agent. Give the connection a condition, such as the caller saying the job is urgent. Choose cold or warm. Cold hands the call straight over. Warm tells the person who is calling and why. A new account’s Global Tools tab starts empty. Add your first SMS tool before your first test call.

    • One tool per intent: send the website, send directions, book a callback.
    • A Transfer node is your human backup. Write the condition the way a caller would say it.

    Watch step 6 in the portal ·

    A transfer target takes a label, a type and a trigger. Cold hands the call straight over. Warm tells the person who is calling and why. Then a Global Tool is set up to transfer urgent callers.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The Global Tools tab in the portal with Outerbanks Handyman’s five tools: Rescheduling_Link, Requested_pricing and Arrival_Alert (SMS), Vendors_Delivery (transfer) and Pricing_Link (email), each with the description it matches to a request.View full sizeThe Add Node panel in the workflow builder: Start, Unified Agent, Webhook, External Patch (transfer the call to an external number or user), Appointment and End.View full size

Part 3 of 5

Connect the phone

A number to answer on. A number to show when it calls out.

  1. Step 7 · Call Handling Setup › Manage Phone Number

    Pick the number aiReceptionist answers on

    Available · DIY

    Pick the number callers will dial and set what it routes to. An account can hold more than one number, each routed on its own. Build the workflow first. Once it is live, point your number at it. Make your test calls to this number first. Your published number does not change until the last step.

    • Keep one number for testing and one for customers while you tune the knowledge base.
    • Write the number down. You will dial it a lot today.

    Watch step 7 in the portal ·

    Validate checks the workflow, and it goes live. To change it later, duplicate it to edit, and compare versions in the history. Then the number is pointed at the live workflow and saved.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The Manage Phone Number tab in the portal with Outerbanks Handyman’s number, (757) 703-3695, routed to the workflow Main - General Calls, v4.View full size

  2. Step 8 · Info › Caller-ID Registrations

    Register your caller ID

    Register the number your receptionist shows when it calls or texts out. The website link from Step 6 then arrives from a number your customers recognize, not a stranger’s.

    • Register the number on your van and your Google listing.
    The Caller-ID Registrations card in the portal, empty, with phone number, status and actions columns.View full size

Part 4 of 5

Get messages where you’ll read them

A perfect message nobody sees is a missed call.

  1. Step 9 · Integrations

    Choose where messages go

    Available · All plans

    Every call produces a message, and an integration delivers it. Add the inbox your team actually watches and authorize it. Otherwise your receptionist takes perfect messages that nobody reads.

    • Use a shared inbox, not one person’s. People take vacation.
    • Send a test message before the first call, so you know delivery works.

    Watch step 9 in the portal ·

    Processing decides what each message carries. The call summary, sentiment, unanswered questions and structured data are turned on here. A text summary after the call needs the caller’s consent.

    Recorded in the portal on September 11, 2026. The video follows Outerbanks Handyman, our demo account. The voiceover is a first take and is being re-recorded.

    Watch with the transcript
    The Integrations card in the portal for Outerbanks Handyman, showing one email integration, marked Authorized.View full sizeAn Outerbanks Handyman message in the portal: the AI summary of a 4:03 test call about a flooded basement, then the Message Details tab. Every field the receptionist asks for is filled in, from name and urgency to the job and the address. The phone number and email are masked.View full size

Part 5 of 5

Test, then go live

Call it. Read the transcript. Fix it. Then forward your line.

  1. Step 10 · Make Call, or dial the number from your phone

    Make your first call

    Available · All plans

    Dial your new number from your own phone. Talk to it the way a customer would: ask for a price, ask for the website, ask for a person. Or use Make Call in the portal. Test the text and the transfer on this call, not the tenth.

    • Have a colleague call too. You know the answers. They do not.
    • Try to break it politely: mumble the address, change your mind, ask something off-topic.
    The Make Call page in the portal: the dialer with the calling number, an empty Call To field, the full keypad and the call controls, reading STANDBY.View full size

  2. Step 11 · Messages and Unanswered Questions

    Read the transcript and fix what stumbled

    Available · All plansAvailable · All plans

    Messages holds the transcript and summary of the call you just made. Filter by leads, current clients, flagged and unread. Unanswered Questions lists every question your receptionist could not answer, so each fix is one FAQ away. Wherever it hesitated, the fix is in the knowledge base or the workflow. Two or three rounds is the whole job.

    • Read what the caller said, not just what the receptionist said.
    • Clear Unanswered Questions before you forward your line. Callers ask the same things.
    The Activity list in the portal for Outerbanks Handyman with its four latest calls, every caller number masked.View full sizeThe Transcript tab of an Outerbanks Handyman call in the portal. Grace says she is an AI assistant, and the caller describes a busted pipe and a flooded basement. Grace then asks for a first and last name.View full size

  3. Step 12 · Your phone carrier

    Forward your existing line

    Available · DIY

    When the test calls sound right, forward your published number to your receptionist’s number. Customers keep dialing the number they know, and nothing on your van or Google listing changes. Forwarding takes a minute to undo. Porting is permanent, so forward first.

    • Forward on busy and no-answer first if you want to keep picking up during the day.
    • Tell the team the date. The first week’s messages arrive faster than they expect.
    • After the first week, Customer Memory shows what people call about by tag and who to call back.

    Find your carrier

    Pick your carrier for the exact steps. Forwarding takes a minute to undo.

    • VerizonDial code

      Dial the code from the phone you want to forward.

      Forward every call
      *72your aiReceptionist number
      Forward only when busy or unanswered
      *71your aiReceptionist number
      Turn forwarding off
      *73
      • Use the ten digit number, with the area code and no dashes.
    • AT&TDial code

      Dial the code from the phone you want to forward.

      Forward every call
      *21*your aiReceptionist number#
      Turn forwarding off
      #21#
      • AT&T is the one carrier that uses *21* and #21#, not *72 and *73.
      • For busy and no answer forwarding, call AT&T on 800.288.2020.
    • T-MobileDial code

      Dial the code from the phone you want to forward.

      Forward every call
      *72your aiReceptionist number#
      Turn forwarding off
      *73
      • Former Sprint lines are on T-Mobile now and use these codes.
    • Comcast XfinityDial code

      Dial from the handset, or set it in My Account.

      Forward every call
      *72your aiReceptionist number
      Turn forwarding off
      *73
      1. Sign in to My Account and open the menu.
      2. Go to Phone, then expand Features.
      3. Open Call Forwarding and pick Always, Busy, No Answer or Selective.
      • From a handset, press Send after the code and wait for the beeps.
    • RingCentralIn the app

      Set it in the RingCentral web console. There is no dial code.

      1. Sign in to your RingCentral account online.
      2. Admins go to Users, then Manage Users, and pick the extension.
      3. Open Call Forwarding and Voicemail. Users find it under Settings.
      4. On the Work Hours tab, click Add number or coworker.
      5. Enter your ten digit aiReceptionist number and set the ring duration.
      • Turn simultaneous ring off. Your aiReceptionist number must be last in the sequence.
      • RingCentral usually asks the answering line to press 1, so your answer phrase has to include it.
      • RingCentral lines cannot use a pre-announcement.
    • Google VoiceIn the app

      Link your aiReceptionist number, then verify it.

      1. Open the settings gear at the top right and turn the preset settings off.
      2. Go to the Account tab and choose New Linked Number.
      3. Enter your ten digit aiReceptionist number.
      4. Choose Verify by phone or SMS, then click Call.
      5. Enter the verification code, then click Verify.
      • Google Voice needs a pre-announcement with a key press, such as press 1 to connect.
      • Remove any pre-recorded message of your own first.
      • Set up conditional forwarding for the calls you want passed on.
    • Zoom PhoneIn the app

      Set it as call handling in the Zoom web portal.

      1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal and click Phone.
      2. Open the Settings tab.
      3. Under Business Hours or Closed Hours, click Edit beside Call Handling.
      4. Click Add Phone Number and check the country or region.
      5. Enter the area code and your aiReceptionist number.
      • Business hours and closed hours are set separately. Do both.
    • DialpadIn the app

      Add it as a forwarding device in your Dialpad settings.

      1. Sign in at dialpad.com and open Settings.
      2. Go to Your Devices and choose Add New.
      3. Choose Add New Forwarding Number.
      4. Enter your ten digit aiReceptionist number and verify it.
      • You have to be on the phone to finish this one.
      • A test caller presses 1 at the prompt to confirm it worked.
    • VonageDial code

      Dial *72 from your Vonage phone and follow the prompts.

      Start forwarding
      *72
      1. Dial *72 from your Vonage phone and wait for the prompt.
      2. Enter the area code and your ten digit aiReceptionist number.
      3. Press 1 to confirm, or 2 to enter a different number.
    • NextivaDial code

      Users dial a code. Admins can set it for the whole team.

      Forward every call
      *72your aiReceptionist number#
      Turn forwarding off
      *73
      1. Admins go to Users, then Actions, then Voice Settings.
      2. Open Forwarding and choose Call forward always.
      3. Enter your ten digit aiReceptionist number.
    All carriers in the help center

Want us to set it up for you?

The aiReceptionist team is happy to create your receptionist exactly the way you need. Choose an SMB or Enterprise plan to get set up with the team, or call us to talk it through first.

Try aiReceptionist freeContact usOpen the portal

Keep your AI receptionist sharp after go-live

Keep the knowledge base current

Your receptionist says what the knowledge base says. When a price, an hour or a service changes, change it there the same day.

Read the transcripts

A few minutes a week in Activity shows you where callers stumble. The fix is usually one line in the knowledge base.

Get messages as they land

Send messages to the inbox your team watches. A lead answered in ten minutes is a job. A lead answered tomorrow is a competitor’s.

Keep a person one transfer away

Add a Transfer node for the calls only a human should take. Your receptionist hands them over instead of guessing.

Ready to stop missing calls?

Try it free, or ask the team how it would work for your business.

Talk to the team
Call the AI