Guide · Phone operations
AI receptionist setup checklist before the first call.
Prepare your business facts, calendar rules, transfer paths and test calls before an AI receptionist takes real calls.
TeamWhat happens if a transfer fails?
RuleTake a message and follow the callback plan.
TeamWhat counts as booked?
RuleA saved appointment in the real calendar.
The next stepWrite down the rule. Test it. Keep a person in charge.
The short answer
An AI receptionist needs more than a voice. It needs facts it can trust, a clear job, a calendar it can use and a person to call when it gets stuck. Start with the checklist below. Test the full path before forwarding a real number. If a fact or connection is not ready, the safe next step is to take a message.
01 / Prepare
Write the rules before you wire the phone.
Start with the facts.
List the business name, hours, services, service area and questions callers ask. Include holiday hours. Mark anything the AI must not quote or promise. Choose one person to keep that sheet current.
Choose the job.
Decide whether the AI takes messages, answers questions, books approved times or transfers calls. Do not turn every possible feature on at once. Start with the path your team can test and support.
Map the next step.
Name the person who handles urgent calls, normal callbacks and failed transfers. Set the hours for each route. Write what the AI says if nobody picks up. A transfer attempt is not a completed handoff.
02 / Calendar
A time shown is not yet a booking.
Confirm these first
- Which calendar is the source of truth.
- The right time zone and appointment length.
- Working hours, breaks and buffers.
- Who can take each kind of appointment.
- What to do when there are no open times.
Keep these separate
- A caller asking for a time.
- A time offered by the AI.
- An appointment saved in the real calendar.
- A reminder delivered to the caller.
- An appointment the person attended.
03 / Test sheet
Call each path on purpose.
| Test call | What to check |
|---|---|
| A normal question | The answer matches the business sheet. |
| A booking request | The right calendar has the right person, time and time zone. |
| No open times | The AI offers an approved callback path, not an invented slot. |
| An urgent call | The named human gets the call or the approved fallback is used. |
| A question outside the rules | The AI says it does not know and takes a message. |
| A failed connection | The caller gets a clear next step and the team can see the failure. |
04 / Go live
Keep a way back.
Before forwarding calls, write down the old routing and how to restore it. Test forwarding and restoring it with the phone provider. See how call forwarding works. Do not cancel the old number as part of a test.
Check the opening line: the caller should hear that this is an AI and that calls are recorded. Have your team approve the wording and the information it may collect. Ask about data access and retention before sharing real customer information.
Texting is a separate path. It needs the right consent, opt-out handling and carrier registration before it turns on. A working voice call does not prove that a text can be delivered.
Review the first real calls with the team. Fix wrong answers, failed routes and missed bookings. Keep a dated list of changes. A good test sheet is useful every time your hours, team or services change.
05 / Questions
Straight answers.
01Can I keep my number?
Often the existing number forwards to the AI. Confirm the exact method with your phone provider and test both forwarding and restoring the old route.
02What if my calendar is not connected?
The AI should take an inquiry or callback request. It should not tell the caller an appointment is booked without a successful calendar write.
03What should I send before you build?
Send your common call types, business hours, calendar setup and the people who take urgent calls. A small set of real questions is more useful than a long sales brief.
Want this running on your phone? Start the plan. You hear it plainly if AI isn’t the right fix.
06 / Keep reading
Keep reading.
- GuideHow AI changes a businessWhat changes when the phone, the follow-up and the busywork stop depending on staff hours.
- GuideWhat an AI receptionist costsThe three ways to pay for one, what drives the price, and what ours costs.
- CompareAI vs answering serviceAn AI receptionist, a live answering service, voicemail and a new hire, side by side.
- GuideMissed-call text-backWhen a call goes unanswered, the AI texts that caller within seconds from your business number.
- GuideForward callsKeep your business number and forward calls to an AI receptionist.
- GuideWhat callers hearCallers hear the business name, a recording notice and an AI disclosure.
- All industriesEvery industrySee the calls it handles for your kind of business.