Before you start, have these handy: your website URL, your business hours and services, and access to the calendar you book into (Google Calendar or Outlook). That is enough to get a working receptionist. A phone number comes in step five.
How the finished receptionist works
The setup
1
Open the Composer and start from your website URL
Sign in and you land on your home screen: a single chat, the Composer. Tell Alex to build a receptionist and paste your website URL, for example “Create a receptionist for me and learn everything from acmedental.com.”Alex scans the site, drafts the agent, and pulls in a starter knowledge base so you are not starting from an empty prompt. Review what it proposes, then approve.
Alex never changes your agent on its own. Every edit lands on a review card first, and destructive actions (like deleting an agent) ask you to type “confirm”. This is the propose-then-approve flow.
2
Set the greeting and objective
Every agent has a North Star: the one objective it keeps in view on every call. For a receptionist that is usually “answer every call, book qualified appointments, and never let a lead reach voicemail.” Your later edits stay true to it.Set the opening line the way you want callers greeted, and pick a voice. Just ask in plain language:
3
Add a knowledge base
Your receptionist only answers from what it knows, so a richer knowledge base means fewer “let me check on that” moments. Alex already scanned your website; use the ”+” Add knowledge control in the Composer to fill any gaps: hours, services, pricing, location and parking, booking policy, common FAQs. Paste text, upload files, or point Alex at more pages.
4
Connect a calendar so it can book
To let the receptionist book appointments, connect a calendar from the Composer’s Connectors, then switch on the booking tools (Check availability and Create booking). Now it reads live availability and writes the appointment straight into your calendar mid-call.Google Calendar and Outlook are the direct path. Calendly and Nightsbridge sync availability too, and iCal booking is available with the Power Tools add-on.
5
Assign or buy a phone number
The Free plan is browser-only for testing, about five minutes of in-browser voice with no live phone calls. To take real calls, move to a paid plan: Professional is $99/month (with a 7-day free trial) and includes one phone number, 250 minutes, and five concurrent call slots.Assign that included number to your receptionist, connect a number you already own, or add another from $2/month. Extra concurrent call slots are $15/month each if you expect overlapping calls. See pricing for the full breakdown.
6
Test-call before you go live
From the Composer you have two ways to test. “Talk to your agent” runs a live call in your browser. “Call my phone” makes the agent ring your phone so you hear it on a real line, exactly as a caller would.After each test call, Alex posts a summary, a call-quality score, and recommended next steps into the chat. Tighten the greeting, add any missing knowledge, adjust the tools, and re-test until it sounds right.
7
Go live
Point your business line at your SmartAlex number by forwarding or publishing it, and your receptionist is answering calls. Optionally drop the web widget on your site so visitors can talk to the same agent by voice or chat.Watch every conversation in call logs and analytics, and refine as you learn what callers actually ask.
What it handles on day one
Switch these on per agent in the Tools section. A receptionist typically runs with:- Answers questions from your knowledge base, with optional live web search for anything current.
- Books appointments against your connected calendar (check availability, create booking, schedule a callback).
- Captures leads into your CRM and sends a follow-up email or SMS.
- Transfers to a human with a warm hand-off that announces the caller before connecting, or routes to an extension.
Frequently asked questions
How long does AI receptionist setup actually take?
How long does AI receptionist setup actually take?
About ten minutes if your website and calendar are ready. Bootstrapping from a URL does the heavy lifting: Alex drafts the agent and a starter knowledge base, and you spend the rest of the time on the greeting, calendar, and a test call.
Do I need a phone number to start?
Do I need a phone number to start?
No. You can build and test entirely in the browser on the Free plan (about five minutes of in-browser voice). You only need a phone number when you want to take real calls, which requires a paid plan.
Can it really book appointments on its own?
Can it really book appointments on its own?
Yes. Once you connect Google Calendar or Outlook and enable the booking tools, the receptionist checks real-time availability and writes the appointment into your calendar during the call, then confirms it back to the caller.
Will it transfer to a person when needed?
Will it transfer to a person when needed?
Yes. Turn on transfer and warm transfer, and the receptionist hands the caller to your team (announcing them first) or routes to a specific extension when the request is out of scope.
Related
What is an AI receptionist?
The plain-English primer: what it does, how it works, and where it fits.
Create an agent in Studio
A deeper walkthrough of the Composer and the propose-then-approve flow.
Phone numbers
Buy, connect, and assign the number your receptionist answers on.
Knowledge base
Ground your receptionist so it answers accurately, every call.