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There are three ways to point your phone system at SmartAlex. All of them land the caller on the same voice engine, so the AI behaves identically once the call arrives. The only difference is who initiates the connection and who owns the routing. Pick the mode that matches how your telephony is set up today.
You do not have to choose one mode for your whole account. Modes coexist on the same SmartAlex tenant, so you can run a standard trunk for one number, a native extension for another, and forward a third. Start with whichever is easiest to stand up, then add others as you grow.

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How the three modes connect

The direction of the arrow is the thing that changes. With a standard trunk, your system sends calls out to us. With native extension mode, we register into your PBX and it treats us like a desk phone. With DID forwarding, your carrier redirects a number to us at the network level.

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Comparison

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How to choose

Use the standard SIP trunk. It gives the AI a dedicated route, keeps your PBX as the source of truth for transfers, and is the least likely to interact with your existing dial plan. This is the default for a reason.
Use native extension mode. The AI registers into your PBX and can be dialled internally, added to ring groups, and included in follow-me rules. You provision the credentials on the PBX side, so your team keeps full control of routing.
Use DID forwarding. You point a number at us and you are live in minutes. There is nothing to install and no PBX configuration to touch, which makes it the quickest way to pilot the AI on a single number.
Yes. Every mode is per number and per agent, so a single account can run all three at once. A common pattern is to forward one number for a quick pilot, then move to a standard trunk or native extension once you are ready to route production traffic.

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Pick your mode

Standard SIP trunk

The default. Your PBX or carrier sends calls to our SIP ingress over a trunk you configure.

Native extension mode

We register as an extension on your PBX. Dial it from any desk phone and the AI answers.

DID forwarding

Forward a number to us at the carrier level. No trunk, no registration, no PBX changes.