Set up your AI Receptionist

Set up your AI Receptionist in AI Receptionist to answer calls, texts, website chat and email replies for you.

Your AI Receptionist answers your customers for you. It answers calls and texts on your Business Phone Number, chats and talks with visitors on your website, replies when a customer answers one of your emails, and writes your AI-written follow-ups. Each project has one receptionist. Set it up in AI Receptionist > Receptionist.

Steps

Open AI Receptionist from Dashboard, or Tools on a phone. The Receptionist section opens.
In Calls and replies, turn on the channels you want:
- Answer calls answers calls to your Business Phone Number. It is on by default once a number is ready.
- Reply to texts replies when a customer texts your Business Phone Number. Without it, texts are saved but not answered.
- Reply to emails replies when a customer answers a follow-up or broadcast email. Replies to emails you sent by hand are not answered. It needs an inbox on your own domain. These switches show your saved choices and apply right away. A channel that needs setup shows what is missing. You can turn an enabled channel off even if setup is missing or cannot be checked. Use Set up calls and texts to open your phone settings.
Open Business profile > View / Edit to update the shared guide, or choose Ask Buildy. See Edit your business info.
Return to Receptionist and click Settings. In Who it is, enter a Name, choose a Language and a Voice. Click Play sample to hear a voice. Describe its Personality, for example "Friendly and brief. Uses the caller's name."
In Greetings, write what it says first On the phone and On your website.
In Calls, choose what happens when someone calls (see below).
Click Save receptionist. You see "AI Receptionist saved".

You need a Business Phone Number for telephone calls and SMS. Website text and voice chat use Operating credits and do not need a phone number. The receptionist works on every paid plan.

Transfer calls and ring your team

Open Settings > Calls:

Ring my team first rings you in Buildy before the receptionist answers. It is on by default.
Transfer calls to is the number the receptionist hands callers to. Use the country code, for example +15551234567. Leave it empty to never transfer.
How to transfer: Introduce the caller first tells your team who is calling before it connects. Connect right away puts the caller straight through.

Take a message

Open AI Receptionist > Settings > Messages and turn on Take a message. This setting applies to website text chat and voice calls. It is on by default.

The receptionist saves requests for your team. In text chat, it asks for a name, an email or callback number, and the request. You get an email and a bell notification. An orange dot beside Contacts stays until you mark each request handled in Needs attention. Reading a request does not clear it. Saved requests are available on every paid plan.

See Handle receptionist requests.

Hear it on your phone

Save your changes first.
Click Test receptionist. In Hear it on your phone, enter Your phone number with the country code.
Click Call me. Buildy calls you from your Business Phone Number, and your receptionist answers like it would for a new caller.

Test calls are billed from your calls and texts balance. You can make 5 test calls an hour. You can also ask Buildy in chat to call you.

How it knows your business

The receptionist reads your business info guide: your hours, services and prices, how to book, policies, common questions and when to bring in a person. Your follow-ups, replies, ads and posts read the same profile. Keep facts there, not in the receptionist.

Use Extra notes for the receptionist only for what the receptionist alone needs. For example: how to handle common requests, what not to promise, or who to send callers to.

Customer memory (Max and Agency)

Open Website and customer memory for these details.

On Max and Agency, the receptionist remembers each customer. It keeps notes, sees the full history across calls, texts, email and chat, and recognizes returning callers. You also see call summaries and transcripts.

On other paid plans, the receptionist knows the current conversation and the follow-ups the contact is in. Where summaries and transcripts would be, you see "Customer memory is on Max". Call summaries are kept, and you see them when you upgrade.

Start from your existing agent

If your project has an older voice agent or text agent, Settings shows Start from your existing agent until you save a receptionist. Click Start from your voice agent or Start from your text agent. Buildy copies the name, personality, instructions, greeting and transfer number. Review them and click Save receptionist.

Common problems

It does not answer calls

Check that Answer calls is on in Calls and replies. Then check your calls and texts balance on the Business Phone Number page. The receptionist does not answer when the balance is empty. Click Add $50 or turn on Auto top-up.

It says wrong things

Fix the facts in your business info guide, then call again with Call me. Add receptionist-only rules to Extra notes for the receptionist.

"Get a Business Phone Number first. The test call comes from that number."

The test call needs a number. Get one in AI Receptionist > Business Phone Number.

"You've made several test calls. Try again in an hour."

You can make 5 test calls an hour. Wait, then try again.

I want it on my website

Save your receptionist first. In AI Receptionist > Receptionist > Website and customer memory, click Ask Buildy to add it. The button is disabled until Buildy accepts the request or reports an error, so repeated clicks do not send it twice. Follow the work in chat, then publish your site.

Website voice uses Operating credits based on connected time and estimated service cost, currently about 250 credits per minute. A call can last up to 30 minutes. You need Operating credits to start a call; an active call can finish even if it takes the balance below zero.

If website voice is unavailable, check your Operating credits in Profile Settings > Billing & Upgrades. Buying a Business Phone Number or adding phone balance does not fund website voice. Microphone permission advice applies only when the browser blocks microphone access.