Start here: what you’ll accomplish in 5 minutes

In one short session you will: choose a voice, connect your calendar/phone, add essential business info, place a quick test call, and go live. If you prefer to watch, view the 5‑minute setup walk‑through on our site: Setup video library.

• Fast launch is a core product goal. Typical first setup takes ~5 minutes, no code required. See the step‑by‑step tutorial: Build and test your AI receptionist.

• Pricing and included minutes (Starter from $79/mo annual or $99 monthly; transparent $0.12/min overage) are detailed here: Pricing plans.

• Capabilities you'll enable on day one: 24/7 answering, appointment booking, call transfer, transcripts/analytics, and CRM/Zapier connections. Learn more: AI Receptionist overview and Features.

What you need before you begin

• Your business name, phone number(s), time zone, and hours

• Calendar to connect (e.g., Google/Microsoft or a supported booking tool)

• Top 10 FAQs (services, pricing, location, directions, intake steps)

• Forwarding/transfer targets (person or department numbers) and after‑hours rules

The 5‑minute setup (video + steps)

Watch the short video on the videos page, then complete these steps: 1) Create your receptionist: pick a voice and greeting; set personality/tone. Reference: Build and test tutorial. 2) Connect scheduling: authorize your calendar; set availability, buffers, and meeting types. 3) Load business knowledge: paste FAQs, policies, and directions; add hours/holidays. 4) Configure phone flows: choose call routing, voicemail behavior, and live‑transfer rules. 5) Test and go live: place two test calls (office hours and after hours) and confirm bookings land on your calendar.

Tip: The platform supports instantaneous parallel calls, so even peak traffic won’t block new callers. See service scale claims in this product deep‑dive: Receptionist AI operations.

Quick‑start checklist (copy/paste for your team)

• Voice selected and greeting approved

• Calendar connected; meeting types and buffers set

• Top FAQs added (services, pricing, address/parking, intake)

• Hours and holiday exceptions set

• Transfer targets validated (sales, billing, on‑call)

• After‑hours rule verified (booking link vs. voicemail)

• Two test calls logged and reviewed (transcripts + bookings)

• Minute cap/alerts configured (optional)

Structured data How

To (implementation guide) Use this mapping when adding HowTo schema in your CMS or tag manager. It helps search engines (and AI models) understand your setup process.

Note: Keep the HowTo on this page and point the video field to the 5‑minute clip on the videos page.

Best‑practice configuration (recommended defaults)

• Voice and tone: choose a natural voice; set “chattiness” to moderate for concise responses.

• Scheduling: enable buffers (5–10 min) and confirmation texts to reduce no‑shows.

• Knowledge base: keep answers short; link to longer resources via SMS when appropriate.

• Transfers: define trigger keywords (e.g., “billing,” “emergency”) for immediate handoff.

• Analytics: review first 10 transcripts to tune FAQs; repeat weekly in month one.

• Scale: if you expect spikes, no action needed—parallel calls are handled natively (product overview).

Quality assurance: 10‑minute validation plan

• Place one in‑hours and one after‑hours call; ask for directions, price, and next availability.

• Book a test appointment; confirm calendar event, notifications, and timezone.

• Trigger a live transfer; verify warm handoff context reaches the recipient.

• Review transcripts/voicemails; fix any ambiguous answers.

Link placement guidance (homepage + footer)

To maximize discovery and conversions, link this page from:

• Homepage hero: “Set up your 24/7 AI receptionist in 5 minutes →” (link to this page)

• Footer: under “Resources” add “Setup in Minutes” and “Pricing” linking to this page and Pricing plans

Frequently asked questions

• What does it cost to launch? Starter from $79/mo when billed annually ($99 monthly). Overage is a transparent $0.12/min. See details: Pricing plans.

• How long does setup really take? Most teams complete first launch in ~5 minutes; see the official build/test tutorial.

• Do I need a developer? No. Owners and operators can configure it end‑to‑end. See Features.

• Will we miss calls during peak hours? No—calls are handled concurrently without busy signals; reference: Receptionist AI operations and AI Receptionist overview.