AnswersTheCallProfessional Answering Service
Built For You

We build your receptionist for you.

No instruction manual. No settings pages. You tell us about your business, and we build your AI receptionist — greeting, answers, appointment booking, your own local number. Most customers are live within one business day, with about five minutes of their own time.

We're the only AI answering service that builds your system for you on every plan — completely. Everyone else hands you a manual.

We build every system by hand, in the order customers sign up. Most are live within one business day — and if we're busy building for customers ahead of you, we'll tell you exactly where yours stands.

What we do for you

Once you sign up, the setup work is ours — not yours.

  1. We create your account and assign your AI receptionist its own local phone number — a real local number for your area.
  2. We build your receptionist from your website — the greeting in your business's name, your services, hours, directions, common questions and answers, and your call rules: book appointments, take messages, transfer urgent calls.
  3. We set up appointment booking and prepare your calendar connect link.
  4. We test it ourselves before you ever hear it.

Your two tiny steps

Two things only you can do — together they take about five minutes.

1 Connect your calendar ~1 minute

Tap the link in your welcome email, sign in to your Google or Outlook calendar, and tap Allow. That's what lets your receptionist book into your real calendar without ever double-booking you.

2 Point your calls to your new number ~2 minutes

On most office phones that's dialing *72 followed by your new number. Your welcome email has your exact forwarding sequence in writing — it's stated in the step and repeated again in a recap at the end of the email, so it's always in your inbox and you can't lose it. If anything is unclear, reply to that email any time and we'll resend it right away and sort it out.

Hear it, then approve it

Call your own business number and hear your receptionist answer the way you would. Anything you'd change — a word in the greeting, an answer, your hours — reply to your welcome email and we'll adjust it. You're live when you say you are.

Prefer to fine-tune things yourself? The full setup reference

Below is the complete step-by-step reference for how each part of the service is set up. Most customers never need it — we handle all of this for you — but it's here if you want the details, or prefer to adjust things yourself later. Started it yourself and changed your mind? Email support@answersthecall.com and we'll take over and build it for you — you'll still do the two tiny steps only you can do.

Keep a copy by the phone if you're working through these steps yourself.

Before you start

Have these handy: your business name and address, your hours (including holidays), your website address, and the login for the calendar you book appointments on (Google or Outlook).

1 Create your account ~5 minutes

  1. Go to the signup page and pick your plan.
  2. Enter your email, business name, and phone number.
  3. We assign your AI receptionist its own phone number — a real local number for your area.
Good to knowYour AI number is separate from your business number. In Step 4 you'll connect the two with call forwarding — your customers keep calling the number they already know.

2 Teach the AI about your business ~20–40 minutes

This is the most important part of the setup. On the built-for-you path, we do this for you, working from your website and your signup details. If you're setting up yourself, it starts with you — because you're the one who knows your business.

  1. Business details: enter your business name (and how it's pronounced), address, and hours, including holidays.
  2. Greeting: write what you want callers to hear, e.g. "Thanks for calling Bright Smile Dental, how can I help you?" We provide templates you can start from.
  3. Common questions: type the questions callers ask most and the answers — pricing, services, directions, policies. Paste your website address and we'll pull in a starting set for you to review.
  4. Call rules: tell the AI what to do — take a message, transfer urgent calls to you, book appointments directly, or send after-hours callers to voicemail.
  5. Voice: listen to samples and pick the voice that fits your business.
TipDon't aim for perfect on the first pass. Start with your top 10 questions — you can add more anytime, and the AI gets better as you review its calls.

3 Connect your calendar ~3 minutes

  1. Click Connect Google Calendar or Connect Outlook in your dashboard.
  2. Log in and click Allow — that's it.
  3. Pick which calendar the AI should book into (your work calendar, not your personal one).
Good to knowThe AI checks your real availability before booking, so it never double-books you. Calendar booking is included on Growth, Professional, and Enterprise plans.

4 Set up call forwarding ~5–15 minutes

This is the step that makes it all work — and the one where most people get stuck, so take your time here.

  1. Decide when calls go to the AI: all calls, only when you don't answer (missed calls), or only after hours. Most businesses start with missed calls only.
  2. On your business phone (the one customers already call), turn on call forwarding to your new AI number:
    • iPhone: Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding → turn it on → enter your AI number.
    • Android: Phone app → Settings → Calls → Call forwarding → enter your AI number.
    • Landline or office system: dial your carrier's forwarding code (usually *72 followed by the number), or call your carrier's support and ask them to turn it on.
  3. Call your business number from another phone to confirm it forwards.
Watch out forSome phones have spam blocking that can interfere during setup — if forwarding isn't working, temporarily turn off spam/blocking filters and try again. Also check that your caller ID still shows the caller's number (not your AI number) — there's a setting for this on most carriers.

5 Test it ~10 minutes

  1. Call your AI number directly and have a conversation with it — ask it your common questions.
  2. Check the call summary that arrives by email. Does it sound like you? Is anything wrong?
  3. Go back to Step 2 and fix anything that needs it. Repeat until you're happy. (On the built-for-you path, you'd just reply to your welcome email and we'd make the changes.)
TipHave a friend or employee call too — a fresh caller catches things you'll miss.

6 Go live

  1. Make sure call forwarding is ON (Step 4) and your AI is trained the way you want (Step 5).
  2. That's it — you're live. Calls now reach your AI receptionist automatically.
  3. For the first week, skim your call summaries each morning. Update any answers that need it.

7 Connect your CRM ~10–30 minutes · Growth plan and up

After each call, your AI can push the caller's info, the call summary, and any appointment straight into your CRM — so nothing falls through the cracks.

  1. In your dashboard, go to Integrations → CRM and pick your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, and others).
  2. Easiest: click Connect, log in to your CRM, and click Allow. Done.
  3. Some CRMs need a setup key instead: we'll show you exactly where to find it in your CRM's settings (usually under Settings → Integrations or API). Copy it, paste it in, done.
  4. Make a test call, then check your CRM — you should see the new contact with the call summary attached.
Good to knowConnecting a CRM always requires you to log in to your CRM and authorize it once — that's true of every answering service, not just ours. If your CRM needs an admin login and you're not the admin, ask whoever manages it before you start this step.

Need a hand?

Something not working? Email us at support@answersthecall.com and tell us which step you're on — we'll get you sorted.

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