How to set up an AI receptionist: what to have ready

An AI receptionist is only as good as what it knows about your business. The setup is less about technology and more about writing down what your best front-desk person already knows: when you're open, what you do, what things cost, and what to do when a call doesn't fit the usual script.

This guide walks through the AICall setup wizard step by step, so you can have the answers ready before you start.

1. Pick your industry

Everything else depends on this choice. The industry decides how the agents speak, which questions they ask callers, and what they do after the call. AICall has seven:

• Dental / Clinic
• Med Spa / Aesthetics
• Home Services
• Real Estate
• Legal
• E-commerce
• Other

If none fits exactly, "Other" asks general questions about your business instead of industry-specific ones.

2. Business basics

Every business answers the same three questions first:

• When are you open? Include the days you're closed and holidays.
• Where are you located, or what area do you serve? For home services and real estate, the service area matters more than the address.
• If the agent can't help, who should it hand the caller to, and how? A name, a number, or "take a message and email me" are all valid answers.

3. The questions for your industry

This is where the agent learns your business. Have these answers ready for your industry:

Dental / Clinic

• What visit types or services do you offer?
• How long does a typical appointment take?
• What insurance do you accept?
• Are you accepting new patients, and what do they need to bring?
• What should the agent do if a caller has a dental emergency?
• What payment options or financing do you offer?

Med Spa / Aesthetics

• What treatments or visit types do you offer?
• How long does a typical visit take?
• How does pricing work, is the initial consultation free, and do you offer financing?
• What should happen after the call: does the team follow up, or can the caller book directly?

Home Services

• What trades or services do you offer?
• What counts as an emergency that needs to jump the queue?
• How do jobs get scheduled once the agent has the details?
• Do you charge a service call fee, and how do estimates work?
• Do you offer after-hours or weekend service?
• Are you licensed and insured?

Real Estate

• What do you help clients with: buying, selling, renting, or all three?
• What areas or neighborhoods do you cover?
• What property types do you typically handle?
• What should happen after the call: does an agent follow up, or can the caller schedule directly?

Legal

• What practice areas does the firm handle?
• What states or jurisdictions do you practice in?
• Do you offer a free consultation, and what does it cost after that?
• What should the agent capture first during intake?
• How soon does an attorney follow up after intake?

E-commerce

• Can customers cancel an order, and within what window?
• Which categories are final sale and can't be returned?
• What payment methods do you accept?
• How does your sizing run, and where can callers find a size guide?

Other

• In a sentence or two, what does your business do?
• What are your main products or services?
• What are the most common questions callers ask?
• How does pricing or quoting typically work?
• What happens after the call ends?

A tip that saves time later: answer the way you would explain it to a new employee on their first day. Short, specific, and honest about what you don't do.

4. Add your website (optional)

If you give the wizard your website, AICall pre-loads it so the agent can answer questions your site already covers. It is optional: the wizard works without it.

5. Connect your accounts

The agent works with your real systems, not a copy you have to maintain:

• Calendar: Google Calendar, Cal.com or GoHighLevel. The agent reads your real availability and books, reschedules or cancels in it.
• Email: every call summary lands in your inbox, in the language of the call.

6. Know which agents are live

Every plan includes every agent. Three are live today:

• Reception answers, books, reschedules and confirms appointments.
• LeadGuard calls new web leads from GoHighLevel and qualifies them. Turn on automatic calls in Settings and it calls each new lead within seconds; you can also call a lead from your panel.
• Recovery calls back people who wanted an appointment but didn't book. It can do it on its own a few minutes later (you turn that on in Settings), or you start each callback from your panel.

Two more are coming soon:

• Collections makes friendly calls about overdue invoices and sends the payment link.
• Reactivation brings dormant customers back onto the schedule.

You can also choose the name each agent uses when it introduces itself.

7. Pick your number

Choose a local number in minutes, in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico or Mexico. Mexico asks for your business documents first. Guided help to forward the number you already advertise on your truck, door and listings is coming soon.

8. Test it before you pay

The free trial lasts 7 days with a card on file, capped at 2 calls a day and 3 minutes per call. Use it to call your own number from a few phones and ask the questions your customers ask most.

The wizard is free and it is the normal path. If you would rather we set everything up for you, done-for-you setup costs $250, once, and is entirely optional.

Before you start: a one-page checklist

• Hours, closed days and holidays
• Location or service area
• Who handles calls the agent can't
• The answers to your industry's questions above
• Your website address (optional)
• Access to your calendar account (Google Calendar, Cal.com or GoHighLevel)
• The phone number you want the agent to answer

When you have those, start with the plans or request a demo to hear the agent first.