Your AI Receptionist can automatically answer calls when you’re unavailable and represent you professionally. It captures key details from missed calls, helping you prioritize follow-ups and save time.
1. Enable your AI Call Receptionist
Step 1 - Turn it on
➡️ Steps (iPhone & Android)
Open Beside → go to AI tab
If you're on the Business plan, select the inbox for which you want to enable the AI Receptionist from the dropdown menu at the top left.
In the 📞 Phone Section → under Phone Calls → toggle on:
"Answers Phone Calls" on iPhone
"Answer missed calls on Android".
Step 2: Define the scope
Scroll down to Scope and define when your AI Receptionist answers and who it applies to:
Everyone – answer all missed calls.
Unsaved numbers – only new or unknown callers.
Contacts – only saved numbers
💡 You can also tap Exclude Contacts to prevent specific people from being routed to your AI Receptionist. For example, you might exclude personal contacts while keeping AI handling for leads and clients. 📖 Learn more here.
⚠️ If you don’t pick up and your AI Receptionist isn’t configured to handle that call (for example, the caller is outside your defined scope), the call will automatically be sent to your Beside Traditional Voicemail, where the caller can leave a recorded message.
This ensures that no call is ever lost: your AI handles eligible calls, and voicemail covers the rest.
2. Adjust when your AI picks up
By default, calls ring 4 times before being sent to the Receptionist. Depending on your network, your phone may ring slightly fewer times.
You can adjust this from "Direct to Receptionist" to 10 rings, depending on how much time you want to answer manually.
➡️ Steps (iPhone & Android)
Open Beside → go to AI tab
If you're on the Business plan, select the inbox for which you want to enable the AI Receptionist from the dropdown menu at the top left.
In the 📞 Phone Section → under Scope → tap
"Answers after" on iPhone
"Rings before AI answers" on Android
3. Customize your greeting and ending message
➡️ Steps (iPhone & Android)
Open Beside → go to AI tab
If you're on the Business plan, select the inbox for which you want to enable the AI Receptionist from the dropdown menu at the top left.
In the 📞 Phone Section → under Preference you can personalize what callers hear when your AI Receptionist answers or ends a call.
Welcome Greeting: The first thing your AI Receptionist says. Keep it warm and professional.
Example: “Hi! You’ve reached Alex's AI Assistant. How can I help today?”
Ending Message: The phrase used to wrap up calls naturally. Use it to thank callers or provide next steps.
Example: “Thanks for calling, we’ll get back to you soon. Have a wonderful day!”
💡 Tip: Use short, friendly sentences that sound like something you’d actually say. It makes your AI feel more human and approachable.
4. Set up Call Transfer
❗ Available on the Business plan only.
If you joined Beside after February 2026, this Call Transfer is not available on the Starter plan. You need to upgrade to the Business plan to access it.
➡️ Steps (iPhone & Android)
If you'd like your AI Receptionist to redirect calls automatically to the right person or phone line:
Open Beside → go to AI tab
If you're on the Business plan, select the inbox for which you want to enable the AI Receptionist from the dropdown menu at the top left.
In the 📞 Phone Section → under Actions → tap
"Call Transfer rules" on iPhone
"Transfer Calls" on Android
Enter the recipient's name and phone number
Define the scenarios that should trigger a transfer
Your AI Receptionist will recognize these situations and transfer the call live when conditions are met, helping you quickly route callers to the right place.
Examples:
High‑value lead (e.g., real‑estate inquiry above a set budget) → transfer immediately.
Billing questions → transfer to billing.
Multiple services or departments → route to the right representative.
Test your setup
At the bottom of the screen, tap ✨ Try Receptionist → Call Receptionist to simulate a call. You’ll hear how your AI answers, routes, and ends calls, before going live.
You can use this test anytime to check updates to greetings, timing, or transfer logic.
Click here to learn more.
ℹ️ Important note when testing: if you’re forwarding your personal number to Beside, calling your Beside number from that same number may not work. Beside may detect this as a self-call and automatically end it. This can look like the AI not answering, even though it’s correctly set up.
Set up your AI Receptionist for texts & emails
Now that your Receptionist is set up for calls, you can also:
ℹ️ Want to teach your Receptionist about your business? See the companion guide: How do I train my AI Receptionist?
FAQ
What if call recording is turned off for a contact, but the AI Receptionist is still on?
Even if call recording is disabled for a specific contact, the AI Receptionist will continue to handle their calls as usual - and will still generate a transcript of the voicemail.
Is there a maximum call duration for AI Receptionist calls?
Yes. Calls handled by the AI Receptionist are limited to 10 minutes per call.
This limit helps ensure call stability and reliability. If the call reaches the 10-minute limit, it may end automatically.