Your 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.
Why it matters: most callers who reach no one don't leave a voicemail, they call the next business. With your Receptionist picking up, the burst pipe at 7 PM or the quote request that comes in while you're on a roof still turns into a name, a number and the details you need to call back. 📖 Answer every call with your AI Receptionist
📌 Line connected to Beside at agent.beside.com?
You can manage these settings there too, under Settings → Receptionist. The Calls tab has Answer phone calls, Who should Receptionist answer?, your Welcome greeting and Excluded contacts.
The Call Handling tab holds what your Receptionist does for each kind of call: describe it in your own words and type @ to add an action, such as Transfer Call or Book Appointment.
Enable your Receptionist for calls
Turn it on
From Beside on the web
Go to app.beside.com/ai-receptionist/phone and click Receptionist in the left sidebar
If you have multiple lines on your account, select the line you want to configure from the dropdown at the top of the page
Click Phone Calls under Channels
Toggle on Answers Phone Calls (top right). Changes save automatically.
From the mobile app
Open the Beside mobile app
Go to the Receptionist
If you have multiple lines on your account, select the line you want to configure from the dropdown at the top left
In the Phone section, under Phone Calls, toggle on Answers Phone Calls
Define the scope
Under Scope, choose who your Receptionist answers.
On Beside on the web, click the Answers to dropdown to pick:
Missed From Everyone - answer all missed calls
Missed From Unsaved Numbers - only new or unknown callers
On the mobile app, additional scope options are available, including saved-contacts-only.
On mobile, you can also tap Exclude Contacts to prevent specific people from being routed to your Receptionist. 📖 Control who your Receptionist handles
📌 Note: If you don't pick up and your Receptionist isn't configured to handle that call (e.g. the caller is outside your defined scope), the call goes to your Beside voicemail instead. No call is ever lost.
Set how long calls ring before the Receptionist picks up
Ring timing is no longer set from the Receptionist page - on both the Beside mobile app and Beside on the web, it's controlled from Ringing Mode (Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Mode).
There's no ring count to choose anymore - pick Ring first / Ring all / Ring in order for a fixed ~25-second ring before the Receptionist (or voicemail) picks up, or Direct to Receptionist / Direct to Voicemail for an instant handoff.
📌 The same setting controls voicemail. The ring behavior you set also applies when a call rolls over to voicemail (for callers outside your Receptionist's scope). There's a single setting per line.
Customize your welcome greeting
Your Receptionist's welcome greeting - what it says when it picks up - is set in Scenarios, the single place where you teach your Receptionist how to handle a call.
On the Beside mobile app: go to Receptionist and open Scenarios. Edit the Welcome Greeting under step 1 (Receptionist picks up the phone).
On Beside on the web: open Receptionist, then under Actions click Scenarios. Edit the Welcome greeting section, then click Save changes.
💡 Tip: Use short, friendly sentences that sound like something you'd actually say. For example: "Hi! You've reached Alex's Receptionist Assistant. How can I help today?" It makes your Receptionist feel more human and approachable.
📌 You don't write the sign-off:
Your Receptionist ends the call in its own words - what happens next, when you open again if you're closed, and a thank-you.
To have it tell callers something before it hangs up, add a line to your Receptionist's knowledge (Additional Details on mobile, Company Knowledge on the web) that starts with "Before ending the call, tell callers…". It says it just before the thank-you.
The old Ending Message has been retired, and its Wrapping up step is gone from Beside on the web, iPhone and Android. If you still see it, your app is out of date: what you type there no longer reaches callers, and updating the app removes it.
Set up Call Transfer
Your Receptionist can redirect calls automatically to the right person or phone line based on scenarios you define.
Test your setup
In the mobile app, tap Try Receptionist at the bottom of the Receptionist screen, then Call Receptionist to simulate a call. You'll hear how your Receptionist answers, routes, and ends calls before going live.
⚠️ Important: If you're forwarding your personal number to Beside, calling your Beside number from that same number may not work. Beside detects this as a self-call and may end it automatically. Use a different phone to test.
Set up your Receptionist for texts and emails
Now that your Receptionist handles calls, you can also enable it for:
📌 Next step: Teach your Receptionist about your business so it can answer questions accurately - enter details manually, or let Beside pull them automatically from your website. 📖 Train your AI Receptionist
How you see it working
Each call your Receptionist answers appears as a conversation on your line, in the Beside mobile app and at app.beside.com, with the transcript and a summary of what the caller needed. If calls you expected it to take went to voicemail instead, check Scope and Ringing Mode above.
FAQ
How do I set the time before the Receptionist answers my calls?
How do I set the time before the Receptionist answers my calls?
On both the Beside mobile app and Beside on the web, go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Mode and choose Ring first / Ring all / Ring in order (~25 seconds) or Direct to Receptionist (instant). There's no ring count to set anymore. The same setting also controls how long calls ring before going to voicemail (for callers outside your Receptionist's scope).
Where do I write what my Receptionist says at the end of a call?
Where do I write what my Receptionist says at the end of a call?
You don't. Your Receptionist writes its own sign-off, in its own voice: what happens next, when you open again if you're closed, then a thank-you. The old Ending Message field has been retired, and anything still saved in it is no longer read out on calls. 📖 Set up Scenarios
If callers need to hear something before the call ends, such as a number to text or an emergency line, add it to your Receptionist's knowledge as a line starting with "Before ending the call, tell callers…". Your Receptionist says it in its own words, with the full number, email or website, just before the thank-you. 📖 Train your AI Receptionist
What if call recording is turned off for a contact?
What if call recording is turned off for a contact?
The Receptionist will still handle their calls and generate a transcript. Call recording settings don't affect Receptionist behavior.
Is there a maximum call duration for Receptionist calls?
Is there a maximum call duration for Receptionist calls?
Yes - but only for AI-handled calls. Calls handled by your Receptionist are limited to 10 minutes. After that, the Receptionist disconnects, though the call itself may continue depending on your carrier or network.
Live calls you answer yourself have no time limit.
What happens if I don't answer and the Receptionist is off?
What happens if I don't answer and the Receptionist is off?
The call goes to your Beside voicemail, where the caller can leave a recorded message.
Can I have different Receptionist settings per line?
Can I have different Receptionist settings per line?
Yes. If you have multiple lines on your account, each line has its own Receptionist with independent settings for scope, greeting, transfer rules, and knowledge base.