Your AI Receptionist can reply to incoming text messages from clients, leads, and collaborators, ensuring timely, consistent responses even when you're unavailable.
You can choose to have it handle calls only, texts only, both, or exclude specific contacts entirely.
⚠️ Important: The AI Text Receptionist only replies to messages sent directly to your Beside line.
It does not support SMS forwarding from personal numbers or third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp. Messages sent to your personal phone number - even if forwarded - will not be handled by the AI.
You can find your Beside number on the Beside mobile app under Settings, then Phone Numbers, or on 📖 Beside on the web at app.beside.com under Settings, then Phone Numbers under Workspace.
Enable your AI Text Receptionist
From Beside on the web
Go to app.beside.com and click AI Receptionist in the left sidebar
Select your line from the dropdown at the top of the page
Click Text Messages under Channels
Toggle on Replies to Text Messages (top right)
Changes save automatically.
From the mobile app
Step 1: Access your AI Receptionist settings
Open the Beside mobile app
Go to the Settings tab
Tap on your line
Then, AI Receptionist
Select the Text Messages tab at the top of the screen, next to the General icon
Step 2: Turn it on
Toggle Reply to Text Messages on
When active, the Text Messages icon shows a green indicator, and the related settings appear below.
Choose who your AI replies to
From Beside on the web
In AI Receptionist, then Text Messages, find the Scope section. Click the Replies to dropdown to choose between:
Texts from Everyone - your AI replies to all incoming texts
Only from Unsaved Numbers - ideal for new leads or first-time texters
Excluded contacts appear under Excluded Contacts on the same page, but can only be added or removed from the mobile app.
From the mobile app
Under Scope, choose your preferred audience:
Texts from Everyone: your AI Receptionist replies to all incoming texts.
Only from Contacts: only people saved in your contact list.
Only from Unsaved Numbers: ideal for new leads or first-time texters.
You can also tap Exclude Contacts to prevent specific people from being answered by your AI. 📖 Control who your AI Receptionist handles
Customize your AI Text Receptionist's signature
The signature is appended to the end of every AI text reply. You can personalize it to identify your AI clearly.
For example: "- Sent by Bobby's AI Receptionist"
From Beside on the web
Go to app.beside.com and click AI Receptionist in the left sidebar
Select your line from the dropdown at the top, then click Text Messages under Channels
Scroll down to Preferences, then Signature
Edit the signature text in the box below
Changes save automatically.
From the mobile app
Under Preferences, tap Signature to customize how your AI signs off.
📌 Note: Even if you leave the Signature field blank, the AI Receptionist may still include the default signature "sent by AI assistant". To disable it, enter a minimal placeholder such as a single dot (.) or short custom text. The engineering team is reviewing improvements to allow fully removing the signature.
What your AI Text Receptionist can do
Smart, instant replies to incoming texts
Shared knowledge base with your AI Receptionist
Book meetings directly on your calendar (if connected) - 📖 Learn more here.
Switch to manual replies
Want to take over a conversation yourself? Simply reply manually in the chat.
When you do, your AI Text Receptionist automatically pauses its replies in that conversation for 24 hours - this prevents overlapping or duplicated responses while you're handling things personally. After 24 hours, your AI will only resume if that contact sends a new incoming message.
Turn off your AI Text Receptionist
You can turn off your AI Text Receptionist at any time by toggling Reply to Text Messages off - from the web at app.beside.com or from the mobile app, under AI Receptionist, then Text Messages.
Understanding the "Paused" status
Once your AI Text Receptionist has been turned on at least once, toggling it off will display its status as Paused (instead of "Off" or "Not configured"). This applies on both the mobile app and the web.
What "Paused" means:
✅ The AI is off - it will not send any automated replies to incoming texts.
✅ All your settings (scope, signature, excluded contacts, preferences) are saved.
✅ Any changes you make while paused are saved, but not live - they will only take effect once you toggle the AI back on.
This lets you fully disable the AI without losing your configuration, so you can resume later with the exact same setup.
📌 Note: Don't confuse this with the per-conversation 24-hour pause that happens when you reply manually to a contact (see Switch to manual replies above). That pause is local to a single conversation. The Paused status described here is the global state of your AI Text Receptionist for the whole line.
FAQ
Does the AI Text Receptionist work with WhatsApp?
Does the AI Text Receptionist work with WhatsApp?
No. The AI Text Receptionist does not support WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is a separate messaging platform and is not connected to your Beside line. The AI Text Receptionist only works with standard SMS/text messages sent directly to your Beside number.
❌ Messages sent via WhatsApp will not be seen or replied to by the AI.
❌ Forwarding WhatsApp messages to your Beside number is not supported.
✅ Only standard SMS texts sent directly to your Beside number are handled by the AI.
Does it work with my personal number or forwarded SMS?
Does it work with my personal number or forwarded SMS?
No. The AI Text Receptionist only replies to messages sent directly to your Beside number. Messages sent to your personal phone number - even if call or SMS forwarding is enabled - will not be handled by the AI. SMS forwarding is not supported.
If you want the AI to handle texts sent to the number your contacts already know, you can port that number to Beside. Once ported, it becomes your Beside number and the AI Text Receptionist works on it natively - no forwarding needed.
📖 Port your number vs set up call forwarding
Does it work with my current AI Receptionist setup?
Does it work with my current AI Receptionist setup?
Yes! It uses the same knowledge and preferences you've already configured.
Does it replace the AI Receptionist for calls?
Does it replace the AI Receptionist for calls?
No, they work side-by-side. The AI Receptionist handles calls, while the AI Text Receptionist handles texts.
Can it schedule appointments?
Can it schedule appointments?
Yes! The AI Text Receptionist can book meetings directly on your calendar, just like the AI Receptionist for calls. Make sure you've connected your calendar to enable this feature.
Can I set a delay before it replies?
Can I set a delay before it replies?
Not yet. The AI Receptionist replies instantly, but flexible timing options are in development.
Can I turn it off?
Can I turn it off?
Yes. You can disable it entirely from AI Receptionist, then Text Messages at app.beside.com, or from the mobile app under Settings, then your line, then AI Receptionist, then Text Messages.
Once you toggle it off, the status will display as Paused - your AI is fully off, and all your settings are saved for when you want to turn it back on. See Turn off your AI Text Receptionist above for details.