Your AI Receptionist doesn't have to handle everyone. You can choose exactly who it answers for - and who gets through to you directly.

This is useful when you want to personally handle conversations with key clients, collaborators, or simply allow friends and family to reach you directly.

You can define:

Global rules for who the AI Receptionist should handle (for calls and texts separately)
Individual exclusions for specific contacts you always want to handle personally

Choose who your AI Receptionist should handle

You can define the audience for calls and texts independently. Each channel has its own Scope settings.

Calls

From the mobile app

Open the Beside mobile app → AI tab → 📞 Calls section → Scope.

Answers after: Choose when your AI picks up.

Direct to Receptionist - the AI answers immediately without ringing your phone.
Or set a ring count so you have time to answer first.

Answers to: Choose who the AI handles.

Missed calls from everyone - AI handles all missed calls.
Missed calls from unknown numbers - only new or unknown callers are handled. Saved contacts bypass the AI.
Missed calls from saved contacts - only saved contacts are handled. Unknown numbers go to Beside voicemail.

From the web dashboard

Go to app.beside.com → click AI Receptionist in the left sidebar → select your line → click the Calls tab.

Missed From Unsaved Numbers - set who the AI should answer for
Exclude Contacts - add contacts that should always bypass the AI

📌 Note: If you miss a call and the caller doesn't match your chosen audience, the call goes to your Beside voicemail - no call is ever lost.

Texts

From the mobile app

Open the Beside mobile app → AI tab → 💬 Texts section → Scope.

Replies to:

Texts from Everyone - AI replies to all incoming texts.
Only from Contacts - only saved contacts receive AI text replies.
Only from Unsaved Numbers - ideal for new leads or first-time texters

From the web dashboard

Go to app.beside.com → click AI Receptionist in the left sidebar → select your line → click the Texts tab.

Only from Unsaved Numbers - set who the AI should reply to
Exclude Contacts - add contacts that should never receive automated text replies

Exclude specific contacts

In addition to the global scope settings, you can exclude individual contacts so your AI Receptionist never handles them - for calls, texts, or both.

Each channel (📞 Calls and 💬 Texts) has its own Exclude Contacts list, so you can exclude a contact from calls but keep AI text replies, or vice versa.

Add a contact to the exclusion list

Open the Beside mobile app → AI tab.
Go to the 📞 Calls or 💬 Texts section (depending on which channel you want to configure).
Under Scope, tap Exclude Contacts.
Tap + Add Contacts.
Search or browse your contact list, then select the contacts you want to exclude.
Tap Continue.

The selected contacts now appear in your exclusion list. Your AI Receptionist will no longer handle their calls or texts.

Remove a contact from the exclusion list

Go to Exclude Contacts in the relevant channel.
Tap the ⊖ button next to the contact you want to remove.
Confirm by tapping Remove in the confirmation dialog.

Your AI Receptionist will start handling that contact again based on your scope settings.

💡 Tip: The number next to Exclude Contacts shows how many contacts are currently excluded for that channel.

From an existing conversation

Open the conversation with that contact in the Beside app.
Tap the + icon to the left of the message composer.
Tap AI Receptionist.
Toggle off:
- Answers calls - AI Receptionist won't answer missed calls from this contact
- Replies to texts - AI Receptionist won't send automated replies

These settings override your global call/text scopes for this specific contact only.

If no conversation exists yet

If you haven't exchanged messages or calls with the contact yet, you can configure the exclusion directly from Contacts:

Tap + in the top-right corner of the screen.
Select the contact you want to exclude.
Tap the + icon to the left of the message composer.
Tap AI Receptionist.
Toggle off Answers calls and/or Replies to texts as needed.

💡 Tip: From the same menu, you can also disable call recording for that contact. 📖 Disable call recording for specific contacts

How scopes and exclusions work together

Call scope controls who the AI Receptionist should answer when you miss a call
Text scope defines who receives automated text replies
Exclusion lists override both scopes - an excluded contact is never handled by the AI, regardless of the scope setting
Beside Voicemail automatically covers calls not handled by the AI
Call and text exclusions are independent - you can exclude a contact from calls but not texts, or vice versa

Examples of common setups

Lead-focused setup

Calls: AI answers unsaved numbers
Texts: AI replies to unknown contacts only
Exclude VIP clients from both channels so you handle them personally

Personal + business mix

Calls: Everyone
Texts: Everyone
Exclude family and friends from both channels

FAQ

Can I exclude a contact from calls but keep AI text replies?

Yes. Each channel has its own exclusion list. Add the contact to the Exclude Contacts list under 📞 Calls, but don't add them under 💬 Texts. The AI will skip their calls but still reply to their texts.

What happens to calls from excluded contacts?

If you exclude a contact from AI call handling, their calls ring through to you normally. If you miss the call, it goes to your Beside voicemail instead of the AI Receptionist.

Can I see all my excluded contacts in one place?

Yes. Go to AI tab → 📞 Calls (or 💬 Texts) → Scope → Exclude Contacts. You'll see the full list of excluded contacts for that channel, with the option to remove any of them.