If you want to customize how your AI Receptionist speaks, you might want to:
Change the name it introduces itself with
Decide whether it speaks as a person, on your behalf, or as your business
Make its wording more personal, professional, or branded
Fix cases where the name sounds right in one message but wrong in another
This happens because your AI Receptionist pulls names from different settings, depending on the context.
🔎 Summary: which setting controls which wording?
What you want to change | Where to update |
How the AI introduces itself | AI Receptionist → Phone Calls → Welcome Greetings |
How the AI refers to itself later | AI Receptionist → General → Preferred Name |
How the AI talks about you or your business | AI Receptionist → General → Knowledge → Preferred Name |
App / service name | Settings → Edit Name |
1️⃣ Change how your AI Receptionist introduces itself (first message)
To change the name used in the very first message your AI Receptionist sends or says (for example: “Hi, this is Emma from Bright Dental”), you need to update the Welcome Greeting message.
👉 Open the Beside app → Settings → Inbox → AI Receptionist → Phone Calls tab (next to the General icon) → Welcome Greeting
Edit the greeting text to reflect exactly how you want the AI to introduce itself, whether that’s a person’s name, your name, or your business name.
💡 Tip: this is the only place that controls the AI’s initial introduction.
2️⃣ Change how the AI Receptionist refers to you during conversations
By default, your AI Receptionist uses the name set in your app settings when referring to you during conversations.
If you want the AI Receptionist to use a different name specifically for this inbox (for example a first name, team name, or role-based name), you can override this behavior by setting a Preferred Name.
How it works
Default behavior: Your AI Receptionist uses the name configured in your app settings.
With a Preferred Name: Your AI Receptionist uses the Preferred Name for this inbox only, instead of the app name.
This gives you more control over how the AI Receptionist speaks on your behalf.
Where to update your Preferred Name
👉 Open the Beside app → Settings → Inbox → AI Receptionist → General → Preferred Name
Enter the name you want your AI Receptionist to use when referring to you during conversations.
💡 Examples
Use your first name instead of your full business name
Use a role-based name like “The Front Desk” or “Client Support”
Use a more casual or more professional name, depending on your audience
📖 Learn more here: How can I customize Beside for personal use?
3️⃣ Control how your AI refers to you or your business
If you want your AI Receptionist to mention your business name or speak on behalf of your company (for example: “Thanks for contacting Bright Dental”), make sure your Company Name is set.
👉 Open the Beside app → Settings → Inbox → AI Receptionist → Knowledge → Company Name
This helps your AI consistently talk about your business in a clear, branded way.
