AI Call Flow is one place to teach your AI Receptionist how to handle phone calls: what to say when picking up, what to do during the call, and how to wrap up. Before, that was spread across separate Welcome Greeting, Transfer Calls, Qualify Leads, and Ending Message screens. AI Call Flow brings them together into a single playbook per Beside line.
You define three things: how the AI answers, what happens during the call, and how the call ends. On a live call, your AI uses this configuration to greet callers, follow your rules, run actions (transfer, book, text, ask, tell, take a message), and sign off.
🚀 AI Call Flow is currently in Beta on Beside on the web. We're refining it based on early feedback - if you spot something off or wish it did more, use the Send feedback link at the bottom of the AI Call Flow page.
The six actions your AI can run
Your AI Receptionist has six actions available. You combine them to build the rules your AI follows during a call.
Action | What it does | When to use it |
Transfer Call | Sends the caller to a team member on your line, or to an external phone number. | Escalation, sales hand-offs. |
Book Appointment | AI checks your calendar and books a time with the caller. | Requires a calendar connected to that line. |
Send a Text | AI texts the caller a message you provide. | Follow-ups, business hours, links, confirmations. |
Tell Caller | AI says specific information out loud on the call. | Sharing information verbally instead of by SMS. |
Ask a Question | AI asks the caller to provide information and uses the answer. | Lead qualification, callback numbers, project details. |
Take a Message | AI collects the caller's name, reason for calling, and best callback information. | Voicemail-style intake when no transfer or booking is needed. |
Before you start
Your line must have AI Receptionist enabled.
To use Book Appointment: connect a calendar first at AI Receptionist → Integrations → Connect Calendar.
To transfer to a team member: at least one team member must be on that line.
Set up AI Call Flow
Your full call flow lives on a single page. You write one playbook in a rich-text editor and drop in actions with @ mentions.
Open the editor
Sign in at app.beside.com.
Open AI Receptionist in the sidebar.
Under Actions, click AI Call Flow.
The page has three sections
Welcome greeting - the first thing the AI says when it picks up (500-character limit, with a hint if it gets too long).
Call handling - what your AI does for different types of calls (4000-character limit).
Wrapping up - the last thing your AI says before hanging up. Optional (500-character limit).
The top-right corner has Discard and Save changes buttons.
Write your call handling
Each rule follows the same pattern: When the caller says something like "[example phrase]", [action chip]. You can chain multiple action chips in one rule (for example, ask a question, then send a text).
Click into the Call handling field.
Type @ anywhere in the editor to open the action menu, then type to filter (for example, @book).
Pick an action and fill in its details (see below). An action chip appears in your text - keep writing around it.
Click a chip to edit it. Use the chip's remove control to delete it.
Configuring each action
Transfer Call - opens a Transfer to sub-menu with two options: Team member (forward to someone on your team) or External phone (forward to an outside number).
Book Appointment - requires a connected calendar. If none is connected, a tooltip prompts you to connect one in AI Receptionist → Integrations → Connect Calendar first.
Send a Text - write the message your AI will text the caller.
Tell Caller - write the script your AI will say out loud on the call.
Ask a Question - write the question your AI will ask. The answer is saved and appears in the call summary.
Take a Message - no fields to fill in. Your AI will collect the caller's name, reason for calling, and best callback information.
💡 Improve with AI: rewrites your instructions to be clearer and easier for the AI to follow. You can review the result before applying it.
🟡 Watch for the yellow banner: if you type instructions like "transfer to..." or "book..." as plain text without using @ action chips, a yellow warning appears. Your AI will only run actions that are inserted as chips, not text descriptions of them.
Save and verify
Click Save changes in the top right to apply your greeting, call handling, and wrap-up together.
Discard reverts to your last saved version. Leaving the page with unsaved edits prompts a confirmation.
Place a demo call and walk through your scenarios to confirm everything sounds right.
Migrating from the old setup
If you'd already set up Welcome Greeting, Ending Message, Transfer Calls, or Qualify Leads on the legacy screens, you don't need to recreate any of it. When you open AI Call Flow for the first time, all of your existing configuration is automatically loaded into the new layout - greetings, rules, questions, and all.
The legacy screens are now marked Legacy in the AI Receptionist menu and will be removed in a future update. AI Call Flow replaces them.
How the old settings map to the new layout
Old setting | Where it appears in AI Call Flow |
Welcome Greeting | Welcome greeting |
Ending Message | Wrapping up |
Transfer Calls scenarios | Rules with a Transfer Call action |
Qualify Leads scenarios | Rules with one Ask a Question action per question |
Send text scenarios (if any) | Rules with a Send a Text action |
⚠️ Opening AI Call Flow does not migrate your line:
The preview is read-only until you save. Just viewing or leaving the page does not change anything for your callers.
Your line keeps using its existing configuration until you save changes from AI Call Flow.
As soon as you save from AI Call Flow once, that line is now driven by AI Call Flow. Edits from the legacy screens after that point may not stay in sync - we recommend doing all future edits in AI Call Flow.
Your calendar connection is unaffected by the migration. Book Appointment actions are not auto-recreated from the old setup - add them yourself in AI Call Flow where you want them.
FAQ
Does AI Call Flow change anything for my callers as soon as I open it?
Does AI Call Flow change anything for my callers as soon as I open it?
No. Opening AI Call Flow only shows you a preview of your existing configuration in the new layout. Nothing changes for callers until you save from AI Call Flow.
What happens if I write "transfer to..." as text without using @?
What happens if I write "transfer to..." as text without using @?
Your AI only runs actions that are inserted as @ action chips - plain-text descriptions of actions are ignored. A yellow banner warns you when this happens so you can convert the text into a proper action.
Can I still use the old Welcome Greeting, Transfer Calls, and Qualify Leads screens?
Can I still use the old Welcome Greeting, Transfer Calls, and Qualify Leads screens?
Until you save from AI Call Flow for the first time, yes - your line stays on the old setup and those screens keep working. Once you save from AI Call Flow, future edits should be made in AI Call Flow to stay in sync. The legacy screens are marked Legacy and will be removed in a future update, so we recommend moving over fully rather than maintaining both.
Do I need a connected calendar to use AI Call Flow?
Do I need a connected calendar to use AI Call Flow?
Only if you want your AI to book appointments. The other five actions (transfer, send a text, tell caller, ask a question, take a message) work without a calendar. Connect a calendar at AI Receptionist → Integrations → Connect Calendar.
Will I lose my existing Welcome Greeting, Transfer Calls, or Qualify Leads setup?
Will I lose my existing Welcome Greeting, Transfer Calls, or Qualify Leads setup?
No. When you open AI Call Flow, everything you configured on the legacy screens is automatically loaded - your greeting and ending message, your transfer rules, and your lead qualification questions. Just review the preview and click Save changes when ready. (Note: Book Appointment actions are not auto-created from old setups - you'll add those manually where you want them.)