Scenarios 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. Scenarios 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.
🚀 Availability:
Scenarios is available to everyone - on the Beside mobile app (iPhone and Android) and on Beside on the web.
It's still labeled Beta while we keep refining it based on your feedback - if you spot something off or wish it did more, use the Send feedback link at the bottom of the Scenarios 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. |
📌 Action labels by surface:
On the Beside mobile app, the actions are Transfer Call, Book Appointment, Send Text, Give Instructions, Ask Question, and Take Message.
On Beside on the web, the same six are Transfer Call, Book Appointment, Send a Text, Tell Caller, Ask a Question, and Take a Message.
💡 Text a booking link after the call:
If you take bookings through your own scheduling tool (for example Calendly, Vagaro, or a page on your website), add a rule that uses the Send a Text action to text the caller your booking link - for example: When the caller wants to book, send a text with my scheduling link. Your AI sends it during the call so the caller can schedule themselves.
This is different from Book Appointment, which books directly into a connected Google or Outlook calendar. Use Send a Text when you'd rather callers book through your existing system, and Book Appointment when you want the AI to put the appointment straight on your calendar.
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 Scenarios
The building blocks are the same everywhere - a welcome greeting, your call reasons with their actions, and an ending message - but the editor looks a little different on the mobile app and on the web.
From the Beside mobile app (iPhone & Android)
Open the Beside mobile app and go to AI Receptionist.
Open Scenarios.
The Scenarios screen is organized into three numbered steps:
1. AI picks up the phone - tap Welcome Greeting to edit what your AI says when it answers.
2. Why are they calling? - your list of call reasons. Tap Call reason to add one, or tap an existing reason to edit it.
3. Wrapping up - tap Ending Message to edit what your AI says before hanging up.
Add or edit a call reason
Tap Call reason (or an existing reason) to open the Call Reason editor.
Give it a name under Name this reason.
Under IF - Caller says something like, add a few example phrases your AI listens for (for example, "I need a quote", "I want an estimate"). They don't need to be an exact match.
Under THEN - Your AI will..., tap + Action and pick one or more actions. Chain several actions to build the full response.
Tap Save - or Delete to remove the reason.
The Add Action sheet offers six actions: Transfer Call, Book Appointment, Send Text, Give Instructions, Ask Question, and Take Message.
From Beside on the web
On the web, your full setup 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 Scenarios.
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. 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.
Click Save changes in the top right to apply your greeting, call handling, and wrap-up together. Discard reverts to your last saved version, and leaving the page with unsaved edits prompts a confirmation.
Test your setup
On either surface, place a demo call and walk through your setup 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 Scenarios 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. Scenarios replaces them.
How the old settings map to the new layout
Old setting | Where it appears in Scenarios |
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 Scenarios 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 Scenarios.
As soon as you save from Scenarios once, that line is now driven by Scenarios. Edits from the legacy screens after that point may not stay in sync - we recommend doing all future edits in Scenarios.
Your calendar connection is unaffected by the migration. Book Appointment actions are not auto-recreated from the old setup - add them yourself in Scenarios where you want them.
FAQ
Does opening Scenarios change anything for my callers right away?
Does opening Scenarios change anything for my callers right away?
No. Opening Scenarios only shows you a preview of your existing configuration in the new layout. Nothing changes for callers until you save from Scenarios.
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. This applies to the web editor; on the mobile app you add actions from the Add Action sheet instead.
Can my AI text callers a booking link from my own scheduling tool?
Can my AI text callers a booking link from my own scheduling tool?
Yes. Add a rule that uses the Send a Text action (called Send Text on the mobile app) with your booking link (Calendly, Vagaro, your website, or any other tool). When the caller wants to book, your AI texts them the link during the call so they can schedule themselves. Use this when you prefer your own scheduling system; use Book Appointment instead if you want the AI to book directly into a connected Google or Outlook calendar.
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 Scenarios for the first time, yes - your line stays on the old setup and those screens keep working. Once you save from Scenarios, future edits should be made in Scenarios 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 Scenarios?
Do I need a connected calendar to use Scenarios?
Only if you want your AI to book appointments. The other five actions (transfer, send a text, tell caller / give instructions, 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 Scenarios, 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.)