Beside Agentic comes with a business phone line and a Receptionist that answers it. Your agent uses that line as one of its main sources - every call and text tells it something about your customers - so getting it set up early makes everything else work better.
It takes a few minutes, split between Beside Agentic and the Beside app.
Where your line lives
Open Settings from the left menu, then Phone Number. That is where your workspace connects to a Beside line, and where you manage it afterwards.
Three Settings sections cover your line between them:
Settings section | What it is for |
Phone Number | Connecting your line, your number, and your call handling controls. Its own description says it plainly: Choose what Beside can do with your calls and texts. |
Receptionist | The Receptionist switches Beside Agentic gives you without leaving it |
Autonomy | What your agent may do with the line on its own: Send proactive texts and Adjust line settings |
💡 Search Settings rather than hunting: Settings has a search box at the top. Type the name of a setting and it takes you straight to it, which is quicker than remembering which section it sits in.
Taking calls and replying to texts still happens in the Beside mobile app or at app.beside.com. 📖 Beside on the web
1. Install the app and sign in
Download Beside from the App Store or Google Play.
⚠️ Sign in the same way you signed up: use the same email address you used for Beside Agentic. Signing in a different way creates a separate account, and your subscription and your agent won't be there.
2. Connect your line
In Settings → Phone Number, pick your line and select Connect line. A workspace works with one line, so if you have several, this is where you choose which one your agent uses.
If nothing is listed, create a line in Beside first, then come back and connect it. Only the workspace owner or an admin can connect a line.
Or connect it in the conversation
If you already use Beside as your business phone, you do not have to go looking for the setting. Your agent recognizes the lines on your account, explains in chat why connecting helps, and lets you pick one there. Your existing number, Receptionist and settings carry on exactly as they are.
Review how customers reach you
Once a line is connected, your agent offers to walk you through how calls are handled today, one decision at a time, in plain language rather than a settings form. It covers three things:
What it reviews | The question it answers |
Who answers first | Whether your phone rings first, your Receptionist picks up, or the call goes to voicemail |
Call alerts | Whether your own phone rings or stays silent when a call comes in |
Business hours | When your phone should ring at all |
Your agent reads your current settings, explains how the three work together, and you keep or change each one. On a shared line it also explains team ringing, and it never changes a teammate's own alerts. You can skip the review entirely.
✅ Nothing changes without your approval: Each change you ask for goes through the usual approval step, and your agent confirms it actually saved before moving on. Reviewing your setup changes nothing by itself.
Configuring your Receptionist itself, its greeting, voice and what it knows, is not part of this review. That is step 4 below.
3. Decide how customers reach you
You have three options, and they are not exclusive - most businesses start with forwarding and port later.
Option | When it makes sense |
Forward your existing number | You want to keep the number your customers already know, and change nothing on their side. The fastest way to start. |
Port your number to Beside | You want your number to live entirely in Beside - calls and texts, in and out, in one place. |
Use a new Beside number | You are starting fresh, or you want a separate business number with your own area code. |
Settings → Phone Number has entry points for the first two, Set up forwarding and Start number transfer, and both finish in Beside.
📌 Some things are still done in the Beside app: Call forwarding, Caller ID, porting and creating a line are completed in the Beside mobile app, not in Beside Agentic. Once set, they apply everywhere automatically.
4. Set up your Receptionist
Your Receptionist is what answers when you can't. It picks up calls and texts, answers common questions, qualifies leads, and books appointments.
You set it up in Beside, in the mobile app or at app.beside.com: its greeting, its voice, what it knows about your business, and how it handles different kinds of call.
Once it is running, Settings gives you the main switches without leaving Beside Agentic, under Phone Number and Receptionist: whether the Receptionist answers calls and texts, who it answers, Silence unknown callers, and Team ringing. They are the same settings on the same line, so nothing is duplicated.
5. Let your agent use the line
Your line shows up in Beside Agentic as a connected source called Beside Phone. Connecting it lets your agent read your calls and texts, which is what it works from.
Acting on the line is separate, and you decide it. Open Settings → Autonomy to say what your agent may do on its own, for example texting a customer back. Connecting or reviewing a line does not ask you for that permission, so nothing is granted by accident.
FAQ
Is the phone line included in my plan?
Is the phone line included in my plan?
Yes. A business line and a Receptionist come with Beside Agentic, on both Standard and Pro. New signups also get a free 30-day trial of Beside Phone before choosing a plan, and Beside Phone stops at the end of those 30 days if no plan has been chosen. 📖 Understand your plan and credits
I'm looking for Text & Call and I can't find it.
I'm looking for Text & Call and I can't find it.
It moved into Settings. Your line is now under Settings → Phone Number, the Receptionist switches under Settings → Receptionist, and what your agent may do with the line on its own under Settings → Autonomy. Nothing changed about your line or your settings, only where they sit. Old links still work and open the right section.
Where do I configure my Receptionist?
Where do I configure my Receptionist?
In Beside: the mobile app or app.beside.com. Beside Agentic gives you the main on and off switches in Settings, under Phone Number and Receptionist, but the greeting, the voice, the knowledge and the call scenarios are set up in Beside.
Can I connect my existing line from the conversation?
Can I connect my existing line from the conversation?
Yes. Your agent recognizes the lines on your account and offers them in chat, so you can connect one there instead of opening Settings. Your number, your Receptionist and your settings are untouched by connecting.
Does the call flow review change my settings?
Does the call flow review change my settings?
Not on its own. Your agent reads your current setup and explains it. Anything you then ask it to change goes through the usual approval step, and it confirms the change actually saved. You can also skip the review and leave everything as it is.
Can I use Beside Agentic without setting up the line?
Can I use Beside Agentic without setting up the line?
Yes, but your agent will see less. Your calls and texts are where most of what happens with your customers actually happens - without them, follow-ups, lead scoring and much of what your agent proposes have far less to work from.
I have several lines. Can I connect more than one?
I have several lines. Can I connect more than one?
Not to the same workspace. Each Beside Agentic workspace works with one line, so pick the one your customers actually call. You can disconnect and choose a different one later, and your existing history stays.
I already had a Beside line before subscribing.
I already had a Beside line before subscribing.
Then there is nothing to create. Your number, your Receptionist and your settings carry on exactly as they were, and you connect that line in Settings → Phone Number or straight from the conversation. 📖 Beside Agentic and your Beside phone line
Where do calls and texts actually happen?
Where do calls and texts actually happen?
In the Beside mobile app or at app.beside.com. Beside Agentic is where you connect the line and see what your agent did with it, but you take calls and reply to texts in Beside.