Your AI receptionist setup checklist

1. Define the calls you want help with

Choose missed calls, overflow, after-hours calls or all inbound calls. Write down what should remain with your office. An existing customer chasing an invoice may need a different path from a new job enquiry.

Record your main business number, carrier or phone-system provider, normal office coverage and the person authorized to change forwarding. Do not send account passwords or port-out PINs.

2. Give Diane boundaries, not just a sales pitch

• Business name and a short greeting that identifies the AI assistant.
• Services offered and work you do not take.
• Towns, postal areas, rural travel limits and any extra travel charges.
• Opening hours, time zone, holidays and after-hours arrangements.
• Approved fees, what they include, whether tax is additional and which estimates need a human.

Example instruction: “We serve Edmonton and Sherwood Park. Ask the owner before promising work outside that area. Capture the address and request; do not confirm an appointment.”

3. Write the urgent-call policy

Name the on-call recipient and backup, the hours they monitor messages, and the situations that need an urgent alert. Distinguish an urgent service request from immediate danger. A receptionist should not claim an alert was delivered, a technician dispatched or a callback guaranteed without confirmation.

Decide what callers should hear when notification fails or nobody is available. Do not advertise emergency response merely because the phone is answered after hours.

4. Approve answers to repeat questions

Useful questions include service areas, call-out charges, payment methods, warranty enquiries, existing appointments and how to request a quote. Write short answers and say when the team must confirm.

Website extraction can suggest answers, but outdated offers or unrelated pages may be included. Review every answer before saving it. Keep payment-card information, passwords and customer case records out of general receptionist instructions.

5. Decide who owns each next step

• Who confirms a booking request, and where?
• Who monitors failed or undelivered notifications?
• Who acknowledges urgent requests and records resolution?
• Who updates hours and fees when they change?
• Who can switch forwarding off if testing fails?

6. Test, then activate

Use the ten-call acceptance checklist and forwarding test matrix before inviting customers onto a new call path.

For HeyDiane, create the account, confirm your email and save your instructions. We review the setup and coordinate activation. The no-card trial starts when the receptionist is activated. Adding instructions alone does not mean the public number has been switched.