# Create an AI Receptionist This page walks you through creating an AI receptionist and filling in the settings it needs before it can start answering calls. ## Before you begin Confirm that your Cloud Voice system meets the following conditions. **Firmware** The system must be running firmware 84.23.0.123 or later. **Subscription** Your plan comes with 60 one-time free minutes so you can try the feature right away. To add more capacity, ask your service provider to enable one or both of the following add-on services under **Plan > Add-on Subscription**: - **AI Receptionist (One-Time Capacity)**: a one-off block of minutes. When it runs out, buy more capacity to continue. - **AI Receptionist (Monthly Quota Pack)**: a recurring pack of 200 minutes that refreshes each month. Leftover minutes are not carried into the following month. :::note If you hold both add-ons, the system spends the monthly quota pack first and only draws on one-time capacity once the quota is gone. ::: ![Add-on services for extending AI receptionist minutes](/images/pbx/extend-ai-receptionist-minutes.png) **Network** The PBX (Private Branch Exchange, the phone system that routes your calls) must have a valid domain certificate installed from a trusted certificate authority (CA). **SIP settings** Turn on the SIP TCP port so AI receptionist calls can connect, under **PBX Settings > SIP Settings > General > Basic**. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is the signaling that sets up and ends voice calls, and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is the network transport the receptionist uses to reach the AI service. :::caution This change takes effect only after a system reboot, so plan to restart the PBX once you enable it. ::: ![SIP TCP port option in the general SIP settings](/images/pbx/tcp-port-pce.png) ## Limitations - There is no cap on how many AI receptionists you can create. - A single AI receptionist handles up to 10 concurrent calls. ## Create the receptionist 1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and go to **AI > AI Receptionist**. 2. Click **Add**. 3. Work through the five setup stages in order: Personalization, Company Information, Greeting, Dial By Name, and Failover Destination. 4. Click **Save**, then **Apply**. The sections below explain each stage. ### Personalization On the **Personalization** page, set the receptionist's basic details, its language, and its voice. 1. Fill in the basic information. ![AI receptionist basic information fields](/images/pbx/ai-receptionist-basic-info.png) - **Name**: a label that helps you recognize this receptionist. - **Number**: the number the receptionist answers. Calls placed to it are picked up by the receptionist. :::tip To see which numbers are available, check **PBX Settings > Preferences > Extension Preferences > AI Receptionist**. ::: - **LLM**: the large language model that drives how the receptionist understands callers and forms its replies. Pick a model that fits your needs, weighing factors such as task complexity, response latency, context window size, and compliance requirements. For instance, choose **Claude Sonnet 4** when calls call for deeper reasoning, or **Gemini Flash** when speed matters most. :::note You can switch models and tailor the system prompts afterward from the [AI receptionist settings](/pbx/ai-guide/update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist/#update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist__llm) if needed. ::: 2. Choose the primary language and its voice. ![Primary language and voice profile selection](/images/pbx/ai-receptionist-voice.png) - **Primary Language**: the main language the receptionist speaks with callers. - **Receptionist**: the voice profile used for that language. :::tip - To hear a voice before choosing it, click the preview icon (![Play a voice sample](/images/pbx/earphone-1.png)) next to a profile. ![Voice profile preview control](/images/pbx/profile-voice.png) - To change how quickly the receptionist speaks, click **Speed** in the top-right corner of the **Receptionist** section. The speech rate you set applies to every language the receptionist uses. ![Speech rate control for the receptionist voice](/images/pbx/voice-speed.png) ::: 3. (Optional) To let the receptionist speak more than one language, click **Add** in the **Additional Languages** section and configure each entry. ![Adding an extra language for the receptionist](/images/pbx/additional-language.png) - **Language**: an extra language the receptionist can use with callers. - **Receptionist Type**: the voice for that language: - **Follow Primary Language**: reuse the primary language's voice profile. - **Custom**: use a different voice. Pick one from the **Receptionist** drop-down list. :::tip Click the preview icon (![Play a voice sample](/images/pbx/earphone-1.png)) beside a profile to hear it first. ![Previewing a voice for an additional language](/images/pbx/preview-voice.png) ::: 4. Click **Next**. ### Company Information On the **Company Information** page, provide the business details the receptionist draws on to answer company-related questions. ![Company information fields for the receptionist](/images/pbx/ai-receptionist-company-info.png) 1. In **Company Core Services**, describe what your company offers. The description can be up to 5,000 characters. 2. In **Company Address**, enter your company's address, up to 255 characters. 3. In the **Business Hours** drop-down list, select the time zone or zones where your company operates. The receptionist relies on the business hours you have configured for those time zones when callers ask about your opening times. 4. Click **Next**. ### Greeting On the **Greeting** page, set the message the caller hears as soon as the receptionist answers. :::note If you would rather skip the greeting, leave the switch off. The receptionist will then answer the call and wait for the caller to speak first. ::: ![Greeting configuration for the receptionist](/images/pbx/ai-recept-greeting.png) 1. Turn on the **Greeting** switch. 2. In the **Greeting** field, type a welcome message in the receptionist's primary language. :::note - Recorded prompts do not play during AI receptionist calls, so use the greeting to deliver a spoken welcome. - To vary the greeting by time of day, set that up after the receptionist exists. See [Configure Time-Based Greetings](/pbx/ai-guide/manage-skills-for-an-ai-receptionist/#manage-skills-for-an-ai-receptionist__time-based). ::: 3. (Optional) Select **Do Not Interrupt Greeting** to stop callers from talking over the greeting. 4. Click **Next**. ### Dial By Name On the **Dial By Name** page, enable this option if you want the receptionist to connect a caller to a specific extension when the caller says that user's name. :::note If you don't need this behavior, leave the switch off. ::: ![Dial By Name configuration](/images/pbx/dial-by-name-ai-recept.png) 1. Turn on the **Dial By Name** switch. 2. Under **Extensions allowed to be dialed**, choose which extensions are in scope: - **All Extensions**: every extension can be reached. - **Allowed Extensions**: only the extensions you pick can be reached. Move them from the **Available** box to the **Selected** box. - **Restricted Extensions**: the extensions you pick cannot be reached, and every other extension can. Move the ones to block from the **Available** box to the **Selected** box. 3. Click **Next**. ### Failover Destination On the **Failover Destination** page, decide where a call should go when the receptionist can't resolve the caller's request or match one of your transfer rules. ![Failover destination configuration](/images/pbx/ai-backup.png) 1. In the **Failover Destination** drop-down list, choose a destination type: - Extension - Inbound Queue - Ring Group - Conference - Call Flow - IVR (Interactive Voice Response, an automated menu callers navigate with their keypad) - Group Voicemail :::note Before routing to a group voicemail, make sure the **Leave a Voicemail for an Extension/Group Voicemail** feature is enabled under **Call Features > Feature Code > Voicemail**. ![Voicemail feature code enabled](/images/pbx/vm-enabled.png) ::: 2. In the field that appears, select the exact destination. ## Result - The AI receptionist is created. ![Confirmation that the AI receptionist was created](/images/pbx/create-ai-recept-success.png) - Back on the AI receptionist list, the feature's global status reads **Online**, which means it has connected successfully and is ready to take calls. ![AI receptionist list showing the Online status](/images/pbx/ai-online.png) :::note - If the status shows **Abnormal**, the system raises an **AI Receptionist Call Line Abnormal** event notification and alerts the relevant contacts. - Hover over the status to see the reason. ![Hovering over an abnormal AI receptionist status](/images/pbx/abnormal-ai-status.png) ::: ## What to do next [Manage Skills for an AI Receptionist](/pbx/ai-guide/manage-skills-for-an-ai-receptionist/)