Choose when the AI receptionist answers

You decide when the AI receptionist picks up: around the clock, only while you are open, or only after you close. Whatever you pick, it only books times inside your business hours. A caller at midnight can book tomorrow afternoon, and nobody gets booked at midnight.

What this does

Your answering schedule controls which calls reach the receptionist. Your business hours control which times it can offer. They are separate settings, so you can have the receptionist answer at 2 AM while still only booking during the day.

Set your answering schedule

1. Open Settings, then Hours.
2. Check your time zone. Every schedule runs on it.
3. Enter your business hours for each day, including days you are closed.
4. Choose when the receptionist answers:
   • Always on. Every call, at any hour.
   • Business hours only. Calls during your open hours.
   • After hours only. Calls outside your open hours.
5. Save your changes.

Holiday closures and one-off changes belong in your hours too, so the receptionist does not offer a day you will be closed.

Which schedule to choose

• Always on suits a business where nobody reliably answers the phone, or where you want every caller treated the same way.
• After hours only suits a team that answers during the day and wants evenings and weekends covered.
• Business hours only suits a business that already has an after-hours service it wants to keep.

Want your team to answer first, even during the day? Choose Always on and set your carrier to forward only unanswered calls. Your phone rings, and the receptionist picks up whatever your team misses. The call forwarding guide explains how.

Check that it worked

1. Call during a time the receptionist should answer. It should pick up.
2. Ask for an appointment or table outside your business hours. It should offer the nearest open time instead.
3. If you chose business hours only or after hours only, call during the other window. Your usual line should handle the call.

Troubleshooting

• Calls go unanswered outside the schedule. When the receptionist is not scheduled, it does not pick up. Make sure those hours are covered by your team, voicemail or another service.
• Times are off by an hour or more. Your time zone is likely wrong. Fix it in Hours and test again.
• A staff member's slots are missing. Their own schedule may be shorter than your business hours. Check it under Team.

Related articles

• Connect your phone number to the AI receptionist
• Set up live call transfer to your team
• Add services and staff to your POS
• Why missed calls cost small businesses