AI Frontdesk: Getting started with the AI Receptionist
Please use the “Print” function at the bottom of the page to create a PDF.
Valid for: AI Receptionist (Momentum AI)
Your AI Receptionist answers calls around the clock, responds to questions about your business, and takes messages, so that you never miss a call again. The Setup Assistant helps you get started: it asks you the most important questions one by one in a chat and configures your assistant based on your answers. You can also skip the guided setup and configure all the settings yourself. You can combine both methods at any time. The following sections show you how to proceed.
Requirement
- You have an AI Receptionist contract.
Open AI Frontdesk
- Log in to your IONOS account.
- Click on Menu > AI Frontdesk in the title bar.
- In the contract overview, click on Manage in the tile for the contract you want.
The Setup Assistant opens in the Setup area with the message Welcome to your AI Frontdesk.
Note
If you add the AI Receptionist to an existing AI Chat Assistant, your shared details, including company knowledge, inquiries, and the website widget, also apply to the phone channel. You only need to specify the channel-specific details, such as the voice, greeting, and behaviour during calls. You can find out how to customise these in the Next steps section.
Set it up together or configure it yourself
To get started, choose one of two options:
- Set it up together: The Setup Assistant asks you the most important questions and configures your assistant based on your answers. This takes just a few minutes and is the quickest way to get your assistant up and running.
- See what it can do first: The Setup Assistant explains in the chat what your assistant can do and then asks whether you would like to set it up. Nothing is changed in the process.
This choice does not commit you to anything:
- You can start the guided setup at any time. To do so, simply tell the Setup Assistant in the chat that you would like to start the setup.
- You can also use the Setup Assistant for individual settings without going through the whole dialog, for example, to change only the greeting. For instructions, see AI Frontdesk: Using the Setup Assistant.
- You can configure all the settings yourself and not use the Setup Assistant at all. You can find the relevant instructions in the Next steps section.
How the dialog works
The Setup Assistant asks you a series of questions about your business and how you would like your assistant to handle your calls. Please note the following:
- Answers by click or free text: For many questions, the Setup Assistant suggests suitable answers that you can select directly. Alternatively, you can type your answer in your own words in the text box at the bottom of the chat.
- Suggestions for confirmation: Before applying key settings, such as the greeting, the Setup Assistant suggests a text and asks you to confirm it.
- Changes are applied immediately: As soon as the Setup Assistant adjusts a setting, it displays a Configuration updated card. This card shows a comparison of the previous and new values, for example, for the language, voice, or greeting.
Note
The Setup Assistant responds in the language you use to write to it. It also applies this language to your assistant and adjusts the voice and greeting accordingly. For example, if you conduct the dialog in Spanish, your assistant also speaks to your callers in Spanish. You can change the language and voice at any time, either during the dialog or later in your assistant’s settings.
The Setup Assistant guides you through these topics
The Setup Assistant usually asks about the following topics. Depending on your answers, some topics may be omitted or added.
Website and company details
The Setup Assistant asks for your company’s website and extracts basic information from it so that your assistant can answer questions about your company. To do this, enter your domain, for example, example.com.
If you do not have a website yet or do not want to provide one at this stage, let the Setup Assistant know. The setup then continues without a website. You can add your website content at any time later.
Company and objective
The Setup Assistant asks for your company’s name, the sector it operates in, and the main goal your assistant should achieve, for example, ensuring that you never miss a call again. It uses this information to tailor your assistant’s behaviour.
Assistant’s name
The Setup Assistant suggests a name for your assistant, for example, Rita. You can accept the suggestion or choose your own name. You can change the name at any time later.
Greeting
The Setup Assistant drafts a greeting for your company and asks you to confirm it. You can accept the suggestion or tell the Setup Assistant what you would like to change.
Please Note
By law, the greeting must state that the call is being answered by an AI and must refer to your privacy policy. The Setup Assistant takes both into account in its suggestion. Nevertheless, check the text before you confirm it, and make sure that both notices remain in place if you make any changes. You can find examples of a suitable greeting in the article AI Frontdesk: Customising language, voice, and behaviour.
Language and voice
Depending on the language of the dialog, the Setup Assistant shows you the available voices on a Choose a voice card. Click the play icon next to a voice to listen to it. To view all available voices, click the Show all link below the list. Then tell the Setup Assistant which voice your assistant should use.
Taking messages or forwarding calls
The Setup Assistant asks whether your assistant should take messages from callers or forward calls to you or your colleagues.
To start with, it recommends taking messages: this does not require a second phone number and can be changed at any time. Shortly after every call, you receive the details by email, including the caller’s name, phone number, and reason for calling.
Test call
Once the basic setup is complete, the Setup Assistant displays a Test call card. Click the green Test Call button to call your assistant directly in your browser and hear the setup in action. You do not need a second phone for this, but you do need a headset, or a microphone and speakers, connected to your computer.
The test call is optional, but we strongly recommend it. For example, ask your assistant a typical customer question or leave a message.
You can also make test calls at any time after the setup. For details, see AI Frontdesk: Making a test call.
Finish setup
You can finish the setup at any time, even if not all topics have been covered yet. To do so, simply tell the Setup Assistant that you want to finish the setup.
Your assistant is then ready for use: it answers calls, greets callers in the selected language, and sends you a summary of each call by email.
To hide the Setup Assistant and view the full interface, use the ··· menu at the top of the chat. The chat remains available, and you can use it at any time to make specific changes. Simply tell the Setup Assistant what you would like to adjust. Alternatively, you can configure all the settings yourself in the individual sections.
Tip
First, check the content that the Setup Assistant has taken from your website. This ensures that your assistant works with the correct details right from the start.
Next steps
Your assistant is now set up. You can now customise it in detail and make it available to your customers:
Overview
- To find out which sections you see in your dashboard and why this varies depending on the product and package you have ordered, see AI Frontdesk: An overview of products, channels, and the user interface.
- To use the Setup Assistant later for questions and individual changes, see AI Frontdesk: Using the Setup Assistant.
Knowledge and behaviour
- To check and supplement the knowledge your assistant has learned, see AI Frontdesk: Storing and managing company knowledge.
- To customise the voice, greeting, and behaviour, see AI Frontdesk: Customising language, voice, and behaviour.
- To define the pronunciation of individual terms, see AI Frontdesk: Setting custom pronunciations for terms.
- To define recurring conversation scenarios, see AI Frontdesk: Setting up inquiries.
Availability
- To make your assistant available to your customers, either with its own phone number or by forwarding calls from your business number, see AI Frontdesk: Routing calls to your assistant.
- To keep the caller’s number when calls are forwarded, see AI Frontdesk: Passing on the original number when forwarding calls.
- To make further test calls, see AI Frontdesk: Making a test call.
- To specify when your assistant should transfer a call, see AI Frontdesk: Managing escalated call forwarding and contacts.
- To offer the assistant on your website, see AI Frontdesk: Setting up and integrating the website widget.
Appointments and other applications
- To enable appointment booking, see AI Frontdesk: Setting up appointment booking with Cal.com or Calendly and AI Frontdesk: Setting up appointment booking with Google Calendar or Microsoft 365.
- To connect other applications (available in the Unlimited package), see AI Frontdesk: Setting up API integrations.
Everyday use
- To review calls, see AI Frontdesk: Viewing call history.
- To check and add recipients for summaries, see AI Frontdesk: Setting up conversation summaries by email.
Contract
- To add further products or change your package, see AI Frontdesk: Adding additional products or changing your package.
- To find out what changes in your dashboard after you add a product, see AI Frontdesk: What changes when a new product is added.