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AI Receptionist — CRMown AI answers your business phone

Turn on the AI receptionist for any phone number on your Twilio or SignalWire connection and CRMown AI answers calls in a natural voice. It answers questions from the business information you give it, takes messages (you get an alert and the caller is saved as a contact), connects callers to a person during your business hours, and can text them your booking link. Text messages to the same number keep working as before.

Open in CRMown →

Steps

  1. Make sure the number is connected: Calls & Numbers → Carriers (or Settings → Communications → SMS & WhatsApp) with your Twilio or SignalWire account.
  2. Go to Tools → Calls & Numbers → AI Receptionist. Every number on that connection is listed.
  3. Click "Set up" next to the number.
  4. Enter the business name (required), and optionally the receptionist's name and greeting.
  5. Quickest: type your website address and click "Learn from website". CRMown AI reads your home page plus up to six useful pages (about, services, pricing, FAQ, contact, hours) and fills About the business, Services & prices, What callers ask and business hours — using only what the site says. Takes up to a minute. Nothing is saved until you click Save, so check and correct the details first.
  6. Fill in or adjust About the business, Services & prices, and What callers ask (answers, policies, address, parking…). The receptionist only answers from this; anything else, it offers to take a message.
  7. Voice & manner: pick one of 12 voices (female, male and neutral; American, British and Australian) and click ▶ Hear it for a sample; choose a speaking speed (slower, normal, faster), a tone (warm & friendly, professional & concise, upbeat & energetic, calm & reassuring), the language (English or Español — it listens and answers in that language), and optionally describe your style in your own words. By default it starts with "You're speaking with <name>, the virtual assistant for <business>" — untick that if you don't want it.
  8. How calls are answered: "Answer right away", or "Ring my phone first" — your phone rings for 10–45 seconds (showing the caller's number) and the AI receptionist answers only if nobody picks up. Ringing first only happens during business hours; after hours the receptionist answers right away.
  9. Optional: "Connect callers to" a phone number — during business hours, a caller who asks for a person is connected to it. If nobody picks up, the receptionist takes a message.
  10. Set business hours (or tick Open 24/7), your time zone and what to say after hours. Outside hours it takes messages instead of connecting.
  11. Optional: tick "Offer to text callers a booking link" and pick a booking page. When a caller wants an appointment and says yes, they get the link by text from the same number.
  12. Click "Turn on". CRMown points the number's incoming calls at the receptionist through your connection — nothing to change in Twilio or SignalWire yourself.
  13. Call the number from your mobile to hear it. Calls are listed under Calls & Numbers → Call Logs, and messages left with the receptionist arrive as alerts.

Good to know

  • Messages: when a caller leaves their name, number and reason, owners and admins get a bell alert ("📞 Message from …"). Add an email under "Also email messages to" to get it by email too.
  • The caller is matched to an existing contact by phone or email; a new caller becomes a contact with source "AI voice agent".
  • Turning it off (Turn off) gives the number back exactly what it answered with before. Your receptionist settings are kept for next time.
  • Edit any time — changes apply to the next call.
  • Only the details you type in are used to answer questions. Be specific: prices, insurance accepted, address, parking, cancellation policy.
  • Callers hear the receptionist speak its answer, then reply; it is not a live back-and-forth where you can interrupt mid-sentence yet.
Example: A dental office turns on the receptionist for its main line with Mon–Fri 8–5 hours and the front desk as the transfer number. At 7pm a patient calls about whitening; the receptionist answers the price from the services list, takes the patient's name and number, and the office manager sees "📞 Message from Dana — quote for whitening" first thing in the morning.

Troubleshooting

My number is not listed
The AI receptionist works with numbers on a Twilio or SignalWire connection; numbers on other providers, or not yet connected, are not shown.
Fix: Connect the account under Calls & Numbers → Carriers, then come back.
Saving shows a Twilio or SignalWire error
CRMown could not update the number in your account — usually the credentials changed or the number is in a different account.
Fix: Check the connection under Carriers (Test), then save again. Nothing was changed while the error showed.
The receptionist says "this number is not configured"
The receptionist is off for that number, or the number was pointed at CRMown by hand without turning it on here.
Fix: Turn it on under Calls & Numbers → AI Receptionist.
It said it would connect me but nobody answered
The transfer number did not pick up within about 25 seconds.
Fix: The receptionist then takes a message. Check the "Connect callers to" number, or leave it empty to always take messages.
"Learn from website" found little or nothing
Some sites load their text with scripts, hide prices behind forms, or keep details on pages it did not pick.
Fix: Try the address of a specific page (e.g. yoursite.com/services), or paste the details into the fields. Click Learn again after updating your site.
It did not know an answer I expected
It answers only from About the business, Services & prices and What callers ask.
Fix: Add the answer there and save.

Plans

Available wherever Calls & Numbers is. Calls use your own Twilio or SignalWire account (their per-minute charges apply) and CRMown AI usage.

Related

  • SMS Keywords
  • Call Logs
  • Booking pages
  • AI Agents (scheduled automations — not phone calls)

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