Already have your own number? Keep it and forward it to your AI Receptionist

Your customers already know your business number, and you don’t have to change it. A number from your own phone company, SignalWire or Twilio account can’t be connected to SkySuite directly yet. Instead, keep that number and forward its calls to the receptionist number SkySuite gets for you. Sky answers the forwarded calls just like calls to her own number.

1. Get your receptionist number

Open Office › Work › Office › AI Receptionist · /office/work/office/ai-receptionist. In the “Your receptionist number” box, search for a number with “Find a number”: under “Type”, choose “Local number” (search by “Area code”, “State” and “City”) or “Toll-free (8xx)” (type a “Prefix” such as 888). You can also skip the search, then click “Get my receptionist number”. Only the account owner can get the number. Fill in “Business Information”, switch on “Enable AI Receptionist” and click “Save Configuration”.

2. Forward your existing line to it

Your phone company does this part, usually from its website, its app or a short code you dial on the phone. There are two common choices:

• Forward every call. Sky answers every call to your business number.
• Forward only the calls you don’t answer (often called “no-answer” or “conditional” call forwarding). Your phone rings first; if you don’t pick up, or you’re busy, the call goes to Sky.

Your phone company’s help pages name the exact steps and codes for your line. Type in your receptionist number as the number to forward to.

On the AI Receptionist page, in the “Schedule” box, set “When should the AI answer?” to match:

• Always (all calls) or Missed Calls Only (forward after no answer) when your phone company decides which calls to forward. Sky answers every call that reaches her.
• After Hours Only when you forward every call and want Sky only outside your “Hours Start” and “Hours End”.

3. Optional: a call flow with your own greeting

If your business number is in your own SignalWire or Twilio account, you can build the routing there instead: for example, a call flow on your number that rings your cell first and sends calls you don’t answer, and after-hours calls, to your SkySuite receptionist number. Both providers let you add your own recorded greeting or a menu before the call is forwarded. Build and test the flow in your provider’s dashboard; SkySuite only sees the calls that reach the receptionist number.

Avoid a loop

“Forward To Number” on the AI Receptionist page is where Sky transfers a caller who asks for a person. Put your cell there, a phone a person answers. Don’t put your business number there if that number forwards to Sky: the caller would go round in a circle. SkySuite refuses the receptionist number itself and any other AI Receptionist number. If a transferred caller comes straight back to Sky (because the Forward To phone forwards to her), she says goodbye instead of transferring them again; you still see the call in the “Call Log” tab.

Texts are separate

Forwarding moves calls only. Texts sent to your old business number still go to your old phone company. Texting on your receptionist number has its own “Texting” box on the AI Receptionist page: US carriers must approve a business before it can text, and the box shows whether that is switched on for your account. Texting works with a local receptionist number only.

Moving (porting) your number to SkySuite

Moving your existing number into SkySuite, so that it is run entirely from your SkySuite account, isn’t available yet. If you’d like it, tell us: click “Snippet Ticket” at the top of the left menu, and we’ll let you know when it is ready. Until then, forwarding keeps your number working with Sky.