Assistants
An assistant is the digital receptionist that answers your calls and messages. This article walks through every setting tab by tab and explains how to duplicate an assistant, assign phone numbers and delete an assistant.
Several assistants per business
How many assistants you can have depends on your plan: 1 on Chat and Starter, 3 on Business, 10 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise (up to the technical maximum of 500), plus any add-ons. When your plan is full, New assistant and Duplicate are switched off and you see the message Your plan is full.
More than one assistant is useful for, for example:
- one assistant per brand or trading name;
- one assistant per language (say, a Dutch one and an English one);
- one assistant per phone number (a number for private customers and a number for business clients);
- one assistant for incoming calls and another for outgoing calls on the same number.
A number does not switch assistants by itself based on the time. For different behaviour outside opening hours, set per transfer rule when it applies (Within opening hours or Outside opening hours).
You'll find all assistants under Assistants in the dashboard; this menu item is for editors and admins. If you have one, this opens the editor straight away. If you have more, you first choose an assistant from the list. You create a new assistant with New assistant, from the editor too: you fill in Name, Description and Language, and under How should we set it up? you choose From what we know about your business or Describe your business. With the first, the AI reads your website and knowledge; you see what it will use before you click Create. With the second, you write a few lines about what you do, who your customers are, what people usually call about, what the assistant should do and how it should sound. The AI then writes the instructions, the greeting and the speaking style, and the editor opens with a short note and a Try it out button. Leave the description empty to start with a basic setup instead. The AI does not connect a calendar or add transfers for you: if your callers will want appointments, the note links to Tasks. If an assistant still has the standard instructions and we know something about your business, the Instructions tab offers Write from my website. That rewrites only the instructions; the greeting, formality and speaking style stay as they are. Choose Not now to hide the offer for that assistant. The editor has seven tabs, which we cover below one by one. Each tab has its own link. Changes save automatically and take effect on the next conversation.
Voice & greeting
The Voice & greeting tab holds how the assistant introduces itself and sounds.
| Setting | Meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The assistant's name. It uses this name to introduce itself. In the Inbox you can filter on it once you have more than one assistant. Available in the prompt as {{assistant.name}}. | — |
| Language | The language the assistant starts in. Every ChatGPT voice can speak several languages; the difference is mainly the accent. | Your business's language |
| Language switching | What happens when the caller uses another language: ask first, switch straight away, or stay. With Ask before switching the assistant first says briefly in its own language that it sounds like that language, in case it is mistaken, and asks in both languages whether the caller wants to continue in it. For an English assistant hearing Dutch: "Oh, sorry, that sounds like Dutch. Wil je verder in het Nederlands? Continue in Dutch?" An answer in either language counts, such as yes, ja, no, nee or "I'm just speaking English". | Ask before switching |
| Voice | Choose a ChatGPT voice. The play button gives a short sample. | The first voice in the list for that language |
| Speaking style | Tone, Sound, Pitch, Intonation, Speed and Conversation, with buttons or your own text. See Languages & voices. | Warm, Soft, Moderate, Natural, Normal, Default |
| Formality | Formal or Informal. Sets how the assistant addresses the caller. You type the greeting yourself, so it does not follow this. | Informal |
| Greeting | The fixed first sentence the caller hears. This is literal text: it is spoken as you type it and never translated. A name in brackets, such as [Business name], follows your details by itself; How it sounds shows the line as the caller hears it. Keep it short (one or two sentences). | A greeting with the assistant's name and your business name |
| Outbound greeting | The first sentence on outgoing calls, for example from a campaign or the API. Leave it empty to use the normal greeting. Only visible when outbound calling is in your plan. | — |
| Description | For internal use only. Visible once you have more than one assistant. | — |
| Pronunciation | Names, brands and product words the assistant must recognise, with how they sound. Up to 100. See Languages & voices. | — |
Keep the greeting short
The AI model does not generate the greeting. So do not put questions or explanations in it that depend on the situation; that belongs in the prompt. A good greeting is, for example: "Good afternoon, you're speaking with the assistant of Smith Plumbing. How can I help you?"
Instructions
On the Instructions tab you describe who the assistant is, how a conversation should flow and which rules apply. You choose between Easy mode (with Role, Conversation flow and Important rules) and Advanced mode (one Full prompt field). Apply a template starts you from ready-made text for your kind of business; after you confirm, it replaces the current instruction fields and turns on Easy mode. With Change with AI you say in one line what should be different, for example “keep answers shorter” or “always ask for the postcode”. You see the changed text first; only Apply change saves it. You can use the AI for setting up and changing instructions 60 times a day. Separate style for chats gives SMS, WhatsApp and webchat their own tone. The Available variables are at the bottom. The prompt is by far the most important setting, so read How to write a great prompt before you start. The assistant speaks as part of your business: it says “we” and offers to pass things on to one of its human colleagues. It never pretends to be a person. You don't need a rule for that.
The assistant also keeps to your business, the way a receptionist would. A question that could be about your business or your trade it simply helps with, also when your knowledge says nothing about it; when in doubt it assumes the question belongs. It takes the kind of business into account: at a GP's practice a customer may bring up complaints, at a plumber a broken boiler or an error code. It takes that up the way your business would, with what your knowledge says, an appointment or a colleague. Only something that clearly has nothing to do with it, such as a sum, a quiz question or homework, it does not answer. It responds briefly and kindly and says it can only help with questions about your business. If the customer carries on, it says so once more, a bit more clearly. If the customer still carries on without a question for your business, it politely ends the conversation. It never accuses anyone and puts it in its own words each time. If your assistant may talk about more, say so in the instructions: they come first.
When a customer reports an emergency, such as a burst pipe or water coming through the ceiling, the assistant reacts briefly and like a person ("Oh, that doesn't sound good."), on a call also with a concerned, alert voice and then a calm one, and offers straight away to put them through to your emergency line or a colleague, if you set that up for calls. Otherwise it says it can have someone contact them urgently and asks straight away for the details that needs. It looks nothing up and does not first ask about dangers the customer did not mention. If your instructions say what to ask first in an emergency, it does that.
Flows
Flows are optional and advanced: an assistant without flows simply works from its instructions and tasks. On the Flows tab you build flows: cards on a canvas that guide a call or chat step by step, such as taking down an insurance claim. Flows belong to your business, so every assistant sees the same list and turns on Use in this assistant for the ones it starts, up to 10. A flow comes first when its situation applies; otherwise the assistant works from its instructions as usual. See Flows.
Tasks
The Tasks tab holds what the assistant can do. Each row shows in one line how it is set now, and opens when you click it. Voicemail, Book appointments and Save requests also have a switch on the row itself.
| Task | What you set there | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Use knowledge | Which collection this assistant uses, whether it includes the business profile, and whether it searches all documents or only the ones you choose. | Knowledge |
| Transfer calls | Who the assistant transfers to (phone number, SIP address or team member) under which condition, and when that destination is available. | Transfers (call forwarding) |
| Voicemail | Whether callers can leave a message, and how long it may be. | Technical settings |
| Book appointments | Whether the assistant books appointments, with which Booking provider (Built-in calendar, Cal.com or eTermin) and, with the built-in calendar, which Services (one or more; without a service a warning shows). | Appointments |
| Save requests | Whether the assistant saves what a customer wants, with the urgency, and notifies you. | Technical settings |
| Actions | An email, SMS or WhatsApp message after the call, an HTTP request to your own system (before, during or after the call), or Google Sheets (during or after the call). | Actions |
| Look up during a call | Live web search, and looking up Stora units. | Knowledge, Connections |
What is off and a customer may ask for, the assistant says plainly: for example a transfer without a transfer rule, a live web search, or sending a text or email itself. A verification code, an appointment confirmation and an action that sends something still go out; with an SMS action to the customer after the call, it leaves texts and email out of this. It says it can't (in Dutch, "Ik kan je helaas niet doorverbinden") and offers to put in a request for one of your colleagues. If it has no way to do that, without Save requests and Voicemail, it says the customer can reach your business another way, without promising a callback. It never pretends.
A new assistant searches all documents of its collection, including what you add later, once it has been read. Choose Only the documents I choose when this assistant may use only part of them. An assistant that already existed keeps the documents you chose for it.
Under Transfer calls and Actions, Duplicate copies one rule or action, with a new name ending in “(copy)”. The copy saves automatically.
Channels
On the Channels tab you choose how people reach this assistant. Each row shows the state of the channel (your numbers, or On or Off), and opens when you click it:
- Phone & SMS: choose which of your numbers this assistant answers, and which it uses for outgoing calls. SMS uses the same assistant as incoming calls. Add number lets you buy a number or add one you already have, just like on Settings → Phone numbers. Only an admin can do this, with an active subscription.
- Webchat: put a chat widget on your website with the Code for your website, or use the Ready-made chat page. See Webchat.
- WhatsApp: connect a WhatsApp Business number to this assistant. You paste tokens right here. See WhatsApp.
Webchat and WhatsApp only turn on with an active subscription. WhatsApp must also be in your plan: it is in Business, Pro and Enterprise, and on Starter only as an add-on.
An assistant uses the same prompt and knowledge on every channel, but automatically takes the channel into account: on the phone it answers in short spoken sentences, in a chat it writes short plain text, and it keeps an SMS under 300 characters.
Conversation rules
The Conversation rules tab holds Conversation limits (maximum call duration, allow interruptions), Known callers (use earlier conversations) and Recording & transparency (record calls and announce that the call is recorded). Every setting is explained in Technical settings.
Tests
On the Tests tab the AI makes up customers who chat with the assistant and checks the answers: you choose what to test, run it, and get a suggested fix for each problem. Viewers can open this tab to see the results. See Test your assistant.
Try it out
The Try it out button in the editor's header opens a panel beside the settings. The panel stays open when you switch tabs, so a running call carries on while you change something. Before it starts, the panel waits until your last change is saved, so you always test the latest version. If saving fails, the test does not start.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Call | Speak through your microphone and hear the reply in the saved voice, or type what a caller would say. No phone number is dialled. You see which tools the assistant used. |
| Chat | The same chat a visitor sees on your website. This also works while webchat is still off. |
| Test search | Check whether a question finds the right knowledge. |
| Real call | The assistant calls a number you enter, as this assistant. Only when outbound calling is in your plan, and you need a phone number that can make outgoing calls. This is a real call and it counts towards your usage. |
In Call and Chat, Perform actions for real decides whether bookings, emails and other actions really happen. When it is off, they are only simulated. You cannot change this during a call. A verification code is never really sent in a test: when the assistant asks for a code, for example to move an appointment in the chat, the number you type counts as proven straight away (see Caller protection).
In Call you begin with Start call and stop with Hang up. If you say goodbye, the assistant says one short goodbye, the call ends and you see that it has ended. After that you carry on with Resume call or begin with New call. Start over clears the test.
A test with Call or Chat does not appear in the Inbox or in the figures on Overview. With Perform actions for real on, a booked appointment is a real appointment, listed under Appointments → Schedule. A request gets the label Test, see Requests. Real call is a real conversation, so it does appear in the Inbox. After your first test, Try your assistant on Overview → Today shows as done.
Demo minutes and conversations
Trying your assistant costs us call minutes and AI too, so Call and Chat have their own demo allowance each period: 30% of the call minutes and chat conversations in your plan, add-ons not counted. On Starter that is 90 minutes and 60 conversations. Without a plan you get the same allowance as on Starter, each calendar month. The Chat plan has no phone, so calls in Call get Starter's 90 demo minutes there: that way you can hear your assistant on the phone. They stop there and do not run on into your plan.
- A test call counts by the second while it runs; over the period it is rounded up to whole minutes. A chat in Chat counts as a conversation the same way as on your website: when it carries on after 24 hours of quiet, or goes past 10 replies from your assistant, it counts as a new one. Lines you type in Call without a running call count the same way.
- Above the panel you see how much is left and until when.
- With a plan, trying it out carries on after that: it then counts towards your plan's call minutes and chat conversations, with the notices at 80% and 100%. If When your allowance is used up is set to stop and your allowance is used up too, trying it out stops until the next period or until you buy an add-on.
- Without a plan, trying it out stops when the demo allowance is used up. A running call then ends. You can test again on the first day of the next month, or choose a plan.
Test search, Real call and the tests on the Tests tab are not part of this. Real call is a real call and counts as normal usage.
Duplicate an assistant
Need a second assistant that does largely the same thing, such as an English variant or a version for another number? Duplicate the existing one instead of starting from scratch.
- Go to Assistants.
- Click Duplicate next to the assistant in the list, or in the editor's header.
- The copy opens in the editor, with “(copy)” after its name. Give the copy a clear name and change whatever needs to differ.
The copy includes the prompt, all settings on the Voice & greeting, Instructions, Tasks and Conversation rules tabs, the transfer rules, the actions, the flows it uses and the tests on the Tests tab (not their results). Phone numbers are not assigned to it. Webchat and WhatsApp are off on the copy: the webchat gets its own address, and for WhatsApp you fill in the Phone number ID again.
Assign numbers
Each number has one assistant for incoming calls and one for outgoing calls. Set that on the assistant or on Settings → Phone numbers.
- Open the assistant and go to Channels.
- Open Phone & SMS and, for each number, turn on Answers incoming, Places outgoing, or both. If another assistant already has that side, confirm the switch.
- Or open Settings → Phone numbers and choose the Assistant for incoming calls and the Assistant for outgoing calls for the number.
If a number has no assistant of its own for outgoing calls, you choose the assistant yourself for each campaign and each call to a contact. Settings → Phone numbers and Channels then show the assistant for incoming calls on the outgoing side too, but it does not call by itself. If the number does have its own assistant for outgoing calls, campaigns and calls to a contact always use that assistant, and you see This number always calls with …. You remove a number on Settings → Phone numbers (admins only); a number you bought is then released too. An assistant can have several numbers. See Connect a phone number.
Delete an assistant
Only an admin can delete an assistant.
- Go to Assistants.
- Open the assistant and click Delete in the editor's header, or click the trash icon next to the assistant in the list.
- Confirm.
WARNING
This assistant's numbers are then free and do not get a new assistant by themselves. Incoming calls and SMS on those numbers go to your oldest remaining assistant until you assign them yourself. If no assistant is left, they are not answered. This assistant's webchat and WhatsApp stop, and a campaign that calls with this assistant fails. That includes a campaign you created while the number always called with this assistant. To keep such a campaign running, first choose a new Assistant for outgoing calls for the number. Existing conversations, transcripts and summaries are kept in the Inbox.