Answer My Business Calls

When a call comes in, AllDayDesk answers using the information you saved about your business. It can tell callers about your services, share prices you have provided, and book new appointments. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default, once you have set up your services and availability. If you prefer, you can connect Google Calendar in Settings after you connect and authorize your Google account — that connection is optional, and the dashboard calendar works on its own.

AllDayDesk also knows its limits. When a caller asks something it does not know — an answer, a price, or an appointment detail — it takes a message instead of guessing. If a caller wants to change an existing appointment, that is treated as a request for you to review, not a confirmed change. Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings are visible in your dashboard, so you can review what happened.

If you want callers to reach you directly in some situations, you can configure call transfers. You set the destination number and the rules for when transfers happen. Because transfers depend on your phone setup and the destination answering, neither pickup nor an immediate response is guaranteed — so it is worth setting rules that match how you actually work.

• Answers calls around the clock using your saved business information
• Shares services and prices you have provided
• Books new appointments on the dashboard calendar, or Google Calendar if you connect it in Settings
• Takes a message when it does not know an answer, price, or appointment detail
• Passes appointment-change requests to you instead of confirming them
• Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings are visible in your dashboard

You do not have to write scripts or train anything by hand. Setup starts by choosing your business from a search or entering your website. AllDayDesk reads the public information about your business and builds a profile: what you do, where you work, and what callers usually ask about.

You then check the details it learned and correct anything that is off. This step matters — the receptionist answers based on this saved information, so reviewing it is how you control what callers hear. After that, you hear a personalized sample of the receptionist talking about your business. The sample is a preview only; it does not create a real booking or affect anything live.

Once you are happy with the details and the sample, you choose your phone setup and start forwarding calls.

• Choose your business or enter its website to start
• Review and correct the details it learned
• Hear a personalized sample before going live
• The sample creates no real booking

You do not need a new phone number. You keep your public number and forward calls to AllDayDesk. The exact forwarding instructions depend on your phone service, because every carrier and phone system does it differently. Some services use star codes dialed from your phone: Verizon mobile uses *72 plus the destination number for all-call forwarding, *71 for unanswered calls, and *73 to turn forwarding off, set from the phone while in Verizon coverage. T-Mobile uses **21*1 followed by the destination and # for unconditional forwarding. AT&T Phone for Business uses *72, the destination, and # for all calls, with different codes for no-answer and busy forwarding.

Other services use a web portal or app instead of codes. Spectrum Business Voice manages forwarding through SpectrumBusiness.net, where you pick the phone number, open Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager, and choose all calls or busy/no-answer forwarding. Comcast Business manages phone features through My Account and the Comcast Business App, and features depend on which services you subscribe to. Vonage Business Communications has a Call Forwarding option where you enable forwarding to a phone number. One important exception: Google Voice does not support forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system, so a Google Voice number cannot be forwarded to AllDayDesk.

If you are not sure which type of service you have, check your bill or provider account for the exact product name — instructions for one product often do not apply to another from the same company.

• Keep your existing public number — no porting required
• Forwarding instructions depend on your carrier or phone system
• Star-code carriers include Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Optimum, and C Spire
• Portal-based systems include Spectrum Business Voice, Comcast Business, and Vonage Business Communications
• Google Voice numbers cannot be forwarded to an automated system
• Identify your exact product name before using any forwarding instructions

Calls that come through are visible in your AllDayDesk dashboard, along with the transcript of what was said, a summary of the call, and any booking that was made. This means you can review messages, check what was promised to callers, and confirm appointments without listening to voicemails or returning calls just to find out what someone wanted.

The dashboard calendar holds new appointments by default. If you connect Google Calendar in Settings and authorize your account, appointments can go there instead — but that is your choice, not something that happens automatically.

• Call transcripts and summaries visible in the dashboard
• Bookings visible alongside the calls that created them
• Dashboard calendar by default; optional Google Calendar in Settings

Most owners answer their own phone, and that works fine when you are available. The question is what happens when you are not — on a job, with a customer, or after hours. An AI receptionist covers those gaps without hiring anyone, and it works the same way at 2 p.m. and 2 a.m.

A human receptionist or answering service is a different trade-off. Human services typically cost more per month — for example, Ruby advertises live virtual receptionist plans starting at $245 per month, and Smith.ai uses per-call pricing for its human receptionists — and coverage hours and fees vary by service and plan. An in-house receptionist also does work beyond the phone, like greeting visitors and office tasks, so a phone service is not a full replacement for one.

If you are weighing options, compare what each one actually does: who answers, when, at what cost, and what happens to the information from each call. AllDayDesk is this site's own product, and the comparison here is based on documented features rather than hands-on testing of any service.

• AI receptionist: answers around the clock using your saved business details
• Human answering services: people answer, with pricing and hours that vary by plan
• In-house receptionist: covers phone plus front-desk and office work
• Compare coverage, cost structure, and what happens to call information