Business Phone Assistant

When a call comes in, the assistant answers using the details saved for your business, such as your services, hours, and pricing. It can answer general questions, take a message, or help a caller request an appointment. When it doesn't know an answer, a price, or whether a time is open, it takes a message instead of guessing.

Most owners answer their own phones, so an assistant is there for the calls you can't get to, not a replacement for talking to your customers yourself. After each call, you can review what happened in the dashboard: the call record, a transcript, a summary, and any booking that was made.

• Answers questions using the business information you save
• Takes a message when it doesn't know an answer or price
• Helps callers request appointments
• Shows calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings in your dashboard

Setup starts by choosing your business from a list or entering its website. AllDayDesk then pulls together the details it will use to answer calls, and you check those details for accuracy before anything goes live. Next, you hear a personalized sample so you know exactly how your assistant will sound. The sample is a preview only and does not create a real booking.

Finally, you choose your phone setup. You keep your public phone number and forward calls to AllDayDesk. The forwarding instructions depend on which phone service you use, so pick your provider's guide and follow its steps. Once calls are forwarding, the assistant handles them and you can watch activity in your dashboard.

• Choose your business or enter its website
• Check the business details the assistant will use
• Hear a personalized sample of your assistant
• Choose phone setup and forward your existing number

There is no single code that works for every phone service, so check your provider before activating anything. Here are verified examples from provider documentation:

Verizon mobile uses *72 plus the 10-digit destination for all-call forwarding, *71 for unanswered calls, and *73 to disable; setup must be done from the phone while in Verizon coverage. Verizon business landline uses *72 to activate and *73 to deactivate from the same line. T-Mobile uses **21*1 plus the destination and # for unconditional forwarding, with codes like **61*1 for no-reply and ##004# to reset to defaults. AT&T Phone for Business uses *72, destination, # for all calls, *92 for no answer, and *90 for busy, each with its own disable code. Comcast Business, Spectrum Business Voice, Vonage Business Communications, Frontier, and Optimum manage forwarding through their portals or their own codes, and the exact steps depend on which product you subscribe to.

One important limit: Google explicitly says forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system is unsupported, so a Google Voice number is not a compatible way to route calls to AllDayDesk.

• Verizon mobile: *72 + destination (all calls), *71 + destination (unanswered), *73 to disable
• T-Mobile: **21*1 + destination + # (all calls), ##004# to reset
• AT&T Phone for Business: *72, destination, # (all calls); *92 no answer; *90 busy
• Optimum Business Phone: *72 then destination; *73 to turn off
• Comcast, Spectrum, Vonage, and Frontier: use your account portal or product-specific guide
• Google Voice numbers cannot be forwarded to an automated system

New appointments made by the assistant go on the built-in AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default, once you have configured your services and availability. That means you decide what you offer and when, and the assistant books within those limits.

If you prefer to work out of Google Calendar, AllDayDesk supports an optional connection. After you connect and authorize your Google account in Settings, bookings can work with your Google Calendar. Other calendar or scheduling software connections are not part of the product.

Keep in mind that changes to existing appointments are requests for you to review, not confirmed changes. You stay in control of your schedule.

• New bookings go to the AllDayDesk dashboard calendar by default
• Configure your services and availability first
• Optional Google Calendar connection is set up in Settings after you authorize your account
• Changes to existing appointments come to you as requests

Sometimes a caller needs to reach you directly. You can configure call transfers by setting a destination number and the rules for when transfers happen. Because transfers depend on your phone setup and whether the destination picks up, neither pickup nor an immediate response is guaranteed.

When the assistant doesn't know an answer, a price, or whether an appointment time is available, it takes a message instead of guessing. You can then follow up yourself with accurate information. This keeps wrong answers off the phone and puts the decisions that need your judgment back in your hands.

• Set a transfer destination and rules for when transfers happen
• Pickup and immediate response on a transfer are not guaranteed
• Unknown answers, prices, or availability become messages for you

A business phone assistant is one of several ways to handle calls. Human answering services, such as AnswerConnect's 24/7 live answering or Ruby's virtual receptionists, use people to answer calls; Ruby advertises plans starting at $245 per month as of October 2026, and Smith.ai uses per-call pricing for its human receptionist service, so real costs depend on the quote, included allowance, and hours. An in-house receptionist covers greeting visitors and office tasks in addition to phones, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so it's a broader role than a phone service.

AllDayDesk, the product on this site, is an automated assistant that answers around the clock using your saved business information, with plans billed by included minutes. When comparing, look at what each option actually does, what it costs including overages, and how calls reach it. This comparison is based on documented features and published prices, not hands-on testing.

• Human answering services: people answer, pricing varies by plan and usage
• In-house receptionist: broader role including front-desk tasks, not just phones
• AllDayDesk: automated assistant answering around the clock from your saved business details