Can I keep my business number with an AI receptionist?

The most common question we get before anyone tries an AI receptionist is whether they have to change their number. The short answer is no. Your number is on the van, the website and every invoice you have sent, and your customers keep ringing it.

How it works: you divert, you do not move

Step Into AI gives your business a local phone number that the AI receptionist answers. You then divert your existing number to it. Your number stays with your current provider, on your current line or mobile, exactly as it is today. The only change is where the call goes when you choose to send it on.

1. You sign up and Step Into AI gives you a local number for your business.
2. You set up a divert on your existing number, pointing to that local number.
3. A customer rings your usual number. When the divert applies, the call goes to the receptionist, which answers in your business name.
4. The receptionist takes the details, and the call becomes an enquiry with a recording and a summary.

Your customers notice nothing different about the number. They dial what they always dialled.

Which calls to send

Most phones and phone systems let you choose when a divert applies. The common choices are:

• When nobody answers. Your phone rings first, and after a set number of rings the call goes to the receptionist. This is where most businesses start, because your team still gets the first chance.
• When you are busy. If you are already on a call, the second caller is answered rather than hearing engaged.
• When your phone is off or has no signal. Useful for anyone who works in lofts, basements or rural areas.
• All the time. Every call goes straight to the receptionist. Some businesses do this out of hours only.

On most UK mobiles you can set these diverts in the phone's call settings. On a landline or office phone system, your provider or the system's settings will have the same options. If you are not sure, ask your provider how to divert to another UK number.

What to check before you divert

• Divert charges. Some tariffs charge for diverted calls as if you had made the call yourself. Check yours. It is usually the same as a call to a UK landline.
• Voicemail. If your voicemail picks up before the divert, callers will hear voicemail instead. Turn voicemail off, or set the divert to happen first.
• Every number you advertise. If customers ring a mobile and a landline, set the divert on both.
• Test it. Ring your own number from another phone, let it ring out, and check the receptionist answers.

What happens if you stop

Because your number never moved, stopping is simple. Remove the divert and calls ring your phone only, as before. Nothing has to be handed back or transferred.

Questions people ask

Can I move my number to Step Into AI instead?

Not as part of the plans today. Diverting keeps your number with your current provider, which also means you can stop at any time without risk to the number.

Can I use the new number on its own?

Yes. Some businesses put the local number on a new advert or a second van, and let the receptionist answer it all the time.

Will callers know they have been diverted?

Not from the number. The receptionist does say at the start of every call that it is an AI and that the call is recorded, because callers should know who they are talking to.

Can I try it before committing?

Yes. The free trial lasts 7 days with 30 minutes of answered calls and no card. The 7 days start when your trial number is working, so set up the divert first and then make a test call.

Where to go next

See what the receptionist does on a call on the AI receptionist page, and how the number works on the business phone number page. The plan with the receptionist and number is Never Miss an Enquiry, at £249 a month, or £199 at the founding price. Details are on the pricing page.