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How To Configure The AI Receptionist in WorkZen

All plansIntermediateVideo, 1:34Updated August 16, 2026

Get an AI Receptionist plan from Settings, then create a receptionist in Zen Phone > AI Receptionists: an 8-step wizard covers language, voice, name, personality, greetings, services, Q&A, and booking. Attach it to a phone number or a call flow, and it answers, qualifies callers, and drops leads straight into your Leads list.

Missed calls are missed jobs. The AI Receptionist answers your phone around the clock, qualifies callers, takes booking requests, and logs everything in WorkZen, no coffee breaks required. Setup has three parts: the subscription, the receptionist itself, and the connection to your number.

Get the AI Receptionist plan

The AI Receptionist is a separate subscription, and it needs an active ZenPhone plan to answer on.

  1. Go to Company Settings > AI Receptionist Plan (or click Get a Plan on the AI Receptionists page in the Zen Phone menu).
  2. Pick a plan. Plans differ only by AI minutes/month; every plan includes the same features and unlimited receptionists.
  3. Choose Monthly or Yearly billing (yearly gives you 2 months free) and check out.
Plan availability

The AI Receptionist is a dedicated subscription, not part of any platform plan. Any WorkZen plan can add it. See the pricing page for current rates.

Create your receptionist

Go to Zen Phone > AI Receptionists and click New Receptionist. An 8-step wizard walks you through everything; you never write a prompt:

StepWhat you set
LanguageEnglish, French, or Spanish, plus the voice gender
VoicePick a voice; each one has a play button so you hear it first
NameHow the receptionist introduces itself
PersonalityUp to 3 traits that shape its tone
GreetingAn opening line, an after-hours greeting, and a sign-off, presets or your own words
ServicesYour service list and pricing policy
Q&AThe questions callers ask and the answers you want given
BookingWhether it books appointments, and when

WorkZen builds the AI's instructions from your answers, so "configure the AI" really means "describe your business".

Tip

Click Try voice chat on a receptionist to talk to it from your browser. Tune the personality, services, and Q&A until it sounds like your best front desk day, before a real client ever hears it.

Connect it to a number

Two ways, pick per number:

  • Direct: in My Numbers, configure a number and choose Attach to AI Receptionist. The AI answers every incoming call on that number.
  • Via call flow: add a Transfer to AI step in a call flow. Typical setup: your team rings during business hours, and after hours or when nobody answers, the call hands off to the AI.

If a number has neither, incoming calls simply ring the assigned user.

How captured leads arrive

Every answered call lands in your Leads list with the source AI Assistant. The lead carries the caller's name, phone, and address, an AI-written call summary, action items, and an urgency level, and the full transcript is attached to the call record. On ZenGrow and above, a call arriving within minutes of an all-but-identical lead merges into it instead of creating a duplicate. If the caller scheduled a visit, the lead includes a pending booking request ready to confirm.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Get the plan

    In Company Settings, open AI Receptionist Plan and pick a plan by monthly AI minutes. All plans share the same features.

  2. 2

    Create a receptionist

    In Zen Phone > AI Receptionists, click New Receptionist and walk the 8-step wizard, from language and voice to services, Q&A, and booking.

  3. 3

    Connect it to a number

    Attach the receptionist to a number in My Numbers, or add a Transfer to AI step in a call flow for after-hours and overflow.

  4. 4

    Work the leads

    Every answered call becomes a lead with source AI Assistant, complete with a summary, urgency, and the full transcript.

See it in action

Frequently Asked Questions

No. The AI Receptionist is its own subscription, and any WorkZen plan can add it. It does require an active ZenPhone plan, since the AI needs a phone number to answer.
Only the number of AI minutes per month. Every plan includes the same features, and all plans include unlimited receptionists and custom personalities.
Yes. Enable Allow appointment booking on the receptionist and choose Use Business Hours or Accept Anytime (24/7). When a caller schedules, WorkZen creates a pending booking request on the lead.
No. The wizard collects your services, pricing policy, personality traits, and a Q&A knowledge base, and WorkZen builds the AI's instructions from that. There is no prompt to write.
Open the receptionist and use Try voice chat to talk to it from your browser, no phone needed.

This article answers:

  • How do I set up the AI receptionist?
  • Can WorkZen answer my calls automatically?
  • How does the AI phone agent capture leads?
  • How much does the AI receptionist cost?
  • Can the AI receptionist book appointments?

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