Getting Started
A step-by-step guide to setting up your phone assistant for the first time.
YouTube playback quality may be low by default. Use the ⚙️ to switch to 1080p manually if needed. To toggle closed captions, click the 🇨🇨.
Overview
This guide walks you through your first day with the phone assistant — from signing in to receiving your first phone assistant-handled call. Complete these steps in order and you will be going live by the end.
Before you begin
You need:
-
Decide how to sign in (use existing Apple, Google, Microsoft sign-in, or create your own)
-
Your business information (name, address, hours, menu/catalog, or services information)
-
Configure call forwarding (mobile, VoIP, or landline)
-
A payment method (credit card or ACH bank account)
First-time setup
Restaurants typically need the phone assistant to answer menu questions, take phone orders, and push them to a POS system.
Your setup priorities:
-
Business Info — upload your full menu with prices
-
Hours — set your open/close times so the phone assistant knows when to answer calls, take orders or reservations
-
Optional POS Integration — connect Square or Clover so orders go directly to your kitchen
-
Notifications — configure how you want to be alerted for every call
-
Call Forwarding — route incoming calls to the phone assistant
Contractor and personal assistant setups typically need the phone assistant to answer questions about services, availability, and appointments.
Your setup priorities:
-
Business Info — describe your services, pricing, and policies
-
Hours — set your business hours and when the phone assistant should answer phones, book appointments
-
Appointments — turn the feature on/off. Optionally, you can integrate with Google Calendar, Outlook, or Calendly
-
Notifications — configure how you want to be alerted for every booking
-
Call Forwarding — route incoming calls to the phone assistant
General businesses need the phone assistant to answer common questions and route callers appropriately.
Your setup priorities:
-
Business Info — provide detailed information so that the phone assistant can answer every question about your business
-
Hours — configure your business hours and when the phone assistant is active
-
Notifications — configure your alerts
-
Call Forwarding — route incoming calls to the phone assistant
Step-by-step walkthrough
Account creation & sign-in
Sign up and create an account:Click any "Sign up" button on the i118.ai landing page. For a faster setup, you can use an existing Google, Apple, or Microsoft account so you don't have to memorize another username and password. Alternatively, you can create a dedicated login by entering your email address and choosing a password.
Signing In to an Existing Account: Go to i118.ai, click the "Sign in" button in the upper-right corner of the landing page, and log in with your account credentials.
⚠️ Important Notes:
Remember which account you use: If you have multiple Google, Apple, or Microsoft accounts, make sure to remember which one you choose to sign up. Logging in with a different account next time will create a new profile instead of accessing your existing i118.ai business data and configurations.
Microsoft Account Restriction: If you choose to sign in with Microsoft or Outlook, please note that Microsoft only supports Microsoft business or school accounts. Personal Microsoft/Outlook accounts are not permitted.
Complete onboarding
Enter your business name (this is used for both your business profile and your organization name) and select a template type. Not sure which template to choose? Start with the one closest to your business — you can customize the settings afterward and switch to a different template at any time.
Set up your payment method
Navigate to Billing and add a payment method. You can obtain a forwarding phone number after you provide a valid payment method. If you only want to try out the phone assistant using the test simulator, you may skip this step for now.
Write your business info and instructions
Go to Business Info. Enter your business name, address, and detailed instructions that the phone assistant should follow. Include your business information, services, menu, pricing, policies, and anything your own receptionist would need to know. You may use our AI tool to help draft information and instructions for you based on your website, or to answer some simple questions.
Set your hours
Go to Hours of Operation. Set your open and close times for each day, and the hours during which the phone assistant answers calls. The phone assistant uses these to determine when to take orders/appointments.
Configure notifications
Go to Notifications. Configure at least one notification method to receive call alerts, summaries, order/appointment details, and recordings.
Connect integrations (optional)
-
POS: Go to POS Integrations and connect to Square or Clover
-
Appointments: Go to Appointment Integrations and connect your calendar
Configure phone assistant's additional settings (optional)
Go to Additional Settings. Choose telephone intro audio, greetings, AI voice, personality, and configure language options.
Set up call forwarding
Go to Forwarding Phone. Follow the instructions for your phone type to forward incoming calls to your call forwarding number.
Run a test
Go to Test Simulator. Click Start Test Simulator to simulate conversations with the phone assistant. Make any necessary changes to your business info and instructions. When you are happy with the result, place a test call from a phone.
Once all steps are complete, your phone assistant is live and answering calls. Use the Setup Checklist to confirm nothing was missed.
Key pages reference
| Page | What you configure there |
|---|---|
| Business Info and Instructions | What the phone assistant knows (knowledge base) and says (instructions) |
| Hours and Availability | Business hours and the phone assistant hours |
| Notifications | Where call alerts and info are sent |
| Call Forwarding | How calls reach the phone assistant |
| Additional Settings | Call intro, greetings, AI voice, personality, and languages |
| POS Integrations | Order routing to Square or Clover |
| Appointment Integrations | Calendar booking integration |
| Testing | Simulate calls to verify setup |
| Orders | Review all past call records |
| Billing | Billing and payment management |