How to train your receptionist

Your receptionist only knows what you've told it. It never guesses a price or a policy; anything it hasn't been given becomes a message for you. So the quality of its answers comes down to five settings, all under Settings in your portal, in the group Your receptionist. Here they are, in the order they matter. Each one saves itself as you change it.

1. Business details

Settings, then Business details. The foundation. Your About line, your Services, and where you work. Your receptionist reads this on every call to decide what you do, what you don't, and whether a job is in your patch.

Get this right first: a receptionist that knows you're a Gas Safe plumber in Leeds already answers half the questions callers ask. See Your business details and opening hours.

2. Common questions

Settings, then Knowledge, under Common questions. Word-for-word answers to the things callers ask every week: prices, free quotes, call-out times, payment, areas. Your receptionist gives these exactly as you wrote them.

This is the lever with the biggest effect on what callers hear. Ten good questions beat fifty vague ones. See Adding your common questions.

3. Extra questions

Settings, then Leads, under Ask on the call. Up to three extra questions your receptionist asks every caller, like their vehicle registration or their boiler model. This doesn't change the answers callers get; it changes what you get, so you can quote or turn up without a second call. See Extra questions your receptionist asks.

4. Opening hours and call-back window

Settings, then Business details, under Opening hours and Call back within. Tells your receptionist when you're open and the most it may promise about when you'll call back. It stops callers being told "within the hour" at 9pm on a Sunday.

5. Name, voice and pronunciation

Settings, then Personality. Not about what your receptionist knows, but about how it sounds saying it. If callers hear it stumble over a place name or a trade term, add it under Pronunciation. See Name and voice. At the foot of the same page, Rules are short instructions it follows on every call, such as "never give prices on the phone". See Rules.

Done for you: your website

When you sign up, Sayora reads your website and gives your receptionist the long-tail detail from it (the pages behind your homepage, not just the headline). You can see the pages it read under Settings, then Knowledge, in Your website. You don't manage this yourself. If your website changes a lot, message us and we'll read it again.

The feedback loop

Every call has a recording and transcript in your portal. When you hear your receptionist take a message it should have answered, that's a common question waiting to be added. Two minutes after the call is the best time to add it.

Updated on: 29/10/2026