How long does the setup actually take?

With the checklist done, minutes — Freya builds herself from your website and is ready for a test call almost immediately. The thinking (transfer rules, booking rules) is the real work, and this page is that thinking.

Does this checklist only apply to Cirel?

No — it's what putting ANY AI receptionist on a phone line requires. We wrote it from our own onboarding because that's the one we can vouch for. Use it to interrogate whichever vendor you evaluate, including us.

What if my website is thin or outdated?

Fix that first — it pays twice: your AI receptionist answers better, and your human callers find what they need. Until then, she can still take messages and book; she'll just have less to answer with.

Ready for an AI receptionist? Check the list.

Ten concrete items — what she needs from your website, the decisions only you can make, the practical setup, and how to judge the trial honestly. True for any vendor; written from our own onboarding.

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Vendor-honest
From the real onboarding
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01 — What she learns from

Your website does the onboarding

Your website URL, with current content
An AI receptionist builds her knowledge from your site. If services, prices, or opening hours are outdated there, she'll be confidently wrong — fix the site first.
The questions callers actually ask
Listen to a day of calls. If the top three questions aren't answered on your website, add them — that's the difference between answering and taking messages.

02 — Decisions only you can make

Rules before robots

Transfer rules: who, when, what counts as urgent
The single most important configuration. Which calls must reach a human immediately, which get booked, which become messages — decide it before go-live, not during.
How she introduces herself
As AI or as a member of your team — your call, made explicitly. Whatever you choose, she should answer honestly if a caller asks.
Booking rules
Which calendar she books into, how long each appointment type is, and what information she must collect before booking (name, phone, reason).

03 — Practical setup

The mechanical part

A calendar she can book into
Bookings during the call are the point. Have the calendar you actually run the business on ready to connect.
Forward-on-no-answer from your phone provider
You keep your number; a short code activates forwarding when you don't pick up. Ask your provider for the code — it takes 30 seconds to enable.
A test call before real callers
Call your own number, ask the awkward questions, try to break her. Adjust the rules, then go live.

04 — Judging the trial

Decide what success means — in advance

A saved-calls target
Pick the number before you start: how many calls must she save per month to be worth it? Write it down — it keeps the evaluation honest in both directions.
Read the weekly report
You should see what was saved and what it was worth, in currency — not vibes. If your vendor can't show you that, ask why.

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Meet Freya

The front desk that never goes home.

Picks up inside the second ring at 2am, on a holiday, in the language the caller used to say hello. Takes the brief, confirms the slot, sends the calendar invite — all before they hang up.