, 2 min read
Keep your number: how call forwarding to an AI front desk works
You don't have to change the number your customers know. Here's how forwarding only the calls you miss (or every call) to RingPost works, and how to check it's set up.
The number on your van, your cards and your Google listing is worth keeping. Customers know it, and changing it would mean updating everything that points to it. So the first question most owners ask about an AI front desk is: do I have to change my number?
No. You can forward it.
Two ways to forward
Most phone companies let you forward calls with a short code dialled from the phone itself. There are two common choices:
- Only the calls you miss. Your phone rings as normal. If you don't pick up (or you're already on a call), it forwards to RingPost, which answers. You still take every call you can.
- Every call. Every call goes straight to RingPost. Useful when you're closed, on holiday, or would rather the AI took the first conversation and passed you what needs you.
RingPost suggests "only the calls I miss" to start with, because nothing changes for the calls you already answer.
The codes differ by phone company
Forwarding codes aren't the same everywhere. Some carriers use codes beginning with *7, others use codes beginning with **21* or **004*, and business phone systems usually have a setting in their own web portal instead. That's why setting it up from a generic guide can be frustrating.
In the RingPost dashboard you choose your phone company and the kind of forwarding you want, and it shows you the exact code to dial, with your RingPost number already filled in. On a phone, you can tap to dial it. It also shows the code to turn forwarding off again. Some phone companies charge for forwarded calls, so it's worth checking your plan.
Check that it works
Forwarding that's set up wrong fails silently: calls just ring out like before. So after you dial the code, the dashboard runs a test. You ring your own business number from a different phone and let it forward, and RingPost watches for the call.
Many carriers tell RingPost which number a call was forwarded from, which proves the setup straight away. Where a carrier doesn't, the dashboard asks you to confirm that the call that just arrived was your test. Either way, you know it works before a customer finds out it doesn't.
Or get a new number
If you'd rather keep your own number completely separate, you can pick a new local number in the dashboard instead. RingPost searches for US and Canadian numbers near your area code, and the AI answers calls and texts on it from the moment it's set up.
Either way, the calls you can't reach stop ringing out. More on the AI receptionist.
Written by the RingPost team.