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Setup checklist

Everything to gather before setting up an OrangeChat AI receptionist, in the order the setup page asks for it.

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Setup takes about 10 minutes when this information is ready. The owner signs up at https://orangechat.ai (Google or email sign-in) and fills in the Set Up Your Business page. Everything below can be changed later from the dashboard.

1. Your business

  • Business name, as callers should hear it.
  • Business address. Used for the time zone, the local area code of a new number, and answering "where are you?".
  • Category: trades, healthcare, real estate, retail, professional services, law firm, or other.
  • Services description: one or two sentences on what the business does, for example "Emergency plumbing, drain cleaning, and water heater installation."

2. AI voice and greeting

  • Greeting: the first sentence callers hear, for example "Thanks for calling Pro Plumbing, how can I help?"
  • Voice and assistant name (optional).
  • Languages: English, or English and Mandarin Chinese (Growth and Pro plans).

3. Business hours

  • Opening hours for each day of the week, and the time zone.
  • What happens during open hours: the AI answers every call, the business phone rings first and the AI answers only the calls nobody picks up, or calls go straight to the business phone. Outside open hours the AI answers.

4. Call handling and transfers

  • Transfer phone number: who should get urgent calls.
  • When to transfer: only during business hours, anytime (24/7 for emergencies), or never (the AI takes a message).

5. Notifications

  • Email address and/or mobile number that should receive call summaries and new leads.

6. Booking (optional)

Pick one booking method:

  • a booking link (Calendly or any scheduling page) that the AI texts to callers, or
  • Google Calendar: the AI checks availability and books directly (Growth and Pro plans).

7. Knowledge base (recommended)

Prices, service area, policies, FAQs, and anything else callers ask about. Paste text or upload documents. The AI answers only from this information and the details above; it does not make up prices or policies.

8. Custom questions (optional)

Extra questions the AI should ask every caller, for example "Is this for a home or a business?"

9. Phone number

Either take a new local number from OrangeChat, or keep the existing business number and forward calls to OrangeChat. See Phone number and call forwarding.

10. Plan and payment

Choose a plan (Plans and pricing). New accounts start with a 14-day free trial.