Setting up your AI Receptionist
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Valid for AI Receptionist (Momentum AI).
The AI Receptionist is an intelligent voice assistant designed to answer calls, take detailed messages, provide business information, and handle live escalations for your company.
This guide walks you through the unified 4-step onboarding wizard required to configure, test, and deploy your new AI assistant.
Requirements
An active IONOS AI Receptionist package.
Basic business information (business name, industry, and contact details).
(Optional) A company website URL to automatically train the AI.
Starting the setup wizard
- Log in to your IONOS account.
- Click on Menu > AI Frontdesk in the title bar.
- Click Manage within the tile of your AI Receptionist package.
If this is your first time accessing the service, the 4-step onboarding wizard will launch automatically.
Notes
Your AI Receptionist's dedicated phone number is automatically assigned and will be displayed prominently at the top of your setup screen throughout this process.
The AI Receptionist’s name can only be updated after completing the initial setup. The name, gender, and other specifics of the assistant can be updated in the Configuration Checklist or the Vibe mode feature.
The 4-step guided setup flow
The setup interface uses a sequential accordion format. Each step must pass validation and be fully completed before the next section unlocks.
Step 1: Information ingestion (web scraping)
Your AI learns about your business hours, services, pricing, and FAQs directly from your existing online footprint.
- Automated scraping: Enter your primary business website URL and click Train. The system will take approximately 2 to 3 minutes to crawl and map your site.
- Bypass option: If you do not have a website or prefer to build your knowledge base from scratch later, click the "I don't have a website" or “I don’t want to provide a website” bypass link to move forward immediately.
If you choose one of the options to not provide a website, you will be prompted to manually enter your business name and choose your industry.
Note
The web-scraping engine cannot read text trapped inside flat images, PDFs (like uploaded paper menus), or highly dynamic third-party scripts. Any missing nuances can be added manually after onboarding is complete.
Step 2: Greeting script customization
The AI dynamically pre-populates an initial greeting script based on the identity and data captured in Steps 1 and 2.
- Review the generated text script.
- Adjust the greeting tone, phrasing, or core instructions to ensure it greets callers exactly how you prefer.
Step 3: Call routing & escalation
Define where customer inquiries and live phone transfers should go when the AI Receptionist requires human assistance.
- Manager email: Provide a secure email address. The AI will send structured lead summaries, message transcripts, and call alerts here.
- Escalation phone number: Enter the direct phone number (mobile or landline) where the AI should instantly transfer live callers requesting urgent assistance or human intervention.
Step 4: Mandatory voice activation test
Before your AI Receptionist can go live, you must complete a voice verification test. This is a mandatory step; deployment remains locked until a test call is successfully placed.
- Call the AI Receptionist phone number displayed on your screen.
- Interact with your AI agent by testing realistic customer scenarios, such as:
- Asking about your business hours or location.
- Attempting an appointment or product inquiry.
- Testing an SMS summary request.
- Triggering a live transfer request to verify your escalation line.
- Once the system registers a successful test interaction, the setup gate will unlock.
Next steps & post-onboarding
Once Step 4 is successfully validated, you will be presented with two final integration pathways:
- Keep customizing: Selecting this option to return to the overview page for your AI Receptionist.
Go live: Choosing this option takes you to your new Configuration Checklist — the default screen you will see after onboarding. The checklist groups your setup information, such as business details, hours, and FAQs, into simple sections so you can finish configuring your AI Receptionist at your own pace.
You can switch to the full AI Agent Portal Dashboard at any time by selecting Portal in the top-right corner of the Configuration Checklist. From the Dashboard, you can review historic call logs, update custom FAQs, tweak conversational scripts, read call transcripts, and access advanced features like web chat widgets or outbound notification campaigns.
For more information, see Using the Configuration Checklist.
Test your configuration
Navigate to Vibe Mode to utilize the "Test your digital employee" feature. This allows you to make unlimited, risk-free test calls directly from your browser to perfect your AI's persona without consuming your monthly minute allowance.
You can find more information on using the call testing feature in the Vibe Mode here:
Using Vibe Mode to configure your AI Receptionist
Adjust advanced settings
Advanced settings can also be manually adjusted in the Configuration Checklist. Here is where you can adjust your receptionist’s name and voice, among other things. For more information, see the article Using the Configuration Checklist.