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Your First AI Assistant

Create your first AI voice assistant in 15 minutes. This guide walks you through setup, testing, and going live.

What You'll Build​

A simple appointment booking assistant that:

  • Answers your business phone number
  • Greets callers professionally
  • Books appointments in your calendar
  • Transfers complex requests to you

Before You Start​

You'll need:

  • Voka AI account (sign up here)
  • 15 minutes of time
  • A phone to test with

Optional but recommended:

  • Calendar system (Acuity, Square, Google Calendar, etc.)
  • List of your services and pricing
Quick Setup

When you first log in, an onboarding modal will guide you through the essential setup steps. You can follow the modal for a quick start, or use this guide for more detailed instructions.

Step 1: Create Your Assistant​

  1. Log in to voice.vokaai.com
  2. Click "AI Assistants" in the left sidebar
  3. Click "Create New Assistant"
  4. Choose a template:
    • Appointment Scheduler - For service businesses
    • Customer Support - For answering questions
    • Lead Qualifier - For sales calls
    • Blank - Start from scratch

Recommended: Start with Appointment Scheduler for your first assistant.

Step 2: Configure Basic Settings​

Name Your Assistant​

Give it a memorable name like "Main Receptionist" or "Booking Assistant"

Choose Your AI Model​

Recommended: Meta-Llama (included in all plans)

Premium option: GPT-4o (better at complex conversations, costs more per minute)

Write Instructions​

The template provides starter instructions. Customize them with:

Your business name:

You are a receptionist for [Your Business Name].

Your services:

We offer:
- Service 1: Duration, price
- Service 2: Duration, price
- Service 3: Duration, price

Your hours:

We're open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-3pm.

Keep it simple - You can refine later based on real calls.

Full instructions guide →

Step 3: Choose a Voice​

  1. Click the "Voice" tab
  2. Provider: Keep Telnyx (best quality and price)
  3. Click "Open Voice Playground"
  4. Try different voices:
    • astra - Friendly female
    • luna - Professional female
    • orion - Confident male
    • sirius - Warm male
  5. Paste your greeting to hear it spoken
  6. Select your favorite voice
  7. Save

Full voice customization guide →

Step 4: Get a Phone Number​

  1. Click "Phone Numbers" in the left sidebar
  2. Click "Search Numbers"
  3. Enter your area code or city
  4. Browse available numbers
  5. Click "Purchase" on your preferred number ($1-3/month)
  6. Confirm purchase

The number is now yours - assign it to your assistant in the next step.

Phone numbers guide →

Step 5: Assign Number to Assistant​

  1. Go back to "AI Assistants"
  2. Edit your assistant
  3. Click the "Calling" tab
  4. Under "Inbound Phone Numbers", select your new number
  5. Save

Your assistant is now live and will answer calls to that number!

Step 6: Test It​

Make a test call:

  1. Call your new number from your phone
  2. Listen to the greeting
  3. Ask to book an appointment
  4. Try asking a question about your business
  5. Test the transfer feature (say "I need to speak to a person")

Review the call:

  1. Go to Analytics → Calls
  2. Find your test call
  3. Read the transcript
  4. Listen to the recording
  5. Check for issues

Testing guide →

Step 7: Connect a Calendar (Optional)​

If you use Acuity, Square, Google Calendar, or Jobber:

  1. Go to "Integrations" in sidebar
  2. Find your calendar system
  3. Click "Connect"
  4. Log in and authorize
  5. Go back to your assistant
  6. Agent tab → Enable the integration toggle
  7. Save

Your assistant can now check availability and book real appointments!

Integrations guide →

Step 8: Refine Based on Real Calls​

After 5-10 calls, review what worked and what didn't:

Common refinements:

  • Add more detail to instructions
  • Update services/pricing
  • Adjust greeting length
  • Change voice or speed
  • Add common FAQs

How to improve:

  1. Read call transcripts in Analytics
  2. Identify patterns or confusion
  3. Update instructions
  4. Test again
  5. Repeat

Best practices guide →

Going Live​

When you're ready for real customers:

Soft launch (recommended):

  1. Test with 3-5 team members first
  2. Then try with 10-20 friendly customers
  3. Monitor closely for the first week
  4. Make adjustments as needed
  5. Gradually expand to all customers

Full launch:

  • Update your website with the new number
  • Update Google Business Profile
  • Add to email signatures
  • Update printed materials

Going live guide →

Quick Troubleshooting​

"My assistant didn't answer"

  • Check that the number is assigned in Calling tab
  • Verify the number is purchased and active
  • Wait 2-3 minutes after saving changes

"The voice sounds robotic"

  • Try ElevenLabs provider instead
  • Or choose a different voice
  • Adjust speed to 0.9x

"It's not booking appointments"

  • Verify integration is connected (green checkmark)
  • Check that service names match exactly
  • Review integration logs in the integration settings

Full troubleshooting guide →

What's Next?​

🎨

Customize Your Assistant

Refine instructions, add knowledge base, configure tools

🔌

Connect More Integrations

Link your CRM, scheduling, or business tools

📊

View Analytics

Track performance, listen to calls, improve over time

🎯

Best Practices

Learn proven strategies to optimize your assistant

Need Help?​