Get a number for the receptionist

The receptionist answers a phone number. You can get a new number for it, keep the number you already advertise and divert it to the receptionist, or do both.

Get a number

Go to AI Receptionist, then Numbers. Under Get your number you can search for an Australian number yourself and pick one from the live list. If you would rather we chose, use Rather we picked one for you? further down the page and tell us what you are after.

Either way we connect the number to your receptionist and email you when it starts answering, usually the same business day. While you are on a trial, our team checks each request before the number goes live, usually within one business day. The Numbers page lists every request you have made and where it is up to.

Keep the number you already advertise

Your number is on your van, your website and your Google listing, and you do not have to change any of it. You keep the number with your phone company and tell it to divert calls to your receptionist number. Your line and your account stay as they are, callers notice nothing, and you can switch it off again.

You choose which calls go across:

• Every call. The receptionist answers from the first ring. Useful when you are on the tools, on site or closed.
• No answer. You keep answering when you can, and calls nobody picks up go to the receptionist instead of to voicemail.
• Engaged. Calls that come in while the line is busy go to the receptionist.
• Phone off or out of range. Mobiles only. Calls go across when the mobile is switched off or has no coverage.

No answer, engaged and phone off can all be on together. While every call is being diverted, the other three have nothing to do.

On the Numbers page, the section Keep the number your customers already ring builds the codes with your own receptionist number, with a copy button beside each one. The rest of this article explains which codes suit which kind of phone, and what to do when a code will not take.

First, ring the receptionist number itself

Before you divert anything, ring your receptionist number and hear it answer. If you divert while the number is still being connected, your callers reach a dead line.

Work out what kind of line you have

The codes depend on the line, not on the handset:

• You press 0 or 9 to get an outside line. Your phones run through a business phone system, and the usual codes will not work from them. See If you press 0 for an outside line below.
• Your phone company runs a phone system for you with an online portal, such as Optus Loop, Telstra Business Voice or an Aussie Broadband business phone system. See Phone systems with an online portal below.
• Your home or office phone plugs into the nbn box and the service is from TPG, iiNet or Aussie Broadband. This is an internet phone service, and most are set up in your online account rather than with codes. See Internet phone services below.
• A Telstra landline, including a Telstra home phone on the nbn and BusinessLine. Use the Telstra landline codes.
• A mobile. Use the mobile codes.

Telstra landline

Dial these from a phone on the line you want to divert, then hang up. Write your receptionist number with its area code and no spaces.

• Every call: *21, then the number, then #. If your receptionist number were 03 5550 1234, you would dial *210355501234#.
• No answer: *61, then the number, then #.
• Engaged: *24, then the number, then #.
• To turn them off: #21#, #61# and #24#, one for each divert you switched on.

On a Telstra landline, no answer means about 20 seconds, roughly seven rings. It can be set anywhere from 5 to 55 seconds, so ask Telstra if you want it shorter or longer.

If you get stuck, dial 1# from the phone for the Telstra Feature Assistant. It is a free voice guide that explains how to turn call forwarding on and off, including on the nbn. Telstra's own steps are on Telstra's guide to forwarding calls from a home phone.

Mobiles

Dial these from the mobile you want to divert, then press call. Write your receptionist number with its area code and no spaces.

• Every call: **21*, then the number, then #.
• No answer: **61*, then the number, then #.
• Engaged: **67*, then the number, then #.
• Phone off or out of range: **62*, then the number, then #.
• To turn them off: ##21#, ##61#, ##67# and ##62#, one for each divert you switched on.
• To turn every divert off at once: ##002# (Telstra and Vodafone).
• To check whether one is on: *#21#, *#61#, *#67# or *#62#.

Voicemail on a mobile works through the same no answer, engaged and phone off diverts. Sending those to the receptionist replaces your voicemail on missed calls, so when you turn them off, or dial ##002#, missed calls have no voicemail until you put it back. Dial **004*101# on Telstra or **004*321# on Optus, or ask your provider.

What differs by carrier:

• Telstra. Telstra's own page adds *11 before the last hash, for example **21*0355501234*11#. If the shorter code is refused, use that one. On Telstra, ##002# also turns off your usual divert to MessageBank, so put your voicemail back afterwards with **004*101#. See Telstra's guide to forwarding calls on a mobile.
• Vodafone. The codes above are the ones Vodafone publishes, and it lists #21# as the way to turn one off. A Vodafone prepaid mobile can only divert to voicemail, not to another number, so it cannot divert to the receptionist. See Vodafone's call forwarding guide.
• Optus. Optus mobiles use the same codes. If one will not take, ask Optus to switch call divert on for you.

If you press 0 for an outside line

If you press 0 (or 9) before you dial out, your phones run through a business phone system. A code dialled from one of those phones goes to the phone system, not to your phone company, and the phone system usually refuses it. You might hear a message saying it is not allowed, or nothing happens at all. There are three ways round it, quickest first:

1. Ask your phone company to switch it on. Ring them and ask for call forward immediate on your business number, to your receptionist number. If you only want the calls nobody answers, ask for call forward no answer instead. For Telstra, ring Telstra Business on 13 2000 or use Telstra's small business contact page. If your plan does not include call forwarding, they can add it.
2. Set it in the phone system. Most business phone systems can forward the incoming line to an outside number. Whoever installed or looks after your phones can do it in a few minutes, or you can do it yourself if the system has an online portal.
3. Dial the code on the phone company's line directly. If you can plug an ordinary phone into the phone company's wall socket, or the phone port on your nbn box, ahead of the phone system, dial your phone company's code from that phone and hang up. Then plug the phone system back in. Do it at a quiet time, because your phones are off the line while you do.

Phone systems with an online portal

Some phone systems are run by the phone company over the internet. They have their own codes, which you dial from your desk phone, and an online portal where you can set the same thing.

• Optus Loop. Every call: dial *72 and follow the voice prompt to enter the number. No answer is *92 and engaged is *90, with the same prompt. Not reachable, for when your phones are offline, is *94. To turn them off: *73, *93, *91 and *95. You can also set forwarding in the Optus Loop portal, and changes show up in both places. On Loop, *21 sends calls to voicemail, not to a number. See Optus Loop feature codes (PDF).
• Telstra Business Voice. Set call forwarding in Telstra's online call manager for your service, or ask Telstra Business on 13 2000 to set it for you. On Telstra's older Digital Office Technology system the codes are *72 for every call, *92 for no answer and *90 for engaged, and *73, *93 and *91 turn them off. See Telstra Digital Office Technology feature codes (PDF).
• Aussie Broadband business phone system. Dial *72 then the number, for example *720355501234. *73 turns it off, and *40 turns it back on to the same number. Or, in the Manager Portal, go to Users, then Answering Rules, then Call Forwarding Always. Aussie Broadband also asks you to set the Ring For time to at least 35 seconds. See Aussie Broadband's call forwarding steps.

Internet phone services

• TPG. Log in to your TPG account and open the TPG Voice control panel. Under call forwarding, choose All incoming calls or If no reply and enter your receptionist number. If no reply does not work while All incoming calls is on. To stop, clear the number. See TPG's services and features page.
• iiNet. Log in to Toolbox, choose your phone service, then Settings. Turn Always on, enter your receptionist number and select Update. The same screen has When calls to your number aren't answered and When your number is busy. Turn it off the same way. See iiNet's phone features guide.
• Aussie Broadband home phone. Dial *90 to set the number calls go to, then *81 to turn forwarding on. For no answer, *94 sets the number and *85 turns it on. For engaged, *92 sets the number and *83 turns it on. To turn them off: *91, *95 and *93. See Aussie Broadband's phone star codes.

Optus home phone and other providers

For an Optus home phone or Optus nbn home phone, ask Optus to switch on call divert to your receptionist number. For Superloop or any other provider, look for call forwarding or diversions in your online account or app, or ask the provider to turn it on for you. Tell them your receptionist number and which calls you want sent across.

What it costs

Switching a divert on is usually free. Each diverted call is usually charged to your business as if you had rung the receptionist number yourself, at your plan's normal call rate. If your plan includes unlimited calls to Australian numbers, that is often covered, so check your plan. Telstra, Optus business, TPG and iiNet all say so. Vodafone says there is no extra cost to forward calls in Australia. Your callers pay what they always pay to ring your number.

Test it

1. Ring the receptionist number itself and hear it answer.
2. Ring your business number from a different phone, such as your mobile. Do not ring it from the line you diverted, because you will just hear the engaged signal.
3. For every call, the receptionist should pick up straight away. For no answer, let it ring out. On a Telstra landline that takes about 20 seconds. For engaged, ring while someone is on a call on that line.
4. Check the call shows up under AI Receptionist, then Conversations.

On a mobile you can check what is diverted with *#21#, *#61#, *#67# or *#62#. If you set it up in an online portal, the portal shows whether forwarding is on.

Turn it off

Turn off each divert you switched on. On a Telstra landline that is #21#, #61# and #24#. On a mobile it is ##21#, ##61#, ##67# and ##62#, or ##002# to turn every divert off at once, and then put your voicemail back with **004*101# on Telstra or **004*321# on Optus. On a phone system, use its off codes. In an online account, turn the setting off. If your phone company or installer turned it on, ask them to turn it off.

Once it is live

The active number sits at the top of the Numbers page, large enough to read across a counter, with a button to dial it. Ring it yourself before you point a single customer at it.

You can also try the receptionist without a number at all from the test console under AI Receptionist, then Test it. Do that first. See what the receptionist can and cannot do.