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Dialpad

Answer calls to your Dialpad main line with your receptionist.

Dialpad has no direct connection to Reception.ai, so you connect it with call forwarding. Your receptionist answers on its own Reception.ai number, and your Dialpad main line (or a department) routes calls to it. Callers keep dialing your Dialpad number.

First, go to Receptionists, select the Phone tile, and get a number. See Phone numbers.

Don’t add the receptionist as a personal forwarding number under Your Devices. Dialpad asks whoever answers a forwarded call to press 1, both to verify the number and on calls answered within a few seconds, and this prompt can’t be fully turned off. Your receptionist can’t press keys, so those calls fail. Route calls from the main line instead, as below.

Allow routing to outside numbers

A Dialpad company admin must allow calls to be routed to numbers outside Dialpad. Go to My Company → Company Settings and turn on IVR forwarding to external numbers. To send a main line’s fallback straight to an outside number, without a menu, contact Dialpad Support to enable external fallback for your account.

Route main line calls to the receptionist

1

Open call routing

Open your main line (or the department or contact center that owns the number). Under Business hours and call routing, select Call Routing → Edit Call Routing.

2

Choose when the receptionist answers

Under Fallback Options, send calls that nobody answers to your receptionist’s number. Set this for business hours so your team rings first, and for after hours so the receptionist answers every call outside your hours.

3

Or add a menu option

If external fallback isn’t enabled, choose the automated response menu as the fallback and add an option that forwards to your receptionist’s number. Press Enter after typing the number.

To ring your team before the receptionist without a Dialpad menu, route every call to the receptionist and turn on Who answers first in Reception.ai. It rings a staff phone first and hands the call to the receptionist if nobody answers. The staff phone must be a different number from the one callers dial. See Who answers first.

What to know

  • Caller ID: Dialpad places a new outbound call to the receptionist and bridges it with the caller. Check which number the receptionist sees in your test call. If it’s your Dialpad number instead of the caller’s, every call looks like it comes from the same number, and your receptionist can’t recognize returning callers by their number.
  • Costs: Forwarded calls are outbound calls from Dialpad. Dialpad charges usage for calls forwarded to international numbers; check your plan for other per-minute charges.

Test it

Call your Dialpad number from another phone at a time when the routing you set applies. Check that your receptionist answers, then open Inbox and confirm which caller number the conversation shows. See Testing.

Troubleshooting

ProblemWhat to check
The receptionist answers but hears “press 1” and the call dropsThe call came through a personal forwarding number. Remove the receptionist from Your Devices and route from the main line instead.
You can’t pick an outside number in call routingTurn on IVR forwarding to external numbers in Company Settings, or ask Dialpad Support to enable external fallback.
Calls never reach the receptionistCall the receptionist’s number directly. If that works, check the main line’s routing for the hours you’re testing.
Callers are asked to press a key before the receptionist answersSpam protection asks callers whose number isn’t verified to press a key. Forwarded calls can arrive unverified. Turn it off if this affects real callers.