# Choose Your Receptionist's Number (/docs/guides/getting-set-up/choose-your-receptionist-number)



With careCycle, all of your communications with existing members, AI or human,
calls or SMS, can be handled by one unified point of contact.

This means:

* **Simplicity for your clients.** Your team's calls and your texts all come
  from one place, a number they can call 24/7 to reach your team.
* **Streamlined operations.** No need to manage individual phone numbers or DIDs
  for every agent.
* **Increased brand recognition and trust.** Members see the same number
  every time you reach out, so they know it's you and pick up.

Best Practices [#best-practices]

Because this number facilitates outbound communications, including calls and
SMS, we recommend selecting an area code local to your center of operations or
to the majority of your clients.

Your campaigns can use this number too, or their own numbers. See [Which
Number Your Calls Come From](/docs/guides/phone-numbers/which-number-your-calls-come-from).

<Video src="https://ogcx5pq4kwqrdvky.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/Choose%20Your%20Main%20Number.mp4" title="Receptionist's number selection" />

Transitioning Traffic [#transitioning-traffic]

Once your Receptionist is configured, you can begin forwarding calls from your
legacy phone system to your Receptionist's number immediately.

For future enrollments, we recommend providing the Receptionist's number to
clients as your agency's core customer service line. They can use that number
to reach your team 24/7, including their writing agent.

Outbound campaigns for your existing members, like welcome calls and
effective date check-ins, can call from your Receptionist's number.

FAQs [#faqs]

<FAQ>
  <FAQItem id="large-scale-outbound-dialing-campaigns" question="What if I am running large-scale outbound dialing campaigns?">
    Your Receptionist's number is designed to facilitate communications with
    existing members only. It acts as the point of contact for your member
    campaigns and your Receptionist.

    For pre-sales use cases such as lead-to-call automation, retargeting
    operations, or high-volume prospecting, give those campaigns their own numbers instead. They can rotate across
    numbers, buy more automatically as volume grows, and pick numbers from the
    states you're calling, which keeps your main number's reputation clean.
    See [Which Number Your Calls Come
    From](/docs/guides/phone-numbers/which-number-your-calls-come-from).

    Your careCycle representative can help you set those up.
  </FAQItem>

  <FAQItem id="keep-my-own-number" question="Can I keep my own number?">
    Yes. This is only necessary if your existing number holds important brand
    equity and you want outbound member communications to come from
    your existing number.

    Otherwise, forwarding inbound calls from your existing number to your
    Receptionist's number is sufficient.

    If you would like support porting your existing number into careCycle, email
    [support@carecycle.ai](mailto:support@carecycle.ai). We make the process as
    frictionless as possible.
  </FAQItem>

  <FAQItem id="inbound-member-experience" question="What do members experience when they call inbound?">
    By default, they are greeted with warmth and by first name by Cora, your
    inbound receptionist. Cora knows who they are, who their writing agent is,
    and key details about their plan based on Summary of Benefits and Evidence
    of Coverage information.

    If the client is currently in an outbound campaign, such as a welcome call,
    Cora knows this and will greet them accordingly. It is common for clients to
    miss the first welcome call attempt and call back inbound. Cora picks up
    where she left off and makes sure your members get the intended message.
  </FAQItem>

  <FAQItem id="speak-to-me-instead-of-receptionist" question="What if my clients want to speak to me instead of my receptionist?">
    Everything we build is focused on giving your members a world-class member
    experience while giving you your time back. In many cases, that means
    leaning on Cora to handle calls for you.

    We recognize you or your clients may not be prepared for that on day one.
    That is exactly why we built escalations. With escalations,
    you stay in control of what your AI employee should do in each scenario.
  </FAQItem>
</FAQ>

<Card title="Configure Your Receptionist" href="/docs/guides/getting-set-up/configure-your-receptionist">
  Set up escalations, routing groups, and appointment handling.
</Card>