Speako's AI agents are virtual receptionists that answer phone calls for your business 24/7. This article explains how they work and how to set one up.

What Is an AI Agent?

An AI agent is a voice-powered assistant that picks up calls on your behalf. It can:

  • Greet callers and answer questions about your business
  • Book appointments and table reservations
  • Provide information like opening hours, pricing, and services
  • Handle multiple calls at the same time — no hold music needed Each location in your Speako account has its own AI agent with its own personality, voice, and knowledge base.

How Your Agent Is Created

Your AI agent is automatically created when you complete the onboarding process:

  1. Enter your business name — This helps the AI understand your brand
  2. Select your business type — Restaurant, salon, clinic, etc. This determines which booking tools are available
  3. Set up your location — Name, country, and timezone
  4. Choose a phone number — Pick an AI phone number for your location After completing these steps, your agent is live and ready to take calls. You can then customise it further from the dashboard.

Configuring Your Agent

Once onboarding is complete, use the Setup Guide on your dashboard to walk through the key configuration steps:

Personality

Go to Agent → Personality to define how your agent behaves:

  • Agent Name — The name your AI introduces itself with (e.g. "Hi, I'm Sofia")
  • Personality Traits — Choose up to 3: Friendly, Professional, Helpful, Casual, Formal, Enthusiastic, Calm, or Empathetic
  • Tone of Voice — Warm, Professional, Conversational, or Direct
  • Response Style — Concise, Balanced, or Detailed
  • Custom Instructions — Add specific guidelines (e.g. "Always mention our daily specials")

Voice

Go to Agent → Voice & Languages to select how your agent sounds:

  • Browse voices by gender (Male / Female)
  • Preview voice samples before selecting
  • Set a primary language and enable additional languages
  • Add custom pronunciation rules for business-specific words

Greetings

Go to Agent → Greetings to control what your agent says when answering:

  • Initial Greeting — The first thing callers hear
  • Return Customer Greeting — Personalised greeting for known callers
  • After Hours Message — Auto-appended when your business is closed
  • Recording Disclosure — Legal compliance message You can use AI Variations to generate greeting alternatives in different tones.

Knowledge Base

Go to Agent → Knowledge to teach your agent about your business:

  • Text Editor — Type or paste FAQs and business information directly
  • File Upload — Upload PDFs, Word documents, or text files
  • URL Import — Scrape content from your website The more knowledge you provide, the better your agent handles customer questions.

Tools

Go to Agent → Tools to enable capabilities:

  • Booking management (appointments, table reservations)
  • Customer messaging
  • Shopping cart and ordering
  • Location-based information Toggle tools on or off depending on what you need.

Publishing Changes

When you update your agent's settings, changes are saved as drafts. Click Save & Publish to push them live. This ensures your agent is updated consistently across all settings at once.

Common Questions

Can I have different agents for different locations?

Yes. Each location has its own independent agent with separate personality, voice, greetings, and knowledge.

Does the agent learn from calls?

The agent uses the knowledge base you provide. It doesn't automatically learn from conversations, but you can update the knowledge base at any time based on common questions you notice.

Can I test my agent before going live?

Yes. Use the Test Call feature from your dashboard to call your AI agent and hear how it sounds.

  • Setting Up Call Forwarding
  • Selecting Your Agent's Voice
  • Choosing Personality Traits
  • Understanding the Setup Guide Checklist