Call Forwarding & Transfer: Keep Your Practice Number and Never Miss a Client

How Call Forwarding Works

When you subscribe to a paid AI Receptionist plan, you receive a dedicated Australian local phone number. This number is where your AI receptionist lives. But you don't need to advertise this number anywhere — your clients keep calling the practice number they already know.

The setup is straightforward:

1. You activate call forwarding on your existing mobile or landline to forward unanswered calls to your AI receptionist number.
2. When a call comes in, your phone rings as normal. If you answer, the call proceeds as usual — the AI is never involved.
3. If you don't answer (because you're in session, on another call, or it's after hours), the call automatically forwards to the AI receptionist.
4. The AI answers professionally, handles the enquiry, and you receive a full summary afterwards.

From the caller's perspective, they dialled your practice number and someone answered. They have no idea the call was forwarded to an AI — it just sounds like a knowledgeable receptionist.

Setting Up Call Forwarding on Your Mobile

If your practice number is a mobile, you can set up call forwarding in seconds using standard divert codes. These work on all major Australian carriers.

Divert on No Answer (Recommended)

This is the most common setup. Your phone rings for 20 seconds, giving you a chance to answer. If you don't pick up, the call forwards to your AI receptionist.

To activate, dial this from your mobile and press call:

`**61*[your AI receptionist number]*20#`

Replace `[your AI receptionist number]` with the number shown in your Receptionist Setup page (formatted as a local number, e.g. 02XXXXXXXX). The `*20` means a 20-second ring time before forwarding — you can change this to 10, 15, 25, or 30 if you prefer.

To cancel: dial `##61#` and press call.

Divert All Calls

When you're on leave, in back-to-back sessions all day, or simply want every call handled by the AI, you can forward all calls immediately:

`**21*[your AI receptionist number]#`

This sends every incoming call straight to the AI without ringing your phone. Useful for days when you know you won't be available at all.

To cancel: dial `##21#` and press call.

Divert When Busy

If you're already on a call and another call comes in, this forwards the second call to the AI:

`**67*[your AI receptionist number]#`

To cancel: dial `##67#` and press call.

Combining Diverts

You can activate multiple diverts simultaneously. A common setup is:

• Divert on no answer — catches calls when you're in session
• Divert when busy — catches calls when you're already on the phone

This combination means you only miss a call if you actively decline it.

Landline Forwarding

If your practice number is a landline, the process varies by provider. Most providers support call diversion, but you'll typically need to contact them to set it up rather than using dial codes. Ask your provider to set up "divert on no answer" to your AI receptionist number.

Some common providers and their typical process:

• Telstra: Call 13 22 00 or manage via My Telstra
• Optus: Call 133 937 or manage via My Optus
• TPG/iiNet: Contact support to configure

The setup is a one-time process. Once configured, calls forward automatically whenever you don't answer.

Call Transfer: When the AI Hands Back to You

Call forwarding gets calls to the AI. Call transfer works in the opposite direction — it gets callers from the AI back to you.

Here's how it works: during a call, if a caller explicitly asks to speak to a person ("Can I speak to the practitioner directly?", "Is there a human I can talk to?"), the AI can transfer the call to you.

The AI handles this naturally:

> "Let me transfer you to Dr Smith now. One moment please."

The call is then connected to the transfer number you've configured in your settings — typically your mobile or direct line.

Business Hours Awareness

By default, call transfer follows your business hours:

• During business hours: Transfers are available. If a caller asks to speak to you, the AI transfers them.
• Outside business hours: The AI explains that you're not available and takes a detailed message instead — name, phone number, reason for calling, and preferred callback time.

This prevents callers from being transferred at 9pm on a Saturday when you're not going to answer anyway. Instead, they get a professional response and you get a message to follow up on Monday morning.

Custom Transfer Hours

If your availability for transfers doesn't match your general business hours, you can set custom transfer hours. For example:

• Your practice is open 8am to 6pm
• But you're only available to take transferred calls between 12pm and 1pm (your lunch break) and after 4pm

In the Call Transfer settings, toggle "Use custom transfer hours" and set the specific window. Outside that window, the AI takes messages. Inside it, transfers are available.

Voicemail Fallback

If the AI transfers a call to you and you don't answer within 30 seconds, the caller is offered voicemail. This ensures that even a transferred call doesn't result in a dead end — the caller can leave a message, and you receive a transcription.

A Typical Day With Call Forwarding + Transfer

Here's what a solo psychologist's day might look like:

8:30am — You arrive at the practice and your "divert on no answer" is already active from yesterday. No action needed.

9:00am–12:00pm — You're in sessions. Calls ring your phone silently, go unanswered after 20 seconds, and forward to the AI. The AI answers two new client enquiries, books one appointment request, and takes a message from a GP surgery about a referral.

12:15pm — Between sessions, you check your phone. Three notifications from Grounded Scribe with call summaries. You confirm the appointment request and note the GP referral for follow-up.

1:00pm — A caller asks to speak to you directly. The AI transfers the call. You pick up and have a brief conversation.

2:00pm–5:00pm — More sessions. The AI handles four more calls.

6:30pm — A potential client calls after hours. The AI answers, provides your rates and next available appointment, and creates a booking request. The caller is impressed that someone answered at 6:30pm.

You handled zero phone interruptions during sessions, missed zero calls, and gained two new client bookings. The AI did the rest.

Setting It Up

1. Subscribe to a paid AI Receptionist plan (Plus or above) to receive your dedicated Australian local number.
2. Configure your practice details in Receptionist Setup — services, rates, business hours, greeting.
3. Enable Call Transfer in your settings and enter the number where you want transferred calls to go.
4. Set up call forwarding on your existing number using the divert codes above (or contact your landline provider).
5. Test it by calling your practice number and letting it ring — your AI receptionist should pick up after the forwarding delay.

The Call Forwarding Guide in your Receptionist Setup page pre-fills the divert codes with your actual AI receptionist number, so you can simply dial the code directly from your phone.

Pricing

Call forwarding and call transfer are included in all paid AI Receptionist plans at no extra cost:

Start with a free browser test to hear how your AI receptionist sounds, then upgrade to a paid plan to get your phone number and start forwarding calls.

Set up your AI Receptionist — free browser testing, no credit card required.

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*Call forwarding is a standard carrier feature provided by your mobile or landline provider. Grounded Scribe does not charge for or control call forwarding configuration — activation and any associated carrier charges are managed by your phone provider. Only the portion of the call handled by the AI counts toward your monthly plan minutes — once a call is transferred to you, it no longer uses your AI Receptionist allowance. Voicemail transcription is included at no extra cost on all paid plans.*

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