You're a small business owner and your phone rings all day with the same questions — your hours, your address, whether you have availability. Every call you answer is time you're not spending on actual work. Here's how to let AI handle those calls for you.
| Tool | What It Does | Cost | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodcall | Answers your phone using AI | Free – $59/mo | Sign up → |
| Google Business Profile | Provides your business info to the AI | Free | Sign up → |
| Google Calendar | Lets the AI book appointments for you | Free | Sign up → |
What to do: Go to Google Business Profile and claim or create your business listing. Fill in your business name, address, phone number, hours, and a description of what you do.
Why you’re doing it: Goodcall pulls your business information from Google Business Profile to answer customer questions accurately. If your profile is incomplete, the AI won’t know your hours or address.
What to expect: This takes about 10 minutes if you already have a listing. Google may need to verify your business by mail or phone, which can take a few days. If you’re already verified, skip ahead.
Common mistakes: Leaving your hours blank or outdated. The AI will tell customers the wrong thing. Double-check your holiday hours too.
What to do: Go to Goodcall and sign up for a free account. Choose your business type during setup.
Why you’re doing it: Goodcall is the AI that actually answers your phone. It uses natural-sounding voice AI to handle common questions, take messages, and book appointments.
What to expect: The signup process takes about 5 minutes. You’ll pick a voice, connect your business info, and choose what the AI should do when it picks up.
Common mistakes: Don’t skip the voice selection — test a few options. Some sound more natural than others depending on your business type.
What to do: In Goodcall’s dashboard, connect your Google Business Profile. This auto-imports your hours, address, and services. Review everything and make corrections if needed.
Why you’re doing it: This is what the AI uses to answer questions. If someone calls and asks “What time do you close?” the AI checks this info.
What to expect: The import is usually instant. You’ll see a preview of how the AI would answer common questions.
Common mistakes: Forgetting to add services or menu items. The more info you give the AI, the better it handles calls.
What to do: Connect your Google Calendar to Goodcall. Set your available time slots and appointment duration.
Why you’re doing it: When a customer calls and wants to book an appointment, the AI can check your calendar and book the slot right then — no phone tag required.
What to expect: Calendar connection takes about 2 minutes. You’ll set your availability windows and how long each appointment is.
Common mistakes: Setting availability too tight. Leave buffer time between appointments. Also, make sure you’re checking the right calendar — if you use multiple Google calendars, connect the one you actually use for bookings.
What to do: Set up call forwarding from your business phone to the Goodcall number. This can be done through your phone carrier’s settings or your business phone system.
Why you’re doing it: This is the “flip the switch” moment. Once forwarding is active, Goodcall answers calls that you don’t pick up (or all calls, your choice).
What to expect: Most carriers let you set conditional forwarding — “forward if busy” or “forward if no answer after 4 rings.” This means you can still answer calls yourself when you want to.
Common mistakes: Forgetting to test it. Call your own number from a different phone after setup and make sure the AI picks up and sounds right.
What to do: Make 3–5 test calls asking common questions. “What are your hours?” “Do you take walk-ins?” “I need to book an appointment.” Listen to how the AI responds and adjust in the dashboard.
Why you’re doing it: No AI gets everything right on the first try. This is your chance to catch weird responses before real customers hear them.
What to expect: You’ll probably need to tweak 2–3 things. Maybe the AI pronounces your business name wrong, or it doesn’t know how to answer a question you get a lot. Each fix takes about 30 seconds in the dashboard.
This workflow is Verified. We set this up end-to-end for a real service business and confirmed it works as described. Call quality was solid, appointment booking worked, and the AI handled common questions accurately after the initial setup.