[Home](https://www.ringkit.com/) / How it works # How Ringkit answers your business calls. Ringkit is an AI receptionist for your business phone. Give it your business information, choose how calls should be handled, and connect a phone number. It answers routine questions, takes messages and transfers calls to your team. **$0.20 per minute for AI answering + $1.99/month per number.** A credit card is required. AI usage and the monthly phone-number fee are paid from your prepaid balance. [See pricing and billing details](https://www.ringkit.com/pricing). [Set up your receptionist](https://app.ringkit.com/onboard) ## From business details to your first test call. 01 / BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE ### Tell Ringkit about your business. Add the information callers need: what you do, your opening hours, location and answers to common questions. Keep those details accurate and decide what the receptionist should do when it does not have an answer. Start with the questions your team already answers on the phone. A clear business profile gives the AI useful context for each conversation. 02 / CALL HANDLING ### Choose when your team takes over. Set up call routing and the destination for transfers to your own team. Decide which calls the AI can handle and which should reach a person at your business. Ringkit provides the AI receptionist. Human transfers go to your team; Ringkit does not supply human receptionists. 03 / PHONE NUMBER ### Connect the calls you want answered. Get a Ringkit number, then use it directly or forward calls from your existing business number. Forwarding is configured with your current phone provider; available options vary by carrier. You can explore [conditional forwarding for busy or unanswered calls](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/conditional-call-forwarding). Follow the [business-number forwarding guide](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/forward-business-number-to-ai-receptionist) before changing your phone settings. 04 / TEST AND REFINE ### Call it before sending customers to it. Ask about hours and services, leave a message and try a transfer. Check that the answers match your business and that calls reach the right destination. Use the [call-forwarding test checklist](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/test-call-forwarding), review the results and update your business information whenever something changes. ## What happens when a customer calls? The AI answers using your business information and call-handling setup. It can handle routine questions, collect a message or transfer the caller to your team. Call summaries help you review what happened and identify follow-up work. For example, a caller may ask whether you are open on Saturday. The receptionist can answer from the hours you provided. If the caller needs help from a person, your configured routing determines where the transfer goes. Test both paths with your own business details. ## Questions before you start. Can I keep my existing business number? Yes. Keep it with your current provider and forward calls to your Ringkit number. This uses call forwarding, not number porting. Check your provider’s forwarding options and charges. What do I pay to get started? A credit card and prepaid funding are required. AI answering costs $0.20/min, plus $1.99/month per phone number. There is no free trial credit. Read the [pricing page](https://www.ringkit.com/pricing) for billing details. Can my own team still answer calls? Yes. Ringkit can transfer calls to your team. You can also explore conditional forwarding with your phone provider so the AI receives calls when your existing line is busy or unanswered. Can a developer connect Ringkit to other tools? Ringkit offers a REST API, MCP and webhooks. See the [developer documentation](https://www.ringkit.com/docs) for supported operations and setup requirements. ## Plan your call flow. - [Set up after-hours business call answering](https://www.ringkit.com/after-hours-answering) - [What does an AI receptionist do?](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/what-does-an-ai-receptionist-do) - [How to forward a business number to an AI receptionist](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/forward-business-number-to-ai-receptionist) - [How conditional call forwarding works](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/conditional-call-forwarding) - [How to test your call forwarding](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/test-call-forwarding) Ready to try your own call flow? [Get started with Ringkit](https://app.ringkit.com/onboard)