Callers, setup and testing · Autessa AI Receptionist
In-app self-test
Autessa AI Receptionist includes an in-app self-test: one button plays ten scripted callers, from a demo request to a robocall, against the live AI receptionist or your unpublished changes, and shows which checks passed with the full conversation. Nothing is texted, alerted or put through while it runs.
The problem it solves
Did that change break anything?
An AI receptionist handles hundreds of situations, and a small change can make it greet twice, skip screening or miss an urgent call. Calling it by hand ten times after every change is slow. The self-test runs the same tricky callers every time and reports exactly what went wrong.
What you get
- Ten scripted callers covering the hard cases: demo request, remembered number with a new person, vendor asking for someone by name, real security incident, vague CEO demand, staff-fisher, prank caller, wrong number, robocall and blocked number.
- Run against "The live receptionist" or "The draft (unpublished changes)".
- Checks include: looks the caller up first, does not greet twice, screens before transferring, asks for specifics first, never names a teammate first, picks the right category, flags urgent correctly, blocks when expected, keeps turns short, and ends the call itself.
- Each test shows Waiting, Running, Passed, Failed or Couldn't run, with "Show the conversation".
- "N of M passed" and "Last run … by …" at the top.
- Side effects are switched off: no texts, alerts or transfers, and test rows are cleaned up.
How it works
How does in-app self-test work?
Open Setup
Find the "Test the receptionist" card.
Pick a version
The live receptionist, or the draft with your unpublished changes.
Run all tests
Each scripted caller plays out as a text exchange against the receptionist.
Read the results
Expand any failed test to see the conversation and which check missed.
Every option
Self-test options and checks
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Version | "The live receptionist" or "The draft (unpublished changes)". |
| Scenarios | Ten scripted callers: demo request, new person on a remembered number, vendor naming someone, security incident, vague CEO demand, staff-fisher, prank, wrong number, robocall, blocked number. |
| Checks | Looks up first; no double greeting; ends the call itself within the turn limit; screens before transferring; transfers or not as expected; asks for specifics; never names a teammate first; records at most twice; right category; urgent as expected; blocks as expected; booking link as expected; confirms a remembered name; short turns. |
| Statuses | Waiting, Running, Passed, Failed, Couldn't run. |
| How it runs | Scripted, rule-based callers in a text exchange, not a real phone call. |
| Side effects | None: nothing is texted, alerted or put through, and test rows are removed. |
| Report | The last run is saved, with who ran it and when. |
Permissions
Who can do what?
| Who | Can |
|---|---|
| Company admin | Run the self-test against the live or draft receptionist. |
| Anyone the app is shared with | See the last report on Setup. |
What the AI does
How the receptionist handles it
The callers are scripted rules, not another AI, so each run is repeatable and a failure means the receptionist changed, not the test. The receptionist under test is the real agent, live or draft.
Connected
How it connects to everything else
AI RECEPTIONIST
Setup check
The self-test sits on Setup next to the health check.
AI RECEPTIONIST
Test numbers
For trying the real phone line yourself.
AI RECEPTIONIST
Customize the receptionist
Tailor the receptionist agent in Autessa, save it as a draft, test the draft, then publish.
Questions
Questions about in-app self-test
How do I test the AI receptionist?
Company admins press Run all tests on Setup. Ten scripted callers play against the live receptionist or your unpublished draft, and each check shows Passed or Failed with the conversation.
Does the self-test make real phone calls?
No. It runs as a text exchange with scripted callers, and nothing is texted, alerted or put through.
Can I test changes before publishing them?
Yes. Choose "The draft (unpublished changes)" to run the tests against your draft.
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa AI Receptionist fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
Start free and make it yours