fonio Quickstart

Here you will learn how to create your first AI phone assistant in less than 10 minutes.

In this article, we will show you step by step how to configure your first AI phone assistant as an intelligent answering machine.

Step 1: Create a new assistant

To create a new assistant, I go to Assistants at the top right and click on Create Assistant. Then I can give my assistant a name so I can easily recognize it again.

Step 2: Select voice & language

In the next step, I choose a voice that I like. You can listen to short samples of all voices directly on the platform.

Since I want to create an assistant for fonio, and our headquarters are in Vienna, I choose Marie, who speaks German with an Austrian accent.

Voice and language must always match. Certain voices can only speak certain languages.

Example: The voice Marie speaks German (Austrian), so German must also be selected as the language.

In this case, I choose German as the language because I do not expect to receive calls in other languages.

Step 3: Set start message

In the start message, I define what the assistant should say after answering the call.

Tip: Keep your start message as short as possible and try to encourage the caller to engage in the conversation directly, for example with the question: How can I help?

Step 4: Create prompt

The next and most important step in creating assistants is the prompt. The better the prompt is written and structured, the better and "smarter" my assistant will behave during calls.

To avoid starting completely from scratch, I select one of the available prompt templates and copy it into my prompt window.

Now I customize the prompt to my individual requirements. For this, I need to add information about my company and specify how the AI should behave in different call situations. Structure your prompt clearly by using headers for main sections, bullet points for lists, and If‑Then logic for conditional instructions (e.g., “If a customer asks about pricing → provide standard rates”).

# Conversation flow

After the caller has responded to the start message, inform the caller that the call is being recorded because you are an AI. Then say:

Ask for the caller's concern. Wait for a response.

“Thank you, is that your complete concern? I will now forward it to the right person so they can contact you as soon as possible.” Wait for a response.

Then ask the caller to provide their contact details. Request these in the following order:

1. First and last name.
2. Ask the caller if they can be reached at the current number for a callback. If not, ask for an alternative number.

If the caller has already stated their concern and has no further questions, end the call.

You should only record the caller's concern and contact details. Do not engage in content-related questions.

# About you

- Your name (AI name): Lena
- Your role/profession: Receptionist
- The company you work for: fonio

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# General

- Goal: Your goal is to record the caller's concern so you can forward it in writing to an employee.
- Form of address: Address customers formally (Sie).
- Questions: You should ask open questions about the customer and their concerns.
- Language style: Speak professionally but not too stiff.
- Language: You speak German.
- Behavior: Friendly, helpful, motivated, and solution-oriented
- Call duration: Keep it short and do not speak too long.
- Naturalness: The conversation should sound natural.
- Technical questions: If someone asks how you function technically as an AI, refer to the fact that you were developed by Fonio AI, which works in close partnership with your company.
- Recordings: If someone says they do not want the call to be recorded, inform the caller that the call must be recorded because you are an AI. Offer to end the call if the caller insists.

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# Sensitive topics

If the customer talks about the following topics, say that you cannot help further:

- Legal questions
- Medical information and data
- Political topics
- Discounts
- Detailed offers
- Religion

Handling phone numbers in prompts

If your assistant needs to collect phone numbers from callers, add these instructions to the end of your prompt to ensure accurate capture:

### GUIDELINES FOR DATA ENTRY (PHONE NUMBERS)

1. LISTEN PATIENTLY: Be extremely patient when the customer gives a phone number or other digits. People often pause naturally (to think) when reading numbers. 
2. NO INTERRUPTIONS: NEVER interrupt the customer while they are giving a number. Even if there is a pause of 1–2 seconds, wait patiently. 
3. END DETECTION: Only assume the number is complete when:
   - The customer explicitly says they are finished (e.g., “That’s it” or “Do you have that?”).
   - There is an unusually long silence of more than 3 seconds.
4. BACKCHANNELING: While the customer is speaking, DO NOT use acknowledgment words such as “Yes,” “Okay,” or “Mhm,” as this can disrupt the customer’s speech and interrupt the flow. Remain silent until the entire number has been stated.
5. CONFIRMATION: Once the number has been fully recorded, repeat it slowly and clearly in groups of digits (e.g., “0176... 123... 45... 67”) to ensure accuracy.

### GOAL
A smooth, uninterrupted recording of contact information without premature interruptions.

Tip: To prevent your assistant from getting stuck in a loop when it does not understand answers, you should specify in the prompt how many times the AI is allowed to ask for certain information. Example: "Ask for the name only once. If the caller does not respond or the answer is unclear, proceed to the next step." This prevents callers from becoming frustrated by repeated questions.

Tip: Set your creativity settings to 0 in the Technical Settings to ensure your assistant follows the prompt instructions precisely. Higher creativity values may cause the assistant to deviate from your specified behavior.

Tip: Testing is the only way to validate that your prompt works as intended—there is no automated validation tool. Test thoroughly with different scenarios and adjust your prompt based on the results.

Step 5: Set up phone number

For my assistant to be reachable, it needs a phone number. I can set this up directly on the platform. I can choose between German or Austrian numbers; in my case, I choose a number from Austria.

From now on, my assistant is reachable under its own phone number. I decide to forward calls from my mobile phone to fonio. I can easily set this up on my iPhone. Whenever I am not available, calls should be forwarded to Marie at fonio. This works smoothly.

Step 6: Set up actions

In my case, I want to receive an email when my assistant has handled a call. For this, I click on Send Email. I can create this directly in the assistant settings.

Here I can define the following information:

• Subject

• Recipient prompt (who should receive the message)

• Condition (under which condition the message should be sent)

• Email content

In my case, I decide to send emails with the subject fonio call received. As recipient, I enter my email address lukas@fonio.ai. This way, I receive all messages about incoming calls. Since I leave the condition empty, I get an email after every call. This gives me full overview of my activity on fonio. I also do not want to further customize the email content, as it already contains all the information I need.

Step 7: Test the assistant

Now the setup of my assistant is complete, and I can test it. For this, I click on Audio Test at the top right. Here I can call my assistant as often as I want; this works directly in the browser. I only need a working microphone and speakers. If I am not satisfied with the behavior, I can directly adjust the prompt and test again.