AI Receptionist
The number your customers already recognise, answered around the clock
An AI receptionist only helps if people pick up when it calls back and dial in without hesitation. That starts with the number on the screen. Temptera gives your answering service a local business number in 100+ countries, keeps it always on over SIP, and lets you port your existing number in with no lock-in.
Recognition & trust
Why a local number matters for an AI receptionist
A receptionist is the first voice a business presents, and for an AI one the number does half the work before a word is spoken. A caller who sees a familiar local code knows they have reached a real business in their market, not a call centre on the other side of the world. That recognition is what turns a ring into an answered call.
The same logic applies when your AI answering service rings back a missed caller or confirms an appointment. A local, recognised caller ID gets picked up; an unfamiliar international string gets ignored or reported. Presenting the right number in each place you operate is the difference between an assistant people trust and one they screen out.
- Local presence in every market — a number that reads as in-market where your customers are, drawn from 100+ countries.
- One recognised identity — inbound answering and any callback present the same familiar business number.
- Real number types — local, national and toll-free, so the format fits how each market expects to reach a business.
Availability varies by country and number type, and is shown at order. Read the guide on local numbers for AI agents for how recognition shapes answer rates.
An in-market number tells the caller, before the AI even answers, that they have reached the right business. Recognition earns the pickup; the receptionist does the rest.
Always-on inbound
Inbound answering that never closes
Your DID delivers every inbound call to your AI receptionist over SIP, at any hour, in any volume. No opening times, no voicemail as a fallback — the line is simply always answered.
24/7 by design
Calls route into your agent day and night. There is no shift to staff and no after-hours gap, so a first-time caller at midnight gets the same greeting as one at midday.
Delivered over SIP
Inbound arrives on a standard SIP path with standard codecs (G.711 / G.722), authenticated by IP allowlisting or SIP credentials — whichever your platform supports.
Handles the busy hours
When several callers arrive at once, each is answered on its own leg rather than left waiting — capacity scales with the channels you provision, subject to what your platform accepts.
Connection details and credentials are provisioned privately to your account — never published here. See SIP trunking for how the inbound path is set up.
The number your customers have saved keeps working — it just answers with your AI receptionist behind it. Port in, and port out again if you ever choose to.
Bring your own number
Port your existing business number in — no lock-in
You have spent years putting a number on invoices, vehicles, listings and business cards. Switching to an AI receptionist should not mean throwing that away. Where the number is portable, you can bring it to Temptera and point it straight at your agent, so nothing changes for the customer dialling it.
And it stays yours. There is no clause that traps the number with us — if your needs change, you can port it out again to another carrier, subject to portability. Keeping the option open is the point: your receptionist can evolve without your business number ever being held hostage.
- Port your current number in and route it to your AI receptionist without changing what customers dial.
- No lock-in — the number remains your asset and can be ported back out where supported.
- Portability is confirmed up front, before any switch-over is scheduled, and varies by country and number type.
See number porting for how a move is handled, or browse DID numbers if you need a fresh local number instead.
Works with your AI platform
Bring the number to the receptionist you built
Temptera supplies the number and the inbound path; you keep the AI platform you already chose. If it speaks SIP, it connects — no proprietary integration to adopt.
Hosted voice AI
Platforms such as Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs, OpenAI's Realtime API and LiveKit accept a bring-your-own SIP trunk. Point a Temptera trunk at your agent and attach your recognised DID for inbound answering.
Your own PBX or softswitch
Self-hosted answering stacks on FreeSWITCH, Asterisk or 3CX connect the same standard way — deliver your inbound DID to them and let your own dialplan hand the call to the AI.
Anything SIP-capable
New tools appear constantly. Because the connection is standards-based SIP, a receptionist built on tomorrow's platform plugs into the same number without you re-porting or rebuilding.
Platform names are referenced for compatibility only. Temptera is independent and not affiliated with these providers. The full walkthrough lives in virtual numbers for AI voice agents.
Why Temptera
The number behind your receptionist, run by a real carrier
Local presence, 100+ countries
Recognised numbers wherever you answer, so your AI receptionist reads as a local business in each market rather than one distant line.
No lock-in
Port your business number in and, where portable, back out again. The number is yours to keep — the receptionist behind it can change freely.
We operate the call
You connect to our network directly and keep control of routing and caller ID — and we help diagnose the SIP path when an inbound call misbehaves.
See coverage first
Check number types and availability before you commit — no sales gate to browse where your receptionist can hold a local presence.
FAQ
AI receptionist numbers — answered
For live rates, see pricing or start a signup. Coverage and number types are shown at order.
Why give an AI receptionist a local phone number?
People answer and trust numbers they recognise. A local business number tells the caller they have reached the right place, so an AI receptionist on a familiar area code sees better pick-up and fewer abandoned calls than one on a distant or unfamiliar number.
Can I keep my existing business number and use it with an AI receptionist?
Yes, where the number is portable. You can port your current business number to Temptera and point it at your AI receptionist, so customers keep dialling the same number they already know. We confirm portability before anything is scheduled.
Is there any lock-in if I port my number to Temptera?
No. The number remains yours. You can port it in and, if you ever move on, port it back out where the number is portable. There is no contract that traps the number with us.
Which AI receptionist platforms does Temptera work with?
Any platform that speaks SIP, including Vapi, Retell, ElevenLabs, OpenAI's Realtime API and LiveKit, as well as a SIP-capable PBX or softswitch such as FreeSWITCH, Asterisk or 3CX. Temptera is independent and not affiliated with these providers.
Can the same number handle callbacks and outbound follow-ups?
Yes. The number that answers inbound can also present as your caller ID on outbound calls over the same trunk, so a returned call or follow-up shows the same recognised business number. Outbound presentation is subject to what each destination and number type supports.
Put your receptionist on a number people recognise
Tell us the markets you answer in and whether you're bringing a number or need a new one — we'll confirm coverage and set up your inbound trunk. No lock-in.