Tips & Tricks

Getting the most from Clara

Clara works the moment you switch it on. But a few minutes spent setting it up properly turns a good AI receptionist into one that sounds like you, asks the right questions, and wins you more jobs. Here are six steps to get there.

The one thing to remember: Clara is not a voicemail

Voicemail records a message and hopes the caller leaves one. Most won't - they hang up and call the next business. Clara has a real conversation, asks what matters, and captures the details. Set it up with that in mind and every step below makes sense.

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Six steps to get the most from Clara

1

Choose how long your phone rings before Clara answers

You decide how many rings you get before Clara picks up. Enough to grab the calls you can, not so many that the caller gives up first. Most people start with a few rings, then adjust once they see how it feels.

Set how soon Clara answers
2

Set up your welcome message - it's not a voicemail

This is the first thing callers hear, and it isn't a beep telling them to leave a message. Lead with your business name, keep it to one short sentence, and end with a question. Then Clara actually talks with them.

Write your welcome message
3

Train your receptionist

Tell Clara what your business specialises in and, just as importantly, what you don't offer. The more it knows about how you work, the more accurately it answers, and the less likely it is to promise callers something you'd never take on.

Train Clara on your business
4

Use questions to get what you need to prioritise

Because Clara has a conversation instead of recording a message, it can ask the questions that let you triage: is it an emergency, what's the job, when do they need it. Add your own and mark the must-haves required, so every call comes back ready to action.

Customise the questions Clara asks
5

Set up follow-up texts

Clara can text every caller the moment a call ends - a booking link, a payment link, a thank-you, or your own message. The inquiry keeps moving while you're still on the tools, and you set it up just once.

Set up auto text follow-ups
6

Learn from what's happening and improve your settings

Read your summaries and transcripts to see what callers ask and where they drop off, then tweak your welcome message and questions to match. Clara gets sharper the more you refine your setup - a few minutes now and then pays off on every call.

Features and capabilities, explained

Is Clara just a fancy voicemail?

No. Voicemail records a message and hopes the caller leaves one - most won't. Clara has a real, natural conversation: it greets the caller with your business name, asks the questions you've set, captures their details, and sends you a summary. The caller feels heard, and you get an inquiry instead of a dial tone.

Can I choose how long my phone rings before Clara answers?

Yes. When you set up call forwarding, you pick how many rings you get before Clara takes over. Set it short if you want Clara to catch most calls, or longer if you'd rather have more chances to pick up yourself first. You can change it any time in Settings → Call Handling.

What does it mean to "train" Clara?

During setup you tell Clara about your business - what you specialise in and what services you don't offer. That's how Clara answers accurately and avoids promising callers work you'd never take on. You can update these details whenever your business changes.

Can I change what Clara asks my callers?

Yes. Clara asks for the essentials by default - what the caller needs, their name, number, and location - and you can add your own questions in Settings → Questions. Mark any question as required so Clara always collects it, and drag to reorder them. Good questions are what let you prioritise callbacks.

Will Clara follow up with callers after the call?

Clara can text callers automatically the moment a call ends. Choose a thank-you message, a booking link, a payment link, or your own custom message - you set it up once and Clara sends it to every caller from then on, with no action needed from you.

How do I know if my settings are working?

After every call you get a short summary, the caller's details, a full word-for-word transcript, and an urgency indicator. Reading these shows you what callers actually ask and where conversations end - so you can fine-tune your welcome message and questions over time.

Still have a question? Browse the Help Centre or see Clara's pricing.

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