PhoneShield.ai Quickstart Guide
PhoneShield team
The people who build and run PhoneShield
Written and kept current by the team behind PhoneShield, a sister company of Byte Federal, whose staff spent years meeting scam victims at cryptocurrency ATMs with the scammer still on the line.
In this article
Introduction
Welcome to PhoneShield.ai! This guide will help you set up your account, get your PhoneShield number, forward your phone to it, and put a front desk in front of your calls in a few minutes.
What You’ll Learn
How to create your PhoneShield account
Setting up your private line and PhoneShield number
Naming your assistant and choosing her voice
Setting up notifications and making your first test call
Time Required
This setup process takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Begin by creating your PhoneShield.ai account:
- Visit PhoneShield.ai Signup to create a new account
Navigate to our signup page to begin the registration process.
- Enter your email address and create a secure password
Choose a strong password with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Complete the verification process
Check your email and click the verification link we send you.
- Log in to your new account
Return to PhoneShield.ai and sign in with your credentials.
Pricing
There is one plan, one flat price, and no tiers. Only Nora's talk time is metered:
$29.99 a month
Includes your PhoneShield number, scam calls refused before they ring, front-desk screening, messages, calls that ring you, and 150 minutes a month of Nora. Screening is never metered and there is no monthly minimum.
$0.12 a minute after 150
Only Nora's talk time counts. Blocked numbers are refused before answering and cost nothing. Once Nora connects a caller to you, the rest of that call is not metered, and neither is time with a caller who rang through.
Early access
PhoneShield is in early access. There is no free trial; you subscribe, we assign your number, and you can cancel any time from the billing page. See the pricing page for the current details.
Step 2: Choose Where Vetted Calls Ring You
Calls that pass the front desk ring you on a number nobody else has. Set it up on Shield settings:
- Open Shield settings in your dashboard
You’ll find it in the dashboard menu after logging in.
- Enter your private line under “Private line”
This is the line vetted calls land on, with a whisper saying who it is.
- Click “Verify by calling it with a code”
PhoneShield calls that number and reads you a four-digit code.
- Type the code you heard and confirm
Your private line now shows as verified.
Why a separate private line?
Your real number forwards to PhoneShield in Step 4. Vetted calls need somewhere else to ring, otherwise they would loop straight back to the front desk.
Step 3: Get Your PhoneShield Number
Your PhoneShield number is the line your phone forwards to. Callers never dial it; they keep using the number they already have.
- Subscribe to a plan
We assign your number after you subscribe and email you when it is ready.
- Find it on Shield settings
It appears at the top of Screening, along with the carrier codes for forwarding your phone to it.
- Forward your phone to it
Dial your carrier’s forwarding code from the phone people already call, then use “Test that forwarding is on” to confirm calls come through.
Success!
Once forwarding is on, every call reaches the front desk first and only the ones that pass ring your number.
Step 4: Configure Your Assistant
Two places shape how callers are handled. The Shield settings page sets the mode, the assistant’s name and voice, and what the front desk says. The AI profile sets how your assistant thinks and what she knows.
- Pick a mode on Shield settings
Open (vetted calls ring you), Do not disturb (callers leave a message), or Receptionist (your assistant answers and decides).
- Name your assistant and choose a voice
She is Nora unless you rename her. Choose between the Marin and Cedar voices.
- Write the greeting and the message prompt
The greeting is what callers hear first; the message prompt is what they hear when a message is being taken.
- Open AI profile and add instructions
Set her personality, language and speech speed, and tell her how to treat callers and what to collect.
- Add knowledge and conditional responses
Opening hours, your address, prices, and “if the caller asks X, say Y” rules.
- Save your changes
Click “Save” to apply your configuration.
Need More Help?
For detailed instructions, see our Customizing Your Assistant guide.
Step 5: Set Up Call Notifications
Messages and assistant calls always land in your Messages feed. Connect a channel under Integrations to have them delivered as well:
Pro Tip
Connect at least one channel. A message you only see when you open the dashboard is a message you see late.
Step 6: Make a Test Call
Test your PhoneShield setup to make sure everything is working properly:
- Using a different phone, call the number you forwarded
Call from a phone that is not on your Favorites list, so you meet the front desk like a stranger would.
- Say who you are and why you are calling
Then follow the path your mode takes: ring through, talk to your assistant, or leave a message.
- Check that notifications are delivered
Verify that you receive the note through your configured channels.
- Review the call in Call History
You should see its outcome (RANG YOU, MESSAGE or ASSISTANT) and the reason.
- Open the Messages feed
If you left a message, it is waiting there with a callback button. Mark it done.
- Adjust settings if needed
Fine-tune your greeting, instructions or mode based on what you heard.
What to Check For
Did the front desk greet you the way you wrote it?
Did the whisper on your private line say who was calling?
Are notifications received promptly?
Is the summary in the message accurate?
Next Steps
Now that you’ve set up PhoneShield.ai, consider exploring these features:
Call Forwarding
Carrier codes for every major carrier and how to test forwarding
Scam Protection
How the front desk, the shared block list and FTC data keep scams out
Slack and Webhook Delivery
Post every message to a Slack channel or your own endpoint
Favorites
The people who ring you straight through, with a whisper naming them
Congratulations!
You’ve set up PhoneShield.ai. From here on, every call meets the front desk first. As you use it, keep refining your assistant’s instructions and your Favorites list.
Related Articles
Ready to try PhoneShield?
Start screening your calls today and take back control of your phone.