Often, yes. Set no-answer call forwarding at your phone carrier so your own phone rings first and only unanswered calls go to the AI receptionist. Two settings decide whether it works: how long the line rings before forwarding, and whether carrier voicemail grabs the call first. Carriers differ, so test it with calls from an outside phone before you rely on it.
Buyer guides. By Chleb AI Editorial (AI-assisted). Published 2026-11-01. 5 min read.
The usual way is conditional call forwarding, a carrier feature that sends a call somewhere else only when a condition is met. Your phone rings first. If nobody picks up, the carrier sends the call to the number you named, which would be the AI receptionist's line. The AI never sees calls your team answers.
Carriers set this up differently, so treat the two examples below as examples, not as your instructions. AT&T's small business support page lists *92 followed by a forwarding number and # to turn on No Answer forwarding (off with *93#), and *90 for Busy forwarding (off with *91#). It describes the first as sending "missed calls to voicemail or to another phone number." The page was last updated December 7, 2022, and it does not say how long a call rings before it forwards. Verizon's call forwarding FAQ says that to forward only the calls you do not answer on a mobile phone, you dial *71 plus the 10-digit number, and that *72 forwards every call and *73 turns forwarding off. It also says there is no monthly fee for call forwarding on most plans, that a fee may apply on certain older plans, and that on plans without unlimited minutes, forwarded calls are billed as if you had answered them on your mobile phone. It also says the destination must be an active, voice-capable US number with 10 digits, which matters when you point calls at an AI vendor's line. It does not give a ring time either.
Office desk phones, VoIP systems and landlines from other carriers have their own settings, and the codes above may not apply to your line. Ask your carrier or phone system vendor for the exact steps for your account, and ask in writing what the ring time is and whether you can change it.
Neither carrier page above gives a ring time, which is the first thing to find out. If the line rings only a few times before forwarding, a call that your team would have answered on the fifth ring goes to the AI instead. If it rings too long, callers hang up before the AI answers. The right setting is a decision about your office, not a technical default, so pick it by watching how quickly your people really pick up.
The second problem is voicemail. AT&T's page describes voicemail as one place a missed call can go, so a line can end up with carrier voicemail, not your AI, as its no-answer destination. Verizon's FAQ does not mention voicemail, so confirm what happens on your line. AT&T's page tells customers whose calls are not reaching voicemail to check that No Answer and Busy forwarding are set to "Forward to Voice Mail." That is the opposite of what you want here, so after setup, call from a different phone and let it ring out to see which one answers. This is our inference from the pages, and the test settles it for your line.
Staff-first setups often cover only the unanswered case. A call that arrives while your line is busy, or while a cell phone is switched off or has no signal, may take a different path. AT&T lists Busy forwarding as its own feature and, on the same page, a separate Safe Call Forwarding option (*372 to turn on) for network or power outages. Verizon's FAQ page does not describe busy or unreachable handling. If you want every missed call to reach the AI, ask your carrier which conditions you can set and set each one to the same destination.
These tests are our suggestions, not a standard. Run them from a phone that is not on your account, with your real staff phones in their usual places.
1. Answer within the ring time. Expect the call to stay with your team and the AI to hear nothing.
2. Let it ring out with no answer. Expect the AI to pick up, greet the caller and take the details.
3. Decline the call on the handset. Many phones treat a decline like a busy signal or like voicemail, so see where it goes.
4. Call while you are on another call. This tests busy handling.
5. Switch the phone off or put it in airplane mode. This tests the unreachable case.
6. Call at a time you have set the phone to Do Not Disturb, if your team uses it.
Write down what happened in each case, including how long the caller waited. If any case ended in a dropped call or silence, fix that before launch.
Forwarding only the missed calls keeps your team in charge, but it also means the AI is only as available as your carrier setting is correct. If your phones are rarely answered during business hours, forwarding every call to the AI during those hours may produce a better caller experience than a long ring first. If you are away from the phone for a block of hours, such as nights and weekends, a time-based rule is simpler than depending on a no-answer rule. Our post on [how an AI receptionist compares with an answering service](/blog/ai-receptionist-vs-answering-service-tampa) covers the other options, and [missed calls at Tampa service businesses](/blog/missed-calls-tampa-service-business) covers why the unanswered call is worth fixing.
Chleb AI sells an AI receptionist, so it has a commercial interest in this question. Its published FAQ says receptionist onboarding includes your business information, configuration and test calls before your number goes live. It does not publish a list of supported carriers or phone systems, but its FAQ says the discovery call includes an integration check to verify whether your existing phone provider is supported. Ask which forwarding method it expects for your line, and ask what you must change to point calls back to your own phone if you leave.
Written with AI assistance. Every factual claim links to its source above. Illustrations are AI-generated, not photographs; cover cards are set in type; charts and diagrams are built from the public data they cite. This is general information, not legal, financial or tax advice. Found an error? Tell us at chleb@chleb.ai or through the contact page and we will correct it and note the correction on this page.
Often, through no-answer call forwarding at your carrier or phone system. Availability, codes and ring time vary by carrier and line type, so confirm the steps for your account and test them.
It depends on the carrier and plan. Verizon's FAQ says there is no monthly fee on most plans and that on plans without unlimited minutes, forwarded calls are billed as if you had answered them on your mobile phone. Check your own plan.
Then the AI never gets the call. Check how your no-answer destination is set, and test by letting a call ring out from another phone.
On the examples above, AT&T uses *93# for No Answer forwarding and Verizon uses *73. Other carriers differ, so write down the off code at setup.