# Customize your receptionist (the assistant editor)

> The assistant editor is where you shape everything the AI knows and how it sounds — business info, hours, services, FAQs, voice, language, personality, and, on paid plans, the AI model and custom instructions. Changes sync to your live receptionist.

Canonical: https://ahoya.ai/docs/customize-your-receptionist
Updated: 2026-07-24

## Open the assistant editor

Go to Assistant in your dashboard. It's organised into tabs — Profile, Hours, Voice, Prompt, and Advanced — and a change saves and syncs to your live receptionist right away.

## Profile and Hours

Under Profile, edit your business name, description, services, contact details, and the FAQs the AI answers from. Under Hours, set your open hours so the AI knows when you're open and what counts as after-hours.

## Voice, greeting, and language

In the Voice tab, pick the voice callers hear, edit the greeting (first message), and set the caller language. You can set one language for everyone, or choose the bilingual English + Español mode — the AI detects each caller's language from their first words and replies entirely in it, switching if they switch.

**Note:** Bilingual mode currently covers English and Spanish; more language pairs are on the way.

## Personality, model, and custom instructions

In the Prompt tab, set the personality (how focused vs. conversational the AI is). On paid plans you can also choose the AI model — the fast default is best for live calls — and add custom instructions that layer on top of the built-in prompt.

**Note:** Choosing the model and adding custom instructions are Starter-plan-and-up features. Custom instructions add to the base prompt rather than replacing it, so you can't accidentally break the receptionist.

## Advanced and transfer

The Advanced tab holds the recording-consent setting and warm human transfer — turn on transfer and set the backup numbers so the AI can connect urgent callers to a person mid-call.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do changes affect calls immediately?

Yes. Saving in the assistant editor syncs the change to your live receptionist, so the next caller gets the updated behaviour.

### Can the AI answer callers in Spanish?

Yes — set an assistant's language to Spanish so it speaks Spanish to everyone, or choose the bilingual English + Español mode so it detects each caller's language and replies in it, switching mid-call if the caller does. More language pairs are coming.

## Related guides

- [Industry templates: how your vertical tunes the AI](https://ahoya.ai/docs/industry-templates)
- [Answering modes: Full AI, AI Backup, and Ring Me First](https://ahoya.ai/docs/answering-modes)
- [Review calls: transcripts, summaries, and intents](https://ahoya.ai/docs/review-calls)

## See also

- [How it works](https://ahoya.ai/how-it-works)
- [Solutions: bilingual receptionist](https://ahoya.ai/solutions/bilingual-receptionist)