Voice Bot Setup Guide

How to connect your Twilio number so the AI Assistant answers calls as your company and emails you a transcript.

How the Voice Bot works

When a client calls your Twilio number, the AI Assistant picks up and answers in your company's voice using the knowledge you gave it — your services, pricing, hours, and service area. After the call, you get an email transcript with the caller's number so you can follow up.

Costs to plan for:

LinkCrew voice bot add-on: $30/mo (covers the AI compute)
Twilio phone number: typically $1-2/mo (billed by Twilio)
Twilio usage: typically $0.015/min inbound + $0.01/min TTS/STT (billed by Twilio)

You pay LinkCrew and Twilio separately. Twilio is usage-based — a 2-minute call runs about 5 cents.

Part 1 — Set up a Twilio account

If you already have a Twilio account and a number, skip to Part 2.

Create a Twilio account

Go to twilio.com/try-twilio and sign up. You get a trial balance — enough to test. You'll need to verify your personal phone to start.

Upgrade to a paid account

Trial accounts can only call verified numbers, which won't work for real clients. In the Twilio console, click Upgrade (usually top-right or in billing). Add $20 of credit to start — that's months of runway for low-volume use.

Buy a phone number

Twilio console → Phone Numbers → Manage → Buy a number. Pick a local area code your clients will recognize. Make sure Voice is checked in the capabilities. Complete the purchase.

Part 2 — Connect Twilio to LinkCrew

Takes under 2 minutes once you have your Twilio info.

Grab your Account SID and Auth Token

Twilio console homepage → scroll down to Account Info. Copy the Account SID (starts with AC...) and the Auth Token (click to reveal). Keep this tab open — you'll paste them into LinkCrew next.

Copy your Twilio phone number

Twilio console → Phone Numbers → Manage → Active numbers. Copy the number in E.164 format (e.g. +15551234567).

Fill in Business Knowledge

In LinkCrew Settings → Voice Bot Add-on, describe your business in the Business Knowledge box: services, pricing ranges, hours, service area, what you DON'T do, your website. The more detail, the better the AI Assistant answers. Click Save Knowledge.

Paste credentials + phone and activate

Fill in the Account SID, Auth Token, and Phone Number fields, then click Activate Voice Bot. LinkCrew will automatically configure your Twilio number's webhook so incoming calls route to the AI Assistant. You'll see a green "● Active" badge when it's live.

Test with your own phone

Call your Twilio number. The AI Assistant should answer within a second or two in your company's voice. Ask it a question about your services. End the call — within a minute, you should receive an email transcript at your owner email.

Writing good Business Knowledge

Treat this like you're training a new receptionist who's never worked for you before. What would they need to know to answer a call confidently?

Services + price ranges — "Roof repairs $200–500, full replacements $5,000–15,000"
Hours + days — "Mon–Fri 8am–6pm, closed weekends"
Service area — "Kingston NY and 20-mile radius"
What you don't do — "We don't handle commercial or industrial"
Urgency policy — "For emergencies, ask the caller to call back during business hours or leave a message"
Website and how to book — "For estimates, visit kingstonroofing.com/estimate"

What the AI Assistant will and won't do

Will: answer questions based on your knowledge, take a message, gather caller name and number, email you a transcript.

Won't (by design): quote specific prices beyond what you've told it, book jobs on the calendar, collect payment, make outbound calls. You follow up from the email transcript.

Cost control tip: Twilio bills per minute. If you're worried about runaway costs, set a monthly usage limit in Twilio console → Billing → Usage alerts. You can cap it at $10 or $20/mo and Twilio will stop the line if you hit the ceiling.

Turning it off

Settings → Voice Bot Add-on → click Disable. LinkCrew will remove the webhook from your Twilio number. Your number keeps working — it'll just go to Twilio's default voicemail until you either reactivate the AI Assistant or configure something else.

Need help?

Email support@linkcrew.io with your Twilio phone number and we'll help you get set up.