How to Set Up ElevenAgents in Under 10 Minutes
How to Set Up ElevenAgents in Under 10 Minutes
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Setting up ElevenAgents for your business is surprisingly fast. You can go from zero to a working AI receptionist in under 10 minutes — no coding required. Here’s the step-by-step walkthrough.
Before You Start: What You’ll Need
- An ElevenLabs account (free tier works for setup)
- A phone number where you want the agent to answer (optional for testing)
- A business description ready (what your company does, hours, services)
- (Optional) API keys for calendar or CRM integrations
Step 1: Log In and Navigate to ElevenAgents
Log into your ElevenLabs dashboard. In the left sidebar, click “Agents”. This opens the ElevenAgents management screen where you can create, edit, and monitor your AI voice agents.
If you don’t see “Agents” in your sidebar, make sure your account is on a plan that includes ElevenAgents access. The free tier includes basic agent functionality.
Step 2: Create Your First Agent
Click the “Create Agent” button. You’ll be presented with a setup wizard that walks you through three key sections:
- Agent Name: Give your assistant a name (e.g., “Sarah” or “Alex”). This is what the AI will introduce itself as on calls.
- Agent Persona: Describe what your business does and how you want the agent to behave. Example: “You are the receptionist for Bright Smile Dental. We are a family dental practice open Mon-Fri 8 AM to 5 PM. Be warm, professional, and empathetic. Offer appointment booking and answer FAQs about services, insurance, and hours.”
- Voice Selection: Pick from ElevenLabs’ library of premium voices or use a cloned voice. You can preview each voice instantly before committing.
Get started with ElevenAgents and pick your agent’s voice →
Step 3: Configure Call Handling
In the “Call Handling” tab, define:
- Greeting: What the agent says when it answers. Default: “Thank you for calling [Business Name]. This is [Agent Name]. How can I help you?”
- Business hours: Set your operating hours. The agent can tell callers when you’re open and book appointments during or after hours.
- Transfer rules: Define conditions for transferring to a human — e.g., if the caller asks for “manager” or “billing,” transfer immediately.
- End call behavior: What the agent says before hanging up. Include confirmation summaries and next steps.
All of these are adjustable via natural language prompts — no code required.
Step 4: Set Up Workflows (The Secret Sauce)
Workflows are what make ElevenAgents more than just a talking robot. In the “Actions” or “Workflows” section, you connect your agent to external services:
- Calendar booking: Connect Google Calendar, Calendly, or Cal.com so the agent can check availability and book appointments
- CRM updates: Integrate with HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive to automatically log contacts and leads
- SMS notifications: Send confirmation texts via Twilio
- Email triggers: Send follow-up emails after calls
- Webhooks: Connect to virtually any custom API
Each workflow is configured with a simple trigger-and-action interface. Example: “When a new lead is qualified → create HubSpot contact → send SMS confirmation → add calendar event.”
Step 5: Test Your Agent
Before going live, ElevenLabs provides a built-in test interface:
- Text simulator: Type what a caller might say and see the AI’s response in real-time
- Voice simulator: Speak through your microphone and hear the AI respond in voice
- Test call: Get a test number to call from your phone and experience the full call flow
I recommend running at least 5-10 test calls covering different scenarios — appointment booking, FAQs, urgent requests, and hang-ups — to make sure the agent handles everything correctly.
Step 6: Deploy with a Phone Number
Once you’re satisfied with testing, deploy your agent:
- Buy a phone number through ElevenLabs’ built-in Twilio integration (US, UK, Canada, Australia, and dozens more countries)
- Forward an existing number: Point your existing business number to ElevenAgents during off-hours
- Embed on your website: Add a “Call with AI” button that triggers an agent call from the browser
From the ElevenAgents dashboard, you can see real-time call logs, listen to recordings, review AI responses, and monitor performance metrics like average call duration, hang-up rate, and completed actions.
Total Time: 8-12 Minutes
In my testing, the full setup — from logging in to making a live test call — took just over 9 minutes. The steps are intuitive, the interface is clean, and everything is driven by natural language prompts rather than configuration forms.
Set up your own AI receptionist in under 10 minutes — start free →
#ad — This post contains affiliate links. As an ElevenLabs partner, I may earn a commission if you sign up through my link.
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