Forward Calls to an AI Receptionist: Carrier Codes

To forward calls to an AI receptionist, you keep your existing business number and tell your carrier where to send calls: every call, only unanswered or busy calls, or calls outside business hours. On most US carriers this takes one star code from your phone. RingCentral and Google Voice do it from a settings menu. Setup takes about five minutes.

Key takeaways

• You do not need a new number. Forwarding sends calls from your current number to the AI receptionist's number.
• Three modes: all calls, conditional (no answer or busy), and after-hours schedule. Most small businesses start with conditional.
• Verizon and AT&T landline and wireless commonly use *72 to activate and *73 to cancel unconditional forwarding. T-Mobile uses **21*number# style codes.
• Codes vary by plan and region. Confirm with your carrier before you rely on them.
• Test with five calls from a different phone before you announce anything to customers.

What are the three ways to forward calls to an AI receptionist?

Pick the mode that matches how your team actually answers the phone today.

1. Forward all calls (unconditional)

Every incoming call goes straight to the AI receptionist. Your phone never rings. This is the right choice if nobody is reliably at a desk, if you are a one-person operation working in the field, or if you want the AI to be the front door and transfer to you only when needed.

2. Forward on no answer or busy (conditional)

Your phone rings first. If nobody picks up within a set number of rings, usually four to six, or if the line is busy, the call goes to the AI instead of voicemail. This is the most common setup for offices with a real receptionist who steps away, takes lunch, or gets two calls at once. Nothing changes for callers who reach a person. Everything changes for callers who used to hit voicemail, and most of those callers did not leave a message.

3. After-hours schedule

Calls ring your office during business hours and go to the AI at night, on weekends and on holidays. Some carriers support this natively as scheduled forwarding. Many do not, in which case you either flip the star code at closing time (easy to forget) or let the AI receptionist vendor handle scheduling on its end. Shtello Connect, for example, can take all calls and apply your hours itself: during the day it rings your desk first and answers only if you do not, and after hours it answers immediately.

You can combine modes. A common pattern: conditional forwarding during the day, all-calls forwarding at night, and a separate rule that sends emergency calls to the on-call phone. That last part is described in how to route urgent calls to a human and let AI handle the rest.

What are the forwarding codes for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile?

The table below lists the codes that are commonly used on US carriers. They are GSM-style star codes that you dial from the phone whose number you want to forward. Replace "number" with the AI receptionist's 10-digit number.

Caveat: carriers change codes, some business plans use different ones, and landline codes can differ by region. Treat this as a starting point and confirm with your carrier's support page or a quick call before you go live.

• Verizon (wireless and landline), Forward all calls: *72 then number; Forward on no answer: *71 then number; Forward on busy: *71 covers no answer and busy on most Verizon plans; Cancel: *73
• AT&T wireless, Forward all calls: *72 then number (or *21*number#); Forward on no answer: *92 then number (or *61*number#); Forward on busy: *90 then number (or *67*number#); Cancel: *73 (all); *93 (no answer); *91 (busy)
• AT&T landline, Forward all calls: *72 then number; Forward on no answer: *92 then number; Forward on busy: *90 then number; Cancel: *73 (all); *93 (no answer); *91 (busy)
• T-Mobile, Forward all calls: **21*number#; Forward on no answer: **61*number#; Forward on busy: **67*number#; Cancel: ##21# (all); ##61# (no answer); ##67# (busy); ##002# clears everything
• RingCentral, Forward all calls: No codes. Admin Portal, then Phone System, then Call Handling and Forwarding (see below).
• Google Voice, Forward all calls: No codes. Settings, then Calls, then call forwarding (see below).

A few notes on using the codes:

• Dial the code and number as one string, then press call. You typically hear a confirmation tone or see a confirmation on screen.
• For conditional forwarding, some carriers let you set the ring delay with an extra parameter, for example **61*number*11*20# on T-Mobile for 20 seconds. If yours does not, the default is usually about 20 to 25 seconds.
• The T-Mobile ##002# code cancels every forwarding rule at once.
• If you have a multi-line desk phone system, forwarding is usually set in the PBX or the provider's portal, not with star codes. Ask whoever manages the system.

How do I forward calls from RingCentral or Google Voice?

VoIP providers give you more control and no star codes.

RingCentral. Log in to the Admin Portal, open Phone System, pick the main company number or the specific user, and open Call Handling and Forwarding. You will see separate rules for work hours and after hours. For conditional forwarding, keep your desk phones ringing first and add the AI receptionist number as the next destination after a set number of seconds. For after-hours forwarding, set the after-hours rule to send calls directly to the AI number.

Google Voice. Open Settings, then Calls. Add the AI receptionist number as a linked number if you want it to ring alongside your phones, or set it as the destination for unanswered calls. Google Voice for Google Workspace adds ring groups and business-hours schedules in the admin console, which is where after-hours routing lives. Note that Google Voice will sometimes screen or announce forwarded calls; turn call screening off for the forwarded line so the AI picks up cleanly.

Do I have to give up my phone number?

No. Forwarding is the whole point: your customers keep dialing the number on your trucks, your website and your Google listing, and the carrier redirects the call. Nothing about your number changes. You are not porting it, and you can cancel forwarding in one code if you ever want to.

Two alternatives exist. You can port your number to the AI receptionist provider, which takes a week or two and is harder to reverse. Or you can publish the AI's number as a second line for overflow. Most owners stick with forwarding because it is reversible in seconds. The tradeoffs are covered in can I keep my phone number with an AI receptionist.

One detail worth knowing: when a call is forwarded, the AI receptionist still sees the original caller's number, not yours, so caller ID, callbacks and text confirmations work normally.

What should I test before going live?

Forwarding either works or it does not, and the only way to know is to call. Use a phone that is not the one you forwarded, and run through this checklist.

1. Call during business hours. Confirm the call reaches your desk first (conditional) or the AI immediately (all calls). Count the rings if it is conditional.
2. Let it ring out. Do not answer. Confirm the AI picks up instead of voicemail, and that the greeting names your business correctly.
3. Call while the line is busy. Have someone hold the office line open and call again. The second call should reach the AI, not a busy signal.
4. Call after hours. If you use a schedule, call five minutes after closing time and confirm the AI answers directly.
5. Book a real appointment. Give a name and a time and confirm the booking lands in your calendar and the confirmation text arrives.
6. Ask for a person. Say "I need to speak to someone" and confirm the transfer reaches the right cell or desk phone, with caller ID intact.
7. Check your old voicemail. Make sure it is no longer catching calls. Old voicemail greetings that say "we're closed, leave a message" undo the whole setup.
8. Check the transcript. Open the call log and read what the AI recorded. This is where you catch a wrong address, a mispronounced business name or a missing service.

Repeat the checks a week later. Carriers occasionally reset forwarding after a plan change or SIM swap.

What if forwarding does not work?

The three most common causes, in order:

• The feature is not on your plan. Some prepaid and older business plans do not include conditional forwarding. Ask the carrier to enable it; it is usually free or a few dollars a month.
• Voicemail is grabbing the call first. If the voicemail ring delay is shorter than the forwarding delay, voicemail wins. Extend the voicemail delay or shorten the forwarding one.
• A stale rule is set. Cancel everything (*73 on Verizon and AT&T, ##002# on T-Mobile), then set the rule you want fresh.

If you are a Shtello Connect client, setup is handled for you, including a test call with you on the line, so you do not have to chase the codes yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Does call forwarding cost extra?

Usually not for unconditional forwarding on postpaid plans. Conditional forwarding is included on most plans but some carriers bill forwarded minutes against your plan. Check your plan details.

Will callers notice the call was forwarded?

No. There is no click, announcement or delay that a caller would hear. The AI receptionist answers as if it were sitting at your desk.

Can I forward only after hours without dialing a code every night?

On RingCentral and Google Voice, yes, through schedules. On Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile it depends on the plan, and the more reliable approach is to forward all calls and let the AI receptionist apply your business hours on its side.

Does forwarding work with a cell phone as my business line?

Yes. The star codes above are the same for wireless lines, and conditional forwarding is often the best fit because you still get first shot at the call.

Can I forward from multiple numbers to one AI receptionist?

Yes. Each line gets its own forwarding rule, and the AI can identify which number the caller dialed and greet accordingly, for example one greeting for the main office and another for the emergency line.

If you want to see what a forwarded call sounds like on the receiving end, Shtello Connect runs a live demo you can call right now. Plans start at $199/mo on a 12-month plan, plus $0.80 a minute and a one-time $499 setup, and forwarding setup is handled for you. Hear the live demo and forward your first test call today.