Everything you need to get Availon set up and running smoothly. Step-by-step guides for every part of the platform.
Direct missed calls to your Availon number
Call forwarding tells your phone carrier to automatically redirect calls to your Availon number when you don't answer. Your customers still dial your original number — Availon catches the missed calls silently in the background.
You'll need your Availon dedicated number before setting up call forwarding. Find it on your dashboard under 'Your Dedicated Business Number'.
A customer calls your existing business number.
You don't answer within a few rings.
Your carrier automatically forwards the call to your Availon number.
Availon sends the customer an instant text message on your behalf.
Most phones let you manage call forwarding directly in settings without dialing any codes.
Save your forwarding codes as contacts on your phone. Then turning Availon on or off is just one tap.
After setting up call forwarding, test it by calling your business number from a different phone and letting it ring without answering. You should receive a text from your Availon number within 10 seconds.
One-tap access to your dashboard — no app store needed
Availon doesn't require a download from the App Store or Google Play. Instead, you can add it directly to your phone's home screen for instant one-tap access, just like a native app.
Open Safari on your iPhone and go to myavailon.com.
Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen — it looks like a box with an arrow pointing up.
Scroll down in the share menu and tap 'Add to Home Screen'.
The name will show as 'Availon' — tap 'Add' in the top right corner.
The Availon icon will now appear on your home screen.
Make sure to use Safari — this feature does not work in Chrome or other browsers on iPhone.
Open Chrome on your Android phone and go to myavailon.com.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner of Chrome.
Tap 'Add to Home Screen'.
Confirm the name as 'Availon' and tap 'Add'.
The Availon icon will appear on your home screen.
Create a free Google account and get your calendar ready
If you don't currently use a digital calendar, Google Calendar is free and works perfectly with Availon. Follow these steps to create your account and get set up — it takes about 5 minutes.
You only need to do this once. After your Google account is created, Availon will connect to it and keep your calendar updated automatically going forward.
Go to accounts.google.com/signup in your browser (or tap the link from your onboarding page).
Enter your first and last name.
Choose a Gmail address — this becomes your login. Example: smithplumbing.okc@gmail.com
Create a strong password and confirm it.
Add your phone number for account recovery (optional but recommended).
Accept Google's terms and click 'Create Account'.
Write down your Gmail address and password and keep it somewhere safe. You'll need it to connect Google Calendar to Availon.
Go to calendar.google.com in your browser, or download the Google Calendar app from the App Store or Google Play.
Sign in with the Google account you just created.
You'll see a blank calendar — that's normal. Availon will start adding appointments here automatically once connected.
Google Calendar works by showing you events (appointments) on a calendar grid. Each event has a date, time, and title. When Availon books an appointment for you, it creates an event in your calendar automatically — you don't have to do anything.
Events appear as colored blocks on the calendar grid.
Tap any event to see the customer's name, phone number, and service type.
You can edit or delete events directly in Google Calendar if needed.
When Availon checks your availability, it reads your calendar to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Once your Google account is created, go back to your onboarding page or your Availon dashboard and click Connect Google Calendar. Sign in with your new Google account and click Allow.
That's it — Availon is now connected. Every appointment your AI books will appear in your Google Calendar automatically.
Open calendar.google.com or the Google Calendar app to see your schedule.
Tap any day to see what's scheduled.
Tap + to manually add an event (like a job you booked over the phone).
Set a reminder on any event so your phone alerts you before the appointment.
Need more help with Google Calendar? Google's own help center has video guides at support.google.com/calendar.
Block time so Availon doesn't double-book you
If you already have jobs booked on a paper calendar, whiteboard, or in your head — you'll want to add those to Google Calendar so Availon knows when you're busy. This prevents it from booking a customer during a time you're already committed.
You don't need to enter your entire history — just the next 2 to 4 weeks of existing commitments. Availon only books new appointments going forward.
Open Google Calendar at calendar.google.com or in the Google Calendar app on your phone.
Tap the day you have an existing job booked.
Tap the + button (or tap directly on the time slot) to create a new event.
Enter a title — it can be simple like 'Plumbing job — Jones' or just 'Busy'.
Set the start time and end time of the job.
Tap Save. That time slot is now blocked.
Repeat for each existing commitment over the next 2–4 weeks.
Availon won't book customers during any time slots that have an event in your calendar. Even a simple 'Busy' event is enough to block that time.
If you work set hours every day (e.g. 8am–5pm), you don't need to block individual jobs — just know that Availon will only offer appointment slots within your business hours setting.
For recurring jobs (same customer, same time every week), create a 'Repeating event' in Google Calendar so you only have to enter it once.
If you're fully booked for a day, tap the day → Create event → All day → Save. Availon won't offer any slots on that day.
On iPhone, you can use Siri: 'Hey Siri, add a calendar event called Roofing job on Tuesday from 9am to 3pm.'
Many trade business owners have used paper calendars for years — and that's fine. The simplest transition is to keep using your paper calendar for reference, but also add new appointments to Google Calendar as they come in. Within a week or two, Google Calendar will become your primary schedule and you won't need the paper anymore.
You don't have to transfer years of history. Just start fresh from today.
Going forward, Availon books new appointments directly to Google Calendar — so you'll naturally start working from it as your schedule fills up with AI-booked jobs.
Let Availon book appointments automatically
Connecting your Google Calendar allows your AI receptionist to check your availability and book appointments directly to your calendar when customers request them via text.
Log in to your Availon dashboard at myavailon.com/dashboard.
Scroll to the bottom of the dashboard and find the Calendar section.
Click 'Connect Calendar'.
You'll be redirected to Google. Sign in with the Google account that has your business calendar.
Google will ask permission to access your calendar — click 'Allow'.
You'll be redirected back to Availon. Your dashboard will now show 'Google Calendar connected'.
Use the Google account that contains your primary business calendar. Once connected, Availon will book appointments to your 'primary' calendar automatically.
Don't have a Google Calendar yet? See the 'Setting Up Google Calendar' guide above — it only takes 5 minutes to create a free account.
Appointments booked by Availon will appear in Google Calendar with the customer's name, phone number, and service type.
Microsoft Outlook / Office 365 integration
Connect your Microsoft Outlook or Office 365 calendar directly from your Availon dashboard.
Log in to your Availon dashboard at myavailon.com/dashboard.
Scroll to the Calendar section and click 'Connect Calendar'.
Click 'Connect Outlook Calendar'.
You'll be redirected to Microsoft. Sign in with your Microsoft or Office 365 account.
Microsoft will ask permission to access your calendar — click 'Accept'.
You'll be redirected back to Availon. Your dashboard will now show 'Outlook Calendar connected'.
Personal Microsoft accounts (Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live) and work accounts (Office 365) are both supported.
Appointments booked by Availon will appear in your Outlook calendar just like any other event.
Connect Apple Calendar through Google or Outlook
Availon doesn't connect directly to Apple Calendar (iCloud Calendar), but you can still have all your appointments appear in Apple Calendar by connecting through Google Calendar or Outlook.
Apple Calendar on iPhone and Mac syncs automatically with Google Calendar and Outlook. Once you connect either of those to Availon, your bookings will appear in Apple Calendar too.
On your iPhone, go to Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account.
Tap 'Google' and sign in with your Google account.
Make sure 'Calendars' is toggled on and tap Save.
Your Google Calendar events — including Availon bookings — will now appear in your Apple Calendar app automatically.
Connect Google Calendar to Availon from your dashboard.
On your iPhone, go to Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account.
Tap 'Microsoft Exchange' or 'Outlook' and sign in.
Make sure 'Calendars' is toggled on and tap Save.
Your Outlook calendar events will appear in Apple Calendar automatically.
Connect Outlook Calendar to Availon from your dashboard.
On Mac, you can add Google or Outlook accounts in System Settings → Internet Accounts.
Control when your AI responds to customers
Business hours control when your AI receptionist responds to incoming text messages. Outside your set hours, customers receive a polite message letting them know you'll respond during business hours.
Oklahoma law requires no automated texts before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM. Availon defaults to 8am–8pm CT to keep you compliant.
Log in to your dashboard at myavailon.com/dashboard.
Scroll down to the 'Business Hours' section.
Use the 'Opens' and 'Closes' dropdowns to set your hours.
Select your timezone from the dropdown (default is Central Time).
Toggle 'Enabled' on to enforce hours, or off to have your AI respond 24/7.
Click 'Save Hours' to apply your settings.
"Thanks for reaching out to Smith Plumbing! We're currently outside business hours (8:00 AM - 8:00 PM CT). We'll get back to you first thing during business hours."
Elite plan customers can enable emergency after-hours dispatch — customers can request urgent service after hours at a set rate. Configure it in your dashboard under Emergency After-Hours Dispatch.
How to manage and respond to conversations
Your Availon inbox stores every conversation your AI has had with your customers. You can read full conversations, reply manually, and manage escalations — all from one place.
Log in to your dashboard at myavailon.com/dashboard.
Click 'Inbox' in the top navigation bar, or click 'View all' in the Recent Conversations section.
You'll see a list of all conversations, sorted by most recent.
Click any conversation in the left sidebar to open it.
Messages from your AI show on the left (teal). Customer messages show on the right (gray).
An AI Summary appears at the top of each conversation so you can see at a glance what happened.
Open a conversation from the inbox.
Type your message in the text box at the bottom.
Press Enter or click Send. Your message will be sent as an SMS to the customer.
When you reply manually, your message goes out from your Availon dedicated number — the customer sees a seamless conversation.
Find escalated conversations by looking for the 🚨 red indicator in your inbox.
Open the conversation and read what happened.
Reply manually to take over the conversation.
Click 'Mark Resolved' in the conversation header to clear the escalation flag.
Use the search bar at the top of the inbox sidebar to find a conversation by phone number.
Click 'Needs Attention' to filter to only escalated conversations.
Click 'Clear' to reset filters and see all conversations.
Common issues and how to fix them
Check that your Availon account is active and your subscription is current.
Verify call forwarding is set up correctly on your phone — this is the most common cause.
Check your business hours settings — if it's outside your set hours, the AI won't respond until business hours.
Make sure the customer hasn't previously texted STOP (opted out). Check their conversation in your inbox.
Check if Availon is paused — look for the Pause/Resume toggle at the top of your dashboard.
If none of the above, contact support at support@availon.ai.
For Google: make sure you're signing in with the correct Google account that has your business calendar.
For Outlook: make sure you're signing in with the correct Microsoft account.
Try disconnecting and reconnecting from your dashboard.
Make sure you clicked 'Allow' or 'Accept' when asked for calendar permissions.
If you see any error, contact support — we can usually resolve calendar issues in minutes.
Verify your calendar is connected — dashboard shows 'Google Calendar connected' or 'Outlook Calendar connected'.
Check that the AI actually completed a booking — look in your inbox for a conversation that ended with a confirmed appointment.
For Google: check your 'primary' calendar — Availon books to the default calendar.
Allow up to 60 seconds for the event to appear after booking.
Check that your business phone number is saved correctly in your account settings.
Make sure your phone can receive texts from unknown numbers.
Check if Do Not Disturb is enabled on your phone — it may be blocking alerts.
Contact support if alerts are still not arriving.
Check your Availon inbox to confirm the message was sent.
The customer's carrier may have filtered the message as spam — ask them to check their filtered messages.
Make sure call forwarding was active when the call came in.
If this happens repeatedly, contact support — it may be a carrier delivery issue.
See the 'Adding Your Existing Appointments' guide above for step-by-step instructions.
In short: open Google Calendar, tap the day, tap +, enter the appointment title and time, save.
You only need to add the next 2–4 weeks of existing commitments.
Availon only books new appointments — it won't affect anything already on your calendar.