Your first 24 hours

You're live. Here's what to do in the first 24 hours to make sure everything is working and you get the most out of AdaptLocal from day one.

Step 1: Set up call forwarding

This is the most important step. Call forwarding is what connects your existing business number to your AI — without it, the AI never sees your missed calls.

Your dashboard's Setup section has step-by-step instructions for your carrier. Or read the full guide: Setting up call forwarding →

Step 2: Test your AI

Before real customers start calling, take 5 minutes to test the AI yourself. Text your AdaptLocal number as if you were a customer — ask about pricing, book a job, see how it responds.

Your AI knows you're the owner, so it'll note that in its responses. Don't worry about that — it'll respond naturally to real customers.

See the full guide: Testing your AI →

Step 3: Check your dashboard

Your dashboard at adaptlocal.ai/dashboard is where everything lives — conversations, leads, bookings, and settings. Bookmark it. You can also sign in from any browser using the link in your setup SMS.

A few things worth checking now:

• Services — make sure your services and prices are listed correctly. The AI uses this to answer pricing questions.
• Business hours — set your hours so the AI knows when you're open and when to handle after-hours calls differently.
• Notifications — by default you'll get an SMS when a hot lead comes in. You can also turn on email notifications in Settings → Notifications.

What to expect when the first call comes in

1. 1
   Customer calls your business number. Your phone rings normally.
2. 2
   If you don't answer after 4–5 rings, the call forwards to your AdaptLocal number.
3. 3
   The AI plays a brief greeting and records a voicemail (or just detects the missed call).
4. 4
   Within seconds, your AI texts the customer: "Hey, saw I missed your call — how can I help?"
5. 5
   If the customer replies, the AI qualifies them: name, service needed, location, preferred time.
6. 6
   Once qualified as a hot lead, you get a text notification with the details and a dashboard link.

What your first week looks like

Day 1–2: You'll notice missed calls getting text responses. Customers who would have given up and called a competitor are now in a conversation.

Day 3–5: Check your dashboard's Conversations tab. You'll see who reached out, what they needed, and how the AI handled it. If anything looks off — a response that was too vague, a price that was wrong — adjust it in Settings.

Day 7: You'll get a weekly performance report (SMS and email) showing conversations, leads captured, and any trends. Most owners are surprised by how many after-hours contacts they were missing before.