> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.brilo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set your greeting

> Set the first line your Brilo agent says when it answers, and decide whether callers can interrupt the greeting instead of waiting for it to finish.

The greeting is the one line every single caller hears, so it earns more attention than anything else
on the page. You set a fixed greeting in the **Configure** tab, and you control whether callers are
allowed to talk over it.

## Before you start

* An agent, even an unfinished one. See [Create your first agent](/agents/create-your-first-agent).
* Five minutes.
* Your business name spelled the way you want it said out loud.
* You will be working in your agent's **Configure** tab.

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Configure tab">
    Open your agent and go to **Configure**. **Custom Greeting** sits under **Agent Information**,
    below **Voice**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write the greeting">
    Keep it to one sentence. Say who is answering, then hand the call straight to the caller. For
    example "Thanks for calling Marston Dental, how can I help?"

    Leave it empty and your agent opens with whatever your instructions say instead. Filling it in is
    the way to guarantee the same opening on every call.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide whether callers can interrupt it">
    **Interrupt Greeting** is on by default, which lets a caller start talking while your agent is
    still speaking the greeting. Leave it on unless you have a specific reason not to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and call it">
    Save, then call your own number and listen to the first three seconds. See
    [Test your agent yourself](/go-live/test-your-agent-yourself).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## You will know it worked when

You call your number and hear exactly the sentence you typed, said at a pace you would be happy for a
customer to hear, and you can cut in over it without your agent talking on regardless.

## What to put in it, in order

1. **Who is answering.** Your business name, said the way customers say it. This is the only part
   callers actually need.
2. **An invitation to speak.** "How can I help?" is enough. It tells the caller the line is live and
   it is their turn.
3. **Nothing else.** Opening hours, promotions, and menu options all belong later in the call, if at
   all. Every extra clause is time a caller spends waiting to explain why they rang.

Two things to avoid. Do not stack questions, because a caller answers only the last one. Do not read a
disclaimer first, because callers hang up on disclaimers.

## Why you should leave Interrupt Greeting on

Real callers start talking as soon as they hear a voice. With **Interrupt Greeting** on, your agent
stops and listens, which is what a person would do. With it off, your agent finishes the greeting
while the caller is mid sentence, and the caller repeats themselves and starts the call annoyed.

Turn it off only when the greeting carries something the caller must hear in full, such as a recording
notice you are required to play.

## What else you can do here

* Change the greeting wording in your instructions instead, if you want it to vary with context. See
  [Write what your agent says](/agents/write-what-your-agent-says).
* Add your business name to the recognition vocabulary so your agent hears it correctly when callers
  say it back. See [Teach it names and terms](/knowledge/teach-it-names-and-terms).
* Give a second phone number its own agent with its own greeting, if you run two brands. See
  [Assign a number to an agent](/phone-numbers/assign-a-number-to-an-agent).
* Set the tone and length of everything after the greeting. See
  [Give your agent a personality](/agents/give-your-agent-a-personality).

## If it did not work

**Your agent says something other than what you typed.** Check the greeting saved, and check your
instructions do not open with a competing greeting. When both exist, they can fight and the result
reads as a stumble.

**The greeting is cut off at the start.** The first fraction of a second can be lost while the line
connects. Begin with your business name rather than a short word like "Hi", so nothing important is
in the part that can clip.

**Callers keep talking over it and getting ignored.** **Interrupt Greeting** is off. Turn it on.

**Your business name is mispronounced.** Add it to the recognition vocabulary with a pronunciation.
Rewriting the greeting phonetically works but looks wrong to everyone who edits it later. See
[Teach it names and terms](/knowledge/teach-it-names-and-terms).

**It sounds rushed.** That is voice and pace, not wording. See
[Choose a voice](/agents/choose-a-voice).

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I change what my Brilo agent says when it answers the phone?">
    Open your agent, go to **Configure**, and edit **Custom Greeting** under **Agent Information**.
    Save, and the next caller hears the new wording. A call already in progress finishes on the old
    one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What should my AI receptionist say when it answers?">
    One sentence: your business name, then an invitation to speak. "Thanks for calling Marston Dental,
    how can I help?" does everything a greeting needs to do. Leave hours, offers, and menus out of it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can callers interrupt the greeting?">
    Yes, and by default they can. **Interrupt Greeting** is on out of the box, so a caller who starts
    talking straight away is heard instead of talked over. Turn it off only if the greeting has to be
    heard in full.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I leave the custom greeting empty?">
    Your agent opens with whatever your instructions tell it to say, which can vary slightly from call
    to call. Fill in **Custom Greeting** when you want the identical opening every time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can the greeting use the caller's name?">
    Where you already hold the contact, yes, and it lands well for returning customers. Turn on
    **Contact Memory** so your agent knows who is calling. See
    [Remember callers between calls](/agents/remember-callers).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Should my greeting say the call is recorded?">
    That depends on where you and your callers are. Some places require it. If you need it, put it in
    the greeting and turn **Interrupt Greeting** off so it cannot be skipped. See
    [Recordings, transcripts and retention](/compliance/recordings-and-retention).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is the beginning of my greeting cut off?">
    The first moment of audio can be lost while the phone line finishes connecting. Start with your
    business name rather than a one syllable word, so nothing that matters sits in the clipped part.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [Write what your agent says](/agents/write-what-your-agent-says) for everything after the greeting
* [Give your agent a personality](/agents/give-your-agent-a-personality) for tone and answer length
* [Remember callers between calls](/agents/remember-callers) to greet returning customers by name
* [Teach it names and terms](/knowledge/teach-it-names-and-terms) for your business name
* [Test your agent yourself](/go-live/test-your-agent-yourself) to hear the first three seconds