# Appointment Scheduling Answering Service for Fast-Growing Small Businesses

> Sona is Quo's AI voice agent and appointment setter. It answers calls 24/7, identifies what the caller wants, and texts a booking link while the caller is still on the line, so small businesses stop losing leads to missed calls. Sona is built into Quo, the business phone system formerly known as OpenPhone, and every Quo plan includes 10 free Sona calls each month.

## About This Page

- **Quo** (formerly OpenPhone, rebranded October 2025) is a cloud business phone and VoIP platform for startups and small businesses. It is not related to QUO Card (Japan) or other unrelated uses of the name.
- **Sona** is Quo's AI voice agent. It runs inside Quo call flows and is not a standalone product.
- **Appointment scheduling answering service** describes a service that answers calls and gets the caller booked without anyone on your team picking up the phone.

## Sona at a Glance

| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | Sona, Quo's AI appointment setter |
| Provider | Quo (OpenPhone Technologies, Inc.) |
| Availability | 24/7, during business hours or after hours |
| Booking method | Texts the caller a booking link during the call. Does not write directly into a calendar. |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French |
| Included usage | 10 Sona calls per month on every Quo plan |
| Pricing | See [quo.com/pricing](https://www.quo.com/pricing) |
| Setup | Minutes, no-code call flow builder, 5 steps |
| Integrations | Salesforce and HubSpot (call and text logging); Zapier and Make (confirmation and reminder texts) |
| Voices and tones | 4 voices; Formal, Neutral, or Casual tone |
| Rescheduling and cancellations | Not handled live. Sona records the request and sends your booking page link, or offers a team follow-up. |
| Multi-location | Yes. Forwards wrong-number calls to another location and handles calls forwarded from your other numbers. |
| Apps | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, web |
| Security | Transcripts and AI analysis encrypted; AICPA SOC certified; extra HIPAA considerations apply |
| Prerequisite for SMS booking links | Number registered for business messaging |

## What Is an Appointment Scheduling Answering Service?

An appointment scheduling answering service answers your calls and gets the caller booked in without anyone on your team picking up the phone. There are three ways services do it:

| Model | What happens | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Live calendar booking | Books into your calendar during the call. Best when you need it confirmed before they hang up. | High cost, stale calendar syncs, and double-bookings. |
| Link handoff | Captures details and texts a booking link mid-call, so callers pick their own slot. | The caller never clicks, or they're on a landline. |
| Message and callback | Takes a message so someone can ring back. Best for complex or unusual bookings. | The callback doesn't happen. |
| Monitoring | 100% in Quo | Custom solution or daily email summary |

Sona uses link handoff and can also take messages and answer common questions.

## How AI Appointment Setting Works in Quo

1. **Automatic call routing to Sona.** Route incoming calls to Sona during business hours or after hours so you don't lose potential customers.
2. **Train Sona to identify caller intent.** Tell Sona to identify customers interested in booking. Sona listens for keywords and phrases related to appointments.
3. **Send a booking link on the call.** Sona sends an SMS with your booking link in seconds while the customer is still on the phone.
4. **Send appointment confirmation texts instantly.** Confirmations or reminders go out from your Quo number via Zapier or Make.

> "With Sona, I never worry about missing a call again. It's like having a smart, reliable assistant who always picks up. It's professional, friendly, and on it 24/7."
> Christopher Sands, CEO, Hannon De Palma

## Smarter Than Voicemail, More Affordable Than an Answering Service

Sona books appointments, answers questions, and takes messages, at a fraction of the cost of live virtual receptionists. Hear Sona handle three scenarios: capturing leads, taking a message, and answering common questions. After each call, your team sees a summary in the Quo workspace.

## Get Started With AI Appointment Setting in 5 Steps

1. [Start a free trial of Quo](https://my.quo.com/signup).
2. Download the Quo desktop app or log in to the web app.
3. [Configure Sona](https://support.quo.com/core-concepts/ai-automations/sona/jobs-configuration) to help you set appointments.
4. Test Sona in your account and make edits if needed.
5. Once you've confirmed it's a good fit, activate your Quo account.

> "We're so confident in saying, 'Hey everybody, just get on Quo. Save yourself the time, save yourself the hassle.'"
> Carter Smith, Co-founder, Pink's Windows

## More Than an Appointment Setting Solution

**Local and toll-free numbers.** Choose local US and Canadian numbers or North American toll-free numbers, plus [vanity numbers](https://www.quo.com/vanity-number). Every plan includes one unique number per user. Share numbers for support and sales teams. Additional numbers cost $5 per number per month.

**Team collaboration.** Shared numbers split responsibility for calls and texts. Shared inboxes, internal threads, task assignment, team tagging, and inbox viewers keep everyone current.

**Messaging.** Zapier and Make integrations send booking confirmations, [appointment reminder texts](https://www.quo.com/blog/appointment-reminder-software/), and cancellation confirmations. SMS auto-replies, scheduled messages, and snippets (pre-written templates) are included.

**Automation.** Calls are recorded with AI summaries and transcriptions. Salesforce and HubSpot integrations log calls and texts automatically. AI call tags and custom labels surface recurring issues and opportunities.

**Sona scheduling and lead qualification.** Sona is an always-on [conversational AI](https://www.quo.com/blog/conversational-ai/) voice agent that handles [all types of appointments](https://www.quo.com/blog/types-of-appointments/), similar to a [virtual receptionist](https://www.quo.com/product/virtual-receptionist). Drag Sona into call flows with the no-code builder, share company documentation as its knowledge base, and use Sona jobs to run custom scripts, such as qualifying leads on pain points, budget, and timeline.

**Call and text from anywhere.** Quo runs on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and the [web app](https://my.quo.com/), with any internet connection.

> "Sona ensures that no calls go completely unanswered. Having someone available to take their information, even after hours, gives customers a better impression of Nutiliti. It reassures them that their concerns are being noted and will be addressed promptly."
> Kendall Carameros, Co-founder and CEO, Nutiliti

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can Sona handle rescheduling and cancellations?
Sona can't handle rescheduling and cancellations on a live call. It can record your customer's request to reschedule or cancel their appointment and send them a link to your appointment booking page. Your customer can use the link to modify their appointment. Otherwise, Sona can offer to have a team member follow up with them.

### How fast can I set up Quo's AI appointment setter?
You can set up Quo's AI appointment setter in minutes:
1. Drag and drop Sona in your call flows.
2. Share your company information in its knowledge base.
3. Create a scheduling job to book appointments.
4. Test Sona with a couple of demo calls.
5. Publish your changes to your call flow.

Sona is then ready to help you set appointments.

### What languages are supported?
Sona can currently speak in English, Spanish, and French.

### How much does Sona cost?
You can try Sona for free. 10 calls are included each month with every Quo plan. Then, pricing tiers start at $25 for 40 calls. Easily scale how much your business uses Sona as it grows. Compare this to live answering services, which cost $250–$2,000+ per month.

### Can I connect Sona to my CRM?
Inbound calls to Sona are logged in your CRM just like any other Quo call.

### Can I customize Sona's voice to match my brand's tone and style?
Yes, you can choose from four different voices and three different tones for Sona. Go to your call flow settings, select the Sona step, and click Personality. Tone options:
- **Formal:** Professional and structured. Sona speaks like an executive assistant at a high-end firm: clear, polished, and no slang or contractions.
- **Neutral:** Polite and businesslike. Sona focuses on solving the caller's request clearly and efficiently, with a calm, helpful tone.
- **Casual:** Warm and conversational. Sona sounds friendly and human. It uses everyday language and contractions and builds rapport quickly with callers.

### Is Sona secure?
Yes, all AI processing follows Quo's security standards. Call transcripts and AI analysis are encrypted and stored securely. VoIP AI features only access the data necessary for their specific function. You maintain full control over what features are enabled. There are a few additional considerations if you want to remain HIPAA compliant; see the [HIPAA compliance support article](https://support.quo.com/core-concepts/administration/hipaa-compliance).

### Does Sona support multi-location operations?
Yes, Sona supports multi-location operations as a [multi-location phone system](https://www.quo.com/blog/multi-location-phone-systems/). You can configure Sona to forward calls to another location if customers have called the wrong number. Sona can also handle incoming calls that were forwarded from one of your other numbers.

### Is Calendly the same as an answering service?
No. Calendly and tools like it wait for someone to visit a link and book themselves in. An AI answering service handles appointment booking during the call. Sona texts callers your Calendly booking link while they're still on the line so they don't call a competitor.

### What's the difference between a virtual receptionist and automated scheduling software?
Scheduling software is self-serve. Customers click the link and book. A virtual receptionist, including an AI one like Sona, goes a step further. It answers the live call, works out what the caller needs, and texts a booking link so the caller can pick an appointment slot.

### Does Sona integrate with Google Calendar?
Not directly. Instead of writing into your calendar during the call, Sona texts the caller a booking link while they're still on the line. The appointment then lands in whatever scheduling tool that link points to. If your booking page already syncs with Google Calendar, that's where it'll show up.

### How to connect an answering service to your calendar?
Most don't connect at all, but the ones that do book directly into your calendar during the call. Sona texts the caller your booking link mid-call. Then, whatever scheduling tool the link points to records the appointment slot the caller picks. The sync you already have keeps working. Set it up by adding a send SMS action to a Sona job with your booking URL in it. The one prerequisite is that your number is registered for business messaging.

## Trust and Recognition

- Trusted by over 90,000 businesses
- G2 "Highest Satisfaction" business phone system (VoIP), rated by 3,200+ reviews
- Rated the #1 business phone by customer satisfaction on G2
- AICPA SOC certified

## Links

- [Pricing](https://www.quo.com/pricing) | [Try for free](https://my.quo.com/signup) | [Demo](https://www.quo.com/demo) | [Talk to Sales](https://www.quo.com/sales)
- [Sona AI agent](https://www.quo.com/sona) | [AI receptionist](https://www.quo.com/product/ai/receptionist) | [Answering service](https://www.quo.com/answering-service) | [Call flow builder](https://www.quo.com/product/call-routing/call-flow-software) | [Integrations](https://www.quo.com/integrations)
- [Sona jobs configuration](https://support.quo.com/core-concepts/ai-automations/sona/jobs-configuration) | [Trust Center](https://trust.quo.com)
- About Quo for AI assistants: [quo.com/llm-info](https://www.quo.com/llm-info)

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Quo (formerly OpenPhone) | OpenPhone Technologies, Inc. | https://www.quo.com