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

# Quickstart

> Create your first assistant and test it with a web call

This guide takes you from an empty account to a live conversation with your own AI assistant — no phone number required for the first test.

<Tip>
  New to Famulor? [Core concepts](/#core-concepts) on the Overview page, and the full [Glossary](/glossary), cover terms like Assistant, Flow, Campaign, and Phone number used throughout this guide.
</Tip>

## 1. Create an assistant

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Assistants and select New Assistant">
    The **Create assistant** modal opens. Enter a name your team will recognize, e.g. `Reception EN`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the agent type">
    * **Single prompt** — free-form conversations from one system prompt (best for most first assistants).
    * **Conversational flow** — visual flow builder for branches, data collection, and transfers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a template (or build from scratch)">
    Use **Build from scratch**, or apply a catalog template (filter by theme). Templates copy into the system prompt and optional first message — they are not live-linked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit greeting and instructions">
    In the editor:

    * **Prompt mode:** greeting + system prompt on the canvas. Use **Choose template** anytime.
    * **Flow mode:** open the flow builder; the base instructions live under Settings → General → **Advanced prompt** (also collapsed on the canvas).

    A solid starting prompt:

    ```text theme={null}
    You are Anna, the friendly phone assistant of Example GmbH.
    You answer questions about opening hours, services, and pricing.
    Keep answers short and conversational — you are on a phone call.
    If the caller wants an appointment, collect their name and phone
    number and confirm you will call back. Never invent information.
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a voice and models — or keep the defaults">
    The defaults (a low-latency pipeline with a recommended voice) work well out of the box. You can browse the [voice library](/assistants/models-and-voices) later and preview voices before switching.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Your assistant is now ready to take calls.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 2. Test it in the browser

Every test runs your assistant exactly as saved — same prompt, flow, tools, and knowledge base. Select the **Test** button in the editor header and pick how you want to test:

* **Chat** — a text-only session, no audio. The fastest way to get wording and logic right without speaking out loud.
* **Web Call** — a live voice call in the browser, no phone number involved:
  1. Allow microphone access.
  2. Talk to your assistant. Interrupt it mid-sentence — it should stop and listen.
  3. End the call, then open **[History](/monitoring/history)** to review the transcript.
* **Call** — a real phone call, available once the assistant has an outbound number or a verified caller ID (step 3). Enter your own number and the assistant rings you.
* **Simulations** — an AI-played caller works through a scenario you define and scores the result; see [Simulations](/assistants/simulations).

A good progression: **Chat** first to settle the wording and logic, **Web Call** to hear timing and interruptions, then a real **Call** before you go live.

<Note>
  Web and phone test calls consume voice-time credits like any other call. A Chat test places no call. See [How usage is billed](/billing/minutes).
</Note>

<Tip>
  Iterate on the prompt between test calls. Short prompts with concrete rules ("keep answers under two sentences", "always confirm the phone number by reading it back") beat long essays.
</Tip>

## 3. Put it on a phone number

Chat and Web Call already run the assistant's real logic — once both sound right, move to an actual number:

* **Buy a number** in [Phone numbers](/telephony/phone-numbers) and assign the assistant to it — inbound calls are answered immediately.
* Or **connect your own SIP trunk** ([BYO SIP](/telephony/sip-trunks)) to use existing numbers.
* Or **verify a number you already own** as an outbound [caller ID](/telephony/caller-id) — enough for the **Call** test and for outbound calling, though it does not receive calls.

With an outbound number in place, use the editor's **Call** test to ring your own phone — the same telephony path a live call uses. For volume, set up a [campaign](/campaigns/overview); see [Inbound & outbound calls](/telephony/inbound-outbound) for how calls reach and leave an assistant.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="System prompt vs. flow builder" href="/assistants/overview" icon="pen">
    When a single prompt is enough — and when to switch to a visual flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Conversation quality" href="/assistants/conversation-quality" icon="waveform-lines">
    Background audio, interruption handling, filler phrases, guardrails.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Knowledge base" href="/assistants/knowledge-base" icon="book">
    Let the assistant answer from your documents.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Engine modes" href="/assistants/engine-modes" icon="gears">
    Pipeline, realtime, and half-cascade explained.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>