The most common worry we hear: "Do I have to give up my number?" No. Forwarding leaves your number exactly where it is — with your carrier, on your phone — and simply tells the network where to send calls you don't take.
The two modes
Forward everything. Every call goes straight to your AI receptionist. You stop being interrupted entirely; urgent calls come back to you as live transfers. Best for owners who want their day back.
Forward when busy / unanswered ("conditional forwarding"). Your phone rings first, exactly as today. Only when you're on the line, or don't pick up within a few rings, does the call roll to the receptionist instead of voicemail. Best for owners who like answering when they can.
How it's done
Both modes are a short dial code from your business phone — no app, no visit, no port. The exact code varies by carrier (*72 / *21 / **21 patterns are typical); your Ansurra dashboard has a forwarding guide with the code for each major carrier, and switching it off is another dial code. The whole thing is reversible in under a minute.
What stays the same
- Your number — on your signage, your van, your Google listing. Callers dial what they always dialled.
- Your outbound calls — you still call out from your own phone as normal.
- Your control — answer whenever you want; forwarding only catches what you don't.
What changes
Voicemail stops collecting your revenue. Every forwarded call is answered in seconds, booked if it's bookable, transferred if it's urgent, and written up in your inbox either way. Set-up end to end — account, receptionist, dial code — takes most owners under ten minutes, and the first 20 talk minutes are free.