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Overview

Setting up Sona AI agent involves accessing the Sona dashboard, integrating it with your call flows, configuring greetings, and defining the tasks Sona should perform. This guide covers everything from starting your free trial to deploying Sona in production.
Sona configuration requires Owner or Admin permissions and is available on web and desktop apps only.

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Accessing Sona

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Getting to the Sona dashboard

  1. Open your OpenPhone workspace on web or desktop
  2. Click “Sona” in the left sidebar navigation
  3. View available inboxes that you have admin or owner access to
  4. Start trial or purchase if you haven’t already subscribed
Accessing Sona from OpenPhone sidebar

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Sona dashboard features

Dashboard overview:
  • List of inboxes available for Sona configuration
  • Option to purchase Sona add-on if not already subscribed
  • Quick introductory video about Sona capabilities
  • Trial status and remaining days (during trial period)
Sona dashboard showing available inboxes and options

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Getting started

7-day free trial available:
  • Click “Start 7-day free trial” in Sona dashboard
  • Requires paid OpenPhone plan with Stripe billing
  • Admin/Owner permissions needed
Trials automatically convert to paid subscriptions ($49/month) after 7 days unless cancelled in Settings → Plan & Billing.

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Adding Sona to call flows

Prerequisites:
  • Admin or Owner permissions (same as call flow builder access)
  • Active call flow for the phone number
  • Sona subscription or active trial
Adding Sona steps
  1. Select inbox to configure from Sona dashboard
  2. Access call flow builder canvas
  3. Find Sona step in available steps list
  4. Drag Sona step into your call flow
Adding Sona step to call flow builder
Common Sona placements:
  • After Ring users step: Handle missed calls automatically
  • After phone menu step: Provide specific department assistance
  • After business hours step: Offer after-hours support and message taking
Multiple Sona configurations:
  • Add multiple Sona steps in different call flow positions
  • Configure each step with unique greetings and knowledge
  • Customize message collection for different scenarios
  • Unlimited Sona steps included in subscription

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Configuring Sona greetings

Greeting configuration:
  1. Select Sona step in call flow builder
  2. Locate Greeting section in settings panel
  3. Customize greeting text to reflect your brand voice
  4. Include required elements for compliance and clarity
Configuring Sona greeting in settings panel
Essential elements:
  • Business identification: Include your business name
  • AI disclosure: Clearly identify Sona as AI assistant or virtual assistant
  • Recording notice: Mention that calls are being recorded for compliance
  • Helpful tone: Maintain friendly, professional voice
Example greeting:
“Hi there, this is Sona, a virtual assistant for Acme Services. I’m here to help answer your questions or take a message. Please note this call is being recorded. How can I assist you today?”
Pro tips:
  • Keep greetings concise but informative
  • Use consistent brand voice across all Sona steps
  • Test greetings with mock calls before publishing
  • Update greetings seasonally or for special circumstances

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Configuring Sona jobs

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Available job types

Sona can perform two main types of jobs during calls: Answer questions job:
  • Responds to customer inquiries using your knowledge base
  • No additional configuration required beyond knowledge setup
  • Automatically accesses all knowledge pages you create
  • Provides consistent, accurate information
Take a message job:
  • Collects specific information from callers
  • Creates structured call summaries for follow-up
  • Customizable data collection fields
  • Supports conditional logic for dynamic conversations

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Configuring message taking

Default information collected:
  • Caller’s name
  • Reason for calling
Custom information collection:
  1. Locate Take a message job in Sona step settings
  2. Specify additional information to collect
  3. Define collection order (appears in summary as listed)
  4. Add conditional logic for sophisticated conversations
Configuring Sona message taking job with custom fields
Advanced message configuration:
  • Best time to reach back
  • Preferred contact method (text or phone call)
  • Specific product interest
  • Urgency level
  • Appointment preferences

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Conditional logic examples

Dynamic conversation flow: 
Which product line they're interested in
If they're interested in the XYZ product line, then ask which model version they prefer
What is their timeline for purchase?
This creates branching conversations where Sona asks follow-up questions based on caller responses.

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Testing and deployment

Mock call testing:
  1. Configure Sona step with greeting and jobs
  2. Click “Test Sona” in call flow builder
  3. Conduct mock calls to verify behavior
  4. Refine configuration based on test results
Testing checklist:
  • Greeting clarity and brand consistency
  • Knowledge base accuracy and completeness
  • Message collection functionality
  • Call flow transitions and routing

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Publishing Sona

Going live:
  1. Complete configuration of all Sona elements and be sure to add Knowlede about your business.
  2. Publish call flow to activate Sona. This is the button at the top of the screen, changes won’t go live until you press it.
  3. Monitor initial calls for quality and issues, every Sona call is recorded and transcribed for your reference.
  4. Iterate and improve based on real-world performance. If you notice Sona isn’t answering how you’d like, add more info to your Knowledge.

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Troubleshooting setup