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Overview

Setting up Sona involves incorporating it into your call flows, configuring greetings, adding knowledge for answering customer questions, and defining the jobs it should perform during calls. This guide walks you through each step so you can deploy Sona quickly and start having it handle customer calls with confidence.
Sona configuration requires either Workspace-level Owner or Admin permissions, or Inbox-level 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. Click “Set up” on an inbox to open the call flow builder and continue configuring Sona
Accessing Sona from OpenPhone sidebar

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Adding Sona to call flows

Adding Sona steps
  1. Access call flow builder canvas
  2. Find Sona step in available steps list
  3. 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
  • After incoming call: Have Sona support every caller
Multiple Sona configurations:
  • Add multiple Sona steps in different call flow positions
  • Configure each step with unique greetings and knowledge
  • Customize jobs for different scenarios

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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
  • Test greetings with mock calls before publishing
  • Update greetings seasonally or for special circumstances

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Configuring Sona jobs

Jobs tell Sona what to do in specific situations during a call. While knowledge equips Sona with facts about your business, jobs give it step-by-step instructions—like collecting caller details, qualifying a lead, or escalating an issue. Together, they shape how Sona handles real conversations. Each job includes:
  • A trigger → what the caller says or asks that should activate the job.
  • Instructions → what Sona should say or do in response.
You can create your own jobs from scratch or start with templates designed for common scenarios. For example:
  • Message taking → When a caller wants to leave a message, Sona confirms the request, gathers their details, and reassures them someone will follow up.
  • Lead qualification → When a new customer shows interest, Sona collects key details (like name, contact info, and service needs) so your team can follow up effectively.
Jobs are reusable across your workspace, and you can attach up to 10 to any Sona step in your call flow. Once published, they allow Sona to recognize caller intent and follow clear, consistent instructions—making conversations feel natural while ensuring your team gets the information they need.

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Testing and deployment

Mock call testing:
  1. Configure Sona step with greeting, knowledge, and jobs
  2. Click “Test Sona” in call flow builder
  3. Conduct mock calls to verify behavior
  4. Refine configuration based on test results

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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 or update your job configuration.

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Troubleshooting setup