Build an agent, hear it in the browser, put it on a number, then inspect its first real call. It's the same loop you'll use from now on — build, test, deploy, listen, improve.
Before you start
You need an account — polite.ai is in private beta, so request an invite if you haven't — and to have picked how you pay on first sign-in. That's genuinely all: when you gave us your website address at signup, we started reading it, so your agent has something to talk about before you've built anything.
Rather be shown than told? The product tour walks these exact stops inside the dashboard, with a checklist that ticks off as you go.
Build and test
Open Knowledge. The website crawl you consented to at signup has been running since your account was created — your site is listed with its status alongside. Add PDFs if the website doesn't say everything — see Website knowledge.
Open Agents and press New agent. The Builder opens: tell it in plain English what should happen when the phone rings. It asks a question or two, proposes a plan, and builds the team when you confirm — the graph draws itself on the right. More in Describe what you want.
Test it in the browser — no number needed. Say hello, ask something about your business, try to catch it out. When you hang up, the transcript goes back to the Builder, so "it got the opening hours wrong" is a fix you can ask for in the next message.
Put it on a number
Buy a UK number from Numbering → Buy number, then point it at your team — the Builder's Connect inbound calls panel does the wiring. Details in Connect a phone number.
Everything so far is a draft. Press Go live on the amber draft bar to publish — the number now routes to this version. See Drafts, versions & going live.
Ring it, then listen back
Call the number from your own phone. Your agent answers.
Open Calls and click the row your call just made: the recording, the transcript, and a feed of everything the agent actually did. If something's off, Troubleshoot with AI gathers the evidence and Fix with AI hands it straight to the Builder. See Finding calls, Inspecting a call and Troubleshoot a call with AI.
Where next
- Give the team more to draw on — Knowledge bases
- Let callers book real appointments — Calendar booking
- Add specialists and human transfer — Teams, transfers & subagents
- What your agent will always do, on every call — What every agent promises your callers