---
title: Phone setup: Twilio with ElevenLabs or Grok
description: Coming soon. How a shop will connect its own Twilio number to Doing Work, add an AI that answers calls, and what it typically costs.
url: https://doingwork.work/docs/phone-setup/
---

# Phone setup

Coming soon. Phone is not yet on for shops. This page shows how it will work so you can plan. Calls and texts run on the shop's own Twilio account. An AI that answers calls is the shop's own ElevenLabs or Grok voice agent. Each bills the shop directly. Doing Work adds no charge for calls or texts.

## What the owner does

- Create a Twilio account at twilio.com and upgrade it from the free trial. Twilio asks for a card and checks a phone number.
- Buy a local number in Twilio, or port the shop's current number. A port needs the owner to sign a letter of authorization.
- Register for texting. Carriers block business texts from unregistered numbers. A small shop can register as a sole proprietor, which sends a code to the owner's phone. A toll-free number with verification also works.
- If you want an AI to answer calls, open an ElevenLabs or Grok account.

## What the agent does

1. Connect Twilio with [phone.connectTwilio](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-connecttwilio/). Use a restricted API key. The Auth Token is only used to check that requests really come from Twilio.
2. Pick the number with [phone.twilioNumbers](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-twilionumbers/) and [phone.useNumber](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-usenumber/). This sets the number's Twilio settings. Don't change them by hand.
3. Choose where calls go with [phone.setRoute](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-setroute/): forward to a phone, take a voicemail that arrives by email, or answer with the voice AI.
4. For the voice AI, connect the shop's ElevenLabs or Grok agent with [phone.setVoiceAi](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-setvoiceai/). If the owner turns on booking, see Phone booking into your calendar below.
5. Track texting registration with [phone.registrationStatus](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-registrationstatus/). Until it is approved, texts to customers go by email instead. Calls work the whole time.
6. Send a test text with [phone.sendText](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-sendtext/) and call the number to check it rings.

## Texting rules

A customer who texts STOP gets no more texts until they text START. HELP gets a reply that says how to reach the shop.

## Turning it off

[phone.disconnect](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-disconnect/) stops Doing Work handling the number and puts back the settings it had before.

## Phone booking into your calendar

Coming soon, with phone. The shop's own ElevenLabs or Grok voice agent can book callers straight onto a worker's calendar through Doing Work's booking tools. It is off until the owner turns it on.

1. List the work the agent may book, how long each takes, and which workers do it.
2. Add the ZIP codes you serve.
3. Turn on live booking with [phone.setVoiceAi](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/phone-setvoiceai/).

What the voice agent does:

- Offers up to three times, one per day, at least 2 hours out, never same day after 3 PM, never more than 2 weeks out. You can change these.
- Books the worker with the lightest day and texts the customer a confirmation once your texting is set up.
- Never quotes a price. Work that needs a deposit goes to your office as a request with the time the customer picked, and you send the deposit link.
- Never books an emergency. Gas, carbon monoxide, no heat, sparks, smoke, fire, flooding or a burst pipe goes to your on-call phone or becomes an emergency request. For a gas smell, the agent tells the caller to leave and call the gas company or 911 from outside.
- Two callers can't book the same time, even if they call at once.

## Typical cost

Rates read on November 1, 2026. Check the links.

| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Twilio local number | $1.15 a month ([Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/voice/pricing/us)) |
| Twilio calls | $0.0085 a minute inbound, $0.0140 outbound, local |
| Twilio texts | $0.0083 per segment plus carrier fees of about $0.0035 to $0.005 ([Twilio](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us)) |
| Sole proprietor texting registration | $4 and $15 once, then $2 a month ([Twilio](https://help.twilio.com/articles/9550596959643)) |
| ElevenLabs agent | Plans from $6 a month with included minutes, then $0.08 a minute. Model use billed separately ([ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/pricing/agents)) |
| Grok voice | $0.08 a minute ([xAI](https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing)) |

Example: 600 inbound minutes and 1,000 texts a month cost about $18 to $20 in Twilio charges ($1.15 for the number, $5.10 for minutes and $11.80 to $13.30 for texts, plus registration fees), plus $48 for Grok to answer all 600 minutes. See [Total cost](https://doingwork.work/docs/total-cost/).