Transfer destinations are the list of people and departments your AI receptionist is allowed to send live callers to. For each destination you add a phone number, a name, a short routing hint, and plain-English instructions that tell the AI exactly when to transfer there. You can also choose how the transfer happens (warm or blind), when that destination is reachable (working hours, after hours, or 24/7), and which email gets the call summary when a transfer does not connect.

This article is for firm owners and office managers setting Lexidesk up for the first time or adding new people to the team.
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Your transfer instructions are the rulebook the AI uses on every single call. If your instructions are vague or conflicting, the AI will either transfer calls to the wrong person or refuse to transfer when it should. Both feel bad to the caller and cost you leads.

Good news: getting this right is mostly about being specific. Ten minutes spent writing clear instructions saves hours of re-listening to recordings and tweaking prompts later.
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There are two ways to add destinations. Most firms use the CSV upload during onboarding, then add new people one at a time later.
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If you're getting set up with Lexidesk and have more than a handful of people to add, this is the fastest path.

The template has four columns. They map one-to-one to the four fields you see when you add a destination manually in the admin panel. Don't rename the columns, the importer looks for them by exact name.

For adding a single new paralegal, attorney, or department after you're live:

The difference between a destination that works and one that doesn't is almost always the instructions. Here are real examples of what good looks like, and what to avoid.

✅ Good examples

❌ Bad examples (and how to fix them)

This section is only relevant if you have multiple intake or sales team members who can be available to take live transfers from your AI.

If it is your setup, the best configuration is one phone number in your phone system that rings every available agent simultaneously. Whoever picks up first takes the call.

This feature goes by different names depending on your provider: ring group, hunt group, call queue, or simultaneous ring.

The concept is the same: one inbound number, multiple agents ringing at once, first to answer takes the call.

This matters for two reasons. First, it simplifies your Lexidesk configuration. Instead of adding each intake agent as a separate destination and writing rules to distribute calls between them, you have one destination with one clear instruction.

Second, and more importantly, it maximises your pick-up rate. Simultaneous ringing means qualified leads never wait for one agent to not answer before another is tried. The first firm to reach a caller usually wins the case. A call queue is how you make sure that firm is yours.

Most business phone systems (RingCentral, Dialpad, 8x8, and others) support this natively. Check your phone system's documentation or ask your provider to set one up for your intake line.

Here is what the problem looks like in practice. Two intake agents set up as separate destinations with near-identical instructions:

The AI now has two destinations that look equally valid for the same situation. This creates unnecessary ambiguity and means only one agent's line rings when a qualified lead comes in, cutting your pick-up rate in half.

The correct setup instead:

One destination, one clear rule. Your call queue handles distributing the call to whoever is available.

This way the AI sends all general qualified leads to the call queue, and only routes to an individual when a caller explicitly asks for that person. It is the most efficient setup and keeps every destination's purpose unambiguous.

For every destination, you pick one of two transfer types. You can also set a default for the whole agent and override it per destination.

The AI calls the person first. When they answer, they hear "Lexidesk call for [their name]", a short summary of the call, and "Press 1 to accept the call." When they press 1, the caller is connected, and they see the client's real phone number on caller ID.

If they do not press 1, the line is busy, nobody answers, or voicemail answers, the caller comes back to the AI and it keeps helping them. On voicemail, the AI leaves a message with the call summary. For the full details, see What happens when the AI transfers a call and nobody answers.

The caller is connected directly. No AI summary is read, but the caller's number (Caller ID) stays visible to the person picking up.

On accounts with the new transfers, you can choose what happens when a blind transfer does not connect in If the transfer does not connect: return the caller to the assistant (default), voicemail if there is one, or no handling.

Each destination can have its own email address. When the AI transfers a call to that person and the transfer does not connect, they get an email with the call summary after the call ends. This way they can call the client back.

To add the email:

Leave the field empty if that person should not get an email.

When a transfer does not connect, the AI says by default: "I am sorry, it seems like [name] could not answer the call, but I can continue here."

To change this, edit Message when the caller returns to the assistant after a failed transfer on the same page. Use {{destination_name}} for the name of the person. For example: "Sorry, {{destination_name}} is not available right now. I can help you here, or take a message for them."

Leave the box empty to use the default text.

Two settings control whether a destination can receive transferred calls: the Accepting transfers toggle and the When available schedule.

Think of this as an on/off switch for the destination. When it's off, the AI will skip this destination entirely and route callers elsewhere based on your other rules. Use it to pause a destination for a day (someone's sick, someone's in court) without deleting and re-adding it.

This sets the window when this specific destination is allowed to receive transfers. There are three options:

Yes, every transfer number must include the country code with a + in front, even if your whole team is in the same country as your firm. US numbers should start with +1 and UK numbers should start with +44. Without the country code, the transfer will fail at call time.

If you have multiple intake or sales team members who can take calls, no.

The better approach is to set up a call queue (also called a ring group, hunt group, or simultaneous ring) in your phone system, give that queue a single phone number, and add that number as one destination in Lexidesk. Configure the queue to ring all available agents at the same time so whoever is free picks up first.

If you also want the AI to reach a specific team member when a caller asks for them by name, add each person as a separate destination with one instruction: transfer only when the caller asks for them by name. All other calls go to the call queue.

This keeps your Lexidesk configuration simple and clean, significantly improves your team's pick-up rate, and ensures every caller gets the fastest possible response with no waiting for agents to be tried one by one.

Yes, the Import CSV button stays available after onboarding. You can use it at any time to add a batch of new destinations. It adds new rows to your existing list rather than replacing them.

On accounts with the new transfers, the caller comes back to the AI and it keeps helping them. This happens when nobody answers, the line is busy, the person does not press 1, or voicemail answers. The person also gets an email with the call summary if you added one in Email when unavailable.

On accounts without the new transfers, the call does not come back to the AI. It goes to that person's voicemail, or ends if there is no voicemail. Email [email protected] with your firm name to switch the new transfers on.

Yes, you can edit any destination at any time. Changes take effect on the next call. If you notice the AI is making the wrong transfer decision, edit the instructions to add the missing rule or exception, save, and test with a real call. If that continues to happen contact [email protected] for help.

Criminal defense and personal injury leads often call at night or on weekends, right after the incident happens, and the first firm they reach usually wins the case. By setting an attorney's mobile as an After hours destination, you let the AI hand off urgent leads to a live closer the moment they come in, without needing your main intake team on a graveyard shift.

Yes, place a test call to your Lexidesk number yourself and say what a real caller would say for that destination. The AI will follow your transfer instructions and attempt the transfer.