AI receptionist

What it does

• Answers the numbers you switch it on for, with the greeting you write.
• Knows your company name, the local time, whether you are open now, your hours and your holidays.
• Answers questions from a brief about your business, which it can learn from your website.
• Transfers callers to the people and teams you list, and to nobody else.
• Takes messages and leaves them as text in the right person’s voicemail inbox.
• Can ask your own system a question during the call, such as the status of an order.

Set it up

1. In the web app, open Receptionists and create one. Give it a name and write its greeting.
2. Write its brief, or use Learn from your website (see Knowledge below).
3. Add its actions under Actions: who it may transfer to, whose mailbox takes messages, and any lookups.
4. Publish it. Nothing reaches callers until you do.
5. Switch AI receptionist answers calls on for the numbers it should answer, then call one from your own mobile and listen to the whole call.

Each number has its own switch, on the web and in the mobile app under Settings › AI receptionist. The main line can go to the receptionist while direct lines ring people. You can also put it in front of your main line from Set up your main line.

Transfers

A transfer action names a person or team by extension, such as John · ext 1000. When a caller asks for someone on the list, the receptionist says it is putting them through and connects the call.

Taking messages

When nobody can take the call, the receptionist collects the message, the caller’s name and a callback number, and reads the message back to check it. It then leaves it as a written message in the voicemail inbox of the person you chose in Leave messages in the mailbox of. It shows in the web app and on their phone, with a Mark as read button.

Choosing a voice

There are two places to choose a voice, and each has a preview:

• The workspace AI voice, under AI voice. Every receptionist without its own choice speaks with it. A change takes effect on the next call.
• A receptionist’s own voice, in that receptionist’s settings. A change reaches callers when you publish.

The screen always says which voice callers will actually hear, and why.

Knowledge: what it knows about you

Live facts, on every call

At the start of each call the receptionist is told your company name, the local time, whether you are open, your weekly hours, upcoming holidays, and the people and teams on its transfer list. Change your hours and the next call knows, with nothing to republish.

The brief

The brief is what it knows about your business: what you do, where you are, what callers usually ask. Write it yourself, or open Learn from your website, enter your address, and Vocivo reads your pages and drafts a brief built only from facts published there. Review the draft, then choose to replace your brief or add to it.

Looking things up

A webhook action lets the receptionist ask your own system a question during the call and use the answer. You define what the action is for and what it may send. Requests are signed, so your system can check they came from your workspace.

Telling callers

The conversation is powered by OpenAI’s realtime voice model, which processes the caller’s voice audio. Say in your greeting that the call is answered by an automated assistant, and check the local rules on announcing automated answering and recording.

Every plan includes AI receptionist minutes each month. See Pricing for how many, and what extra minutes cost.