AI receptionist.In plain English.

It covers the calls a small team can't pick up, like the ones after hours, mid-job or during the Monday morning rush.

Calling customers back with an AI voice is regulated. In 2024 the FCC confirmed that the TCPA's rules on artificial or prerecorded voices cover AI-generated voices, and its consumer guide says AI-generated voice calls are illegal unless the consumer has agreed or the caller is exempt.

Health practices need a business associate agreement. HHS lists a third-party chatbot that handles patients' health information on a provider's behalf as a business associate.

It should say it is an automated assistant, follow the business's own answers and prices, and pass urgent or sensitive calls to a person. That's good practice for answering calls; the consent rules above apply to calls it makes.

Example: at 9pm a caller asks a dental office whether it takes their insurance and books a cleaning. The assistant answers from the office's own list, books the slot and passes a toothache call to the on-call dentist.