Start with the calls you actually receive
List common enquiries: service areas, work offered, availability and what to prepare before a visit. These are better starting points than telling an assistant to ‘handle everything’.
Be equally specific about limits. It must not invent prices, promise installation dates, diagnose dangerous situations or claim a booking exists before it has genuinely been saved.
Make the handover real
A convincing conversation is only half the job. Capture the right name, contact details, address, requested work and next action. Decide where that information goes and who acts on it.
Test a postcode outside your area, competing appointment requests, an existing customer's complaint, a corrected phone number and a request to speak to a person. The assistant needs a clear fallback, not a more confident guess.
Respect the caller
Explain when someone is speaking with an automated assistant and when a call is recorded. Decide what recordings and transcripts you need, who can access them and when they are deleted. Ask providers about data handling and international transfers.
An enquiry is not blanket permission for promotional follow-ups. Separate responding to the request from marketing and honour requests to stop.
Measure the outcome, not the demo
Check whether details were accurate, appointments saved without clashes and handovers reached the right person. Correct failures before expanding the service.
AI reception and inbound telephony are part of the Tools to Pay direction, not a claim that every account already has a live receptionist. The connected CRM, calendar and Recovery workflow can be used while a real phone integration is separately configured and proven.
General business information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check current requirements and your own circumstances before acting.