Skip to main content

VoiceAgent templates: AI Receptionist

Use an AI Receptionist to answer every inbound call instantly, capture caller intent, resolve simple questions, and route callers to the right person.

J
Written by Jane Doe
Updated this week

The AI Receptionist is a specialized AI VoiceAgent that acts as the front desk for your phone line.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to configure your AI Receptionist in CloudTalk, including how to provide company information, set up routing, and ensure every caller is properly handled without queues or missed calls.

User level:

  • Admin

What is AI Receptionist?

The AI Receptionist is a specialized use case of CloudTalk’s AI VoiceAgent designed to function as the front desk of your phone line.

Just like a human receptionist, the AI Receptionist’s role is not to provide deep expertise about your business. Instead, it focuses on:

  • capturing the caller’s intent

  • filtering noise

  • answering simple questions

  • routing the caller to the right person or next step.

💡 Each AI Receptionist is configured by default to collect the caller’s name, confirm the phone number for a callback, and ask about the inquiry the caller needs help with.

Think of it as a professional front desk that never sleeps. It answers inbound calls 24/7, gathers key information, resolves straightforward inquiries, and ensures that important calls reach the correct person in your organization.

Unlike complex AI agents designed to fully replace human conversations, the AI Receptionist acts as a generalist coordinator:

  • It knows who to connect callers with

  • It knows where requests should go

  • But it does not attempt to solve expert-level problems

The entire setup can be completed in minutes using simple inputs like company information, contact lists, or uploaded documents - making it one of the fastest ways to deploy AI into a phone system.ň

In the following sections, we’ll explore how you can set up your AI Receptionist.

Before you start

To set up an AI Receptionist, make sure you have:

  • An active AI Receptionist or AI Specialist package on your account

  • Admin access to the CloudTalk Dashboard

Configuring AI Receptionist

Follow these steps to configure an AI Receptionist in the CloudTalk Dashboard.

  1. Open the CloudTalk Dashboard. In the left menu, navigate to VoiceAgents → Agents. The Agents list page will open. Click + New VoiceAgent in the top-right corner. The VoiceAgent Creation Wizard will open.

  2. Select the Receptionist type.

  3. Configure Receptionist profile

    1. Enter a Name for the AI Receptionist. This name will appear in call logs and analytics.

    2. Select the Language the AI should speak. You can select one or multiple languages. The AI will automatically detect the caller’s language.

    3. Choose the Voice the AI Receptionist will use.

    4. Define the Greeting phrase the AI will say when answering calls.
      ​

  4. Configure Skills, which define how the AI Receptionist behaves during calls.

    1. Configure Take a Message (required).

      • Define the message the AI should say after collecting caller information.

    2. Configure Extract Information (required).

      • Click Edit next to Extract Information.

      • Add the data fields you want the AI to collect.

      • For each field define:

        • name

        • data type or format

        • instruction describing what information should be captured

    3. (Optional) Enable Send Webhook and Enter the Webhook URL to ensure extracted data are send to external endpoint of your choice.

    4. (Optional) Define how the AI should respond when it cannot find the requested information in the configured knowledge base, by setting up Answer Questions skill.

    5. (Optional) If the goal of your AI Receptionist is not only to take a message but also to route calls to appropriate groups or agents, configure the Transfer to Human skill.

      • In the configuration, define the criteria based on which the AI will decide which calls should be transferred to a specific Agent or Group. For each transfer condition, select the Agent or Group the call should be transferred to. To add more conditions, click the + Add new button in the top-right corner.

      • Configure the transfer settings. Enable Ask caller for confirmation before transfer to ensure the AI Receptionist asks the caller for explicit confirmation before transferring them to a live agent.

    6. (Optional) Configure Custom Skills if additional capabilities are required.

    7. Click Next.

  5. Add Knowledge sources your AI Receptionist will use. Click + Add files and Upload a new document or select an existing one.

  6. Define scenarios that determine how the AI Receptionist should behave in specific situations.

    1. Configure responses for common inquiries.

    2. Define when the AI should use tools such as Hangup or other configured tools.

    3. Click Next.

  7. Click Finish setup to complete the configuration. Enter a phone number to perform a test call. Complete the test to verify that the AI Receptionist behaves as expected.

Your AI Receptionist is now set up and ready to handle calls. You can find it in VoiceAgents → Agents, where you can edit its configuration or monitor its activity at any time.

Using AI Receptionist in Call Routing

To ensure your AI Receptionist handles inbound calls, you need to add it to the inbound call flow for a phone number.

  1. In the CloudTalk Dashboard, navigate to Numbers and select the number you want to connect with the AI Receptionist.

  2. Click Edit number, then open the Call flow designer by clicking Configure Call flow. This is where you define the logic applied to all incoming calls to that number.

  3. Identify the place in the call flow where you want the AI Receptionist to handle the call.

  4. Click + to add step and select Voice agent.

  5. In the step configuration, select your AI Receptionist voice agent and click Confirm.

  6. Finish configuring the call flow, including any follow-up logic you want to apply depending on whether the AI Receptionist successfully handles the call or not.

  7. Click Save flow to finalize the configuration.

Your AI Receptionist is now ready to handle inbound calls as part of your call flow.

FAQs

How do I make the AI behave differently after business hours?

Business hours behavior is usually handled in Call Flow Designer, not inside the VoiceAgent itself. Use time-based routing to switch to a different flow or destination after hours.

The AI tells callers we are open when we are actually closed. Why?

This usually means your business hours logic is not configured in the call flow, or the setup does not reflect the correct timezone or routing logic.

Can the Receptionist book appointments directly?

Not directly through calendar integrations at the moment. A possible workaround is to use tools such as Send SMS with a booking link so the caller can schedule asynchronously.

Can I decide what happens if the AI Receptionist does not handle the call successfully?

Yes. You can define follow-up logic in the Call Flow Designer based on whether the VoiceAgent handled the call successfully or not. In addition to routing based on answered or unanswered outcomes, you can also use a Condition Splitter to route calls further based on data extracted during the conversation.

Keep in mind that this logic applies only to AI Receptionist calls where the Transfer to Human skill was not executed by the VoiceAgent.

Related Articles
Getting Started with VoiceAgents
Tools for VoiceAgent
VoiceAgents for Inbound Calls
Exporting VoiceAgent Call Results to CRM Integrations
VoiceAgent Skills
Did this answer your question?