This guide covers how to configure an AI Receptionist for inbound calls during business hours. The agent answers calls, responds to common questions from your Knowledge Base, and routes callers to the right team based on what they say.
Before you start
To set up a During Hours AI Receptionist, make sure you have:- An active AI Receptionist or AI Specialist package on your account
- Admin access to the CloudTalk Dashboard
- A clear idea of which teams or groups callers should be routed to
Configuring During Hours AI Receptionist
Set up your agent profile
In AI Voice Agents > Agents, click + New VoiceAgent. In the template gallery, select AI Receptionist from the Reception category. The template pre-fills several fields, including Call Direction (Inbound), Goal, and Greeting. Review and customize the following:
Example greeting:
## Identity, ## Style, ## Task flow, and ## Guardrails). Replace the placeholder information with your own before going live.
Build your Knowledge Base
The agent only answers from the documents you upload. It will not use external knowledge or guess. For a full guide on setting up your Knowledge Base, see Knowledge Base for VoiceAgents.- One source of truth per topic. If pricing appears in multiple documents, consolidate them. Conflicting information produces inconsistent answers.
- Structured content. Use Q&A format or short paragraphs. Avoid pasting entire policy documents or terms and conditions.
- Keep it current. Outdated information causes wrong answers. Update documents when things change.
- Scope it to what callers ask. Focus on the questions that come up most often on calls.
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File limits: 21MB per file. Accepted formats:
.pdf,.txt,.docx,.html,.epub. You can also add URLs pointing to FAQs or public help content.
Configure VoiceAgent skills
Skills define what the agent can do during a call. Each skill adds a specific capability (answering questions, transferring to a human, capturing data, or taking a message). You configure which skills are active and how each one behaves. For more details, see VoiceAgent Skills.
Answer Questions (recommended)
Answer Questions is a fallback behaviour setting, not a routing skill. It tells the agent what to do when it cannot find an answer in the Knowledge Base. Callers always get a next step, even when the agent cannot find an answer. Set the fallback to Hand over to a person so callers are not left without a next step. If using a Custom template, add to your goal prompt: “Only answer from the knowledge base. Do not guess.”
Transfer to Human (recommended)
Transfer to Human offers two options. Choose based on whether you need standard team routing or the advanced routing that Call Flow provides. Option A: Transfer to Human (Agent/Group) Transfer to Human passes full conversation context to the receiving agent. Use this when agents are reliably available during business hours.- Enable transfer verification to confirm the routing destination with the caller before connecting
- Include caller name, AI-generated summary, and any custom fields so the agent has context before picking up
- Configure a fallback branch in Call Flow Designer to handle unanswered calls
- For advanced routing (e.g. by customer tier), use the Extract Information skill to capture data during the call, then use a Condition Splitter in Call Flow Designer
- The Context Card is only shown to agents receiving a direct transfer to an Agent or Group. It does not appear when the call is routed to a Call Flow.
Extract Information (recommended)
Extract Information skill captures structured data from the call and sends it to your CRM via webhook. Your team has full context on every call before they follow up.- Property names are case-sensitive. Do not rename them after setup, as they’re used to send data to your CRM.
- Test webhook output on several real calls before connecting your production CRM.
- If you use custom fields for advanced routing, add the same fields here so data is exported after the call.
Take a Message (optional)
Use this when the AI cannot answer and no transfer is configured. Take a Message skill captures the caller’s name and message automatically. No caller leaves without their details being recorded for follow-up. This skill does not offer message-taking on its own. You need to add a Scenario that explicitly triggers it. Confirmation message:
Set up scenarios
Scenarios define how the agent handles situations its normal behaviour cannot resolve.
Connect to your call flow
Connect the agent to your phone number so it handles inbound calls. During-hours and after-hours agents are separate agents. Use Day/Time Splitter to route calls to the correct agent based on business hours. For after-hours configuration, see VoiceAgent templates: After Hours AI Receptionist. Pattern A: AI handles every call All inbound calls go to the agent first. Use this if you want the agent to act as the main contact point before any agent’s phone rings.
- Set your Day/Time Splitter to your exact business hours and test both branches before going live.
- Agent and Group transfers are safe, so callers aren’t dropped if no one answers; the VoiceAgent stays with them.
- Use Transfer to Call Flow only when you need external routing, multi-branch logic, or post-call steps.
FAQs
- How do I handle after-hours calls? Configure a separate After Hours AI Receptionist agent and use a Day/Time Splitter in Call Flow Designer to route calls to it outside business hours. See VoiceAgent templates: After Hours AI Receptionist.
- The agent transferred to the wrong team. How do I fix it? Review your Transfer to Human rules. Refine the conditions to be more specific, or add rules for topics that are being misrouted.
- Can I route calls based on customer tier or account type? Yes. Use Transfer to Call Flow with the Extract Information skill to capture the relevant data point during the call, then use a Condition Splitter in Call Flow Designer to route based on that value.
- Can the agent book appointments? Yes. Add the Appointment Booking skill and connect a Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook account. The agent checks your calendar for open slots, proposes available times, and creates the event during the call. See Appointment Booking Skill for Voice Agents.
- What happens if no agent is available when a transfer is triggered? With Agent and Group transfers, the caller is not dropped. The VoiceAgent holds the caller while it attempts the transfer, and if the agent or group doesn’t answer, the caller stays with the VoiceAgent, which can take a message or try another option. For fallback routing to voicemail or an external number, use Transfer to Call Flow with a fallback branch in Call Flow Designer.
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