An AI phone receptionist on the levelpartner.ai platform greets every caller, works out who they are and what they want, then routes them: to the right person, to a booked appointment or to a message. It does the switchboard job on the main line during working hours, so calls stop bouncing between desks and your senior staff stop answering the phone for things a receptionist would handle. This article is about routing and screening, the core of the receptionist role.
The cost of the phone in a growing firm
When a firm passes about 30 people, the main line becomes a problem. Either one person is tied to it all day, or it rings around the office until someone senior picks up. Neither is cheap. A director answering supplier calls and misdirected enquiries is the most expensive receptionist you could hire.
An AI phone receptionist screens and routes. It asks the caller's name and reason, checks the CRM for an existing contact, and sends the call where it belongs. New business goes to sales. Existing clients go to their account owner. Suppliers and cold sales pitches go to a message. Nobody senior picks up a call they did not need to take.
Routing rules are the whole job
The quality of the receptionist depends on the routing rules you write, not on the voice. Decide in advance what each type of caller should get.
- New enquiry: qualify briefly, then transfer to the sales line or book a call.
- Existing client: transfer to the account owner, or take a message if they are unavailable.
- Supplier or recruiter: take a message and email it to the relevant team.
- Unsolicited sales call: decline politely and end the call.
- Urgent issue: transfer to a named on-call person.
Before you start
- A main phone number on your account or forwarded to it.
- A list of transfer destinations with names and numbers, and who covers each when they are out.
- Contacts in the CRM tagged as clients, so the receptionist can recognise them by number.
- A calendar for new enquiries if you want callers booked rather than transferred.
- A decision on what the receptionist says when a transfer is not answered.
How to set it up
- Go to AI Agents > Voice AI and open Agent List.
- Click + Create Agent.
- Select Create Custom Agent, then click Continue.
- Enter an Agent Name, such as Reception, and select a Voice.
- Select a Model and Language, and set the Timezone.
- Write the prompt with each caller type and its routing.
- Configure the Welcome Message so callers know it is automated.
- Click Save.
- Open Actions, click + New Action and choose Call Transfer.
- Name it after the destination, set its trigger condition, save it.
- Repeat for each destination, then add Appointment Booking.
- Open the Deploy tab and select your main number.
- Under Call Routing, choose Answer Calls Directly.
- Under Working Hours, choose Custom Schedule for business hours.
- Save the deployment settings.
What it replaces and what it does not
It replaces the shared ring group, the switchboard role and the habit of senior staff answering the main line. It does not replace a front-of-house person who greets visitors, manages the post and handles the office. If you already have that person, the AI receptionist covers their breaks, their busy moments and their holidays.
Suppose the main line takes about 400 calls a month: roughly a quarter new business, a third existing clients and the rest suppliers, recruiters and sales pitches. That remainder is around 160 calls. If routing rules keep those from ever reaching a person, and each would have taken about five minutes, the office manager would get back roughly 13 hours a month.
Running it week to week
Expect a full day to write the routing rules and test them properly. After launch, check the call log weekly for calls that ended in a message when they should have been transferred, and for transfers that went unanswered. Thirty minutes is enough. Update the transfer list whenever someone joins or leaves.
The common failure is an out-of-date transfer list. Someone leaves, their number stays in the rules, and callers are transferred to nobody. Make the transfer list part of your joiners and leavers checklist.
When not to use a receptionist agent
If most of your calls are complex, emotional or high value, a skilled human receptionist is still worth the salary. If you get fewer than a handful of calls a day, the phone is not your problem. And if you mainly need cover for missed and after-hours calls rather than routing, the AI phone answering guide is the better fit. For the front desk across chat as well as phone, see AI receptionist.
Troubleshooting
Known clients are treated as new callers. They are calling from a number not on their contact record. Add secondary numbers to the contact, or let the agent ask for a company name and look it up.
Transfers drop. The destination is a mobile that rejects forwarded calls, or rings out. Set a short ring time and a fallback message for every transfer.
Callers are asked too many questions. The instructions require full qualification before routing. Ask only what routing needs, and let the person who takes the call qualify.
Sales pitches get through. The rule for unsolicited calls is too soft. Add plain examples of the calls to decline.
Frequently asked questions
Can the AI phone receptionist transfer calls live?
Yes. You set transfer destinations in the agent and it connects the caller once it knows where they should go. Always define what happens if nobody answers.
Does it know who is calling?
It looks up the caller's number in the CRM. If the number matches a contact, it can greet them by name and route them to their owner. Unknown numbers are treated as new callers.
Can it handle more than one call at a time?
Yes. Unlike a single receptionist, it answers simultaneous calls, which matters for firms with busy mornings. If you run a larger inbound operation, the AI call center agent article goes further.
Will callers be put off by an automated receptionist?
Most callers care about reaching the right person quickly. A short greeting, honest disclosure and fast routing beat a long hold queue. Offer a person early for anyone who asks.