AI answering machine for your company and how it works
Understand how an AI answering machine works and when it suits your company. This guide covers the technology, setup and what to ask a vendor.
An AI answering machine, sometimes called an AI receptionist, holds a conversation and helps the customer during the call. The agent can answer common questions, receive cases and hand over a summary to your staff. Real Talk provides an agent that takes incoming calls for medium and large companies.
What is the difference compared to a traditional answering machine?
A traditional answering machine plays a recorded message. The caller leaves a voice message after a tone. Someone at the company listens to this later.
An AI answering machine acts as an agent instead. It answers the phone, holds a conversation and is designed to understand what the caller wants.
The agent answers common questions and takes the entire case. It then hands the information over to your staff with a complete summary.
When do other options suffice?
A regular answering machine is often enough for a small company with a low volume of calls. It fits well when customers accept waiting for a reply until you have time to call back.
A human answering service suits you when you want a real person to always answer. An external partner takes the call and passes the message on. This provides a personal contact without disturbing your own staff.
When does the AI answering machine take the calls?
You decide when the agent answers. It can be active around the clock or take calls only outside your opening hours. It then acts as a night switchboard that gathers all cases for the next morning.
Another setup is that the agent acts as overflow. It takes over when the queue is full or when no one in the staff has time to answer. You can also let the agent take all incoming calls first of all to sort them.
How do you add the agent to your phone system?
You do not need a new phone system to start. The vendor assigns a phone number. You add the number to your current structure.
From there you control which calls go to the agent. Once it is connected to your system, it can retrieve information and perform actions during the call.
When a call ends, the case is sent to you. The staff receives an email or a ticket in your case system with a short summary. All data is processed in data centres within the EU.
What should you test and ask a vendor?
Try the service with your own cases before deciding. You should test the service and ask concrete questions before a purchase.
- Ask to call and speak with a demo agent.
- Ask how personal data is handled and where it is stored.
- Find out what it costs when calls are forwarded to your staff.
- Ask what the agent does if it does not understand the caller.
- Ask who builds the agent and maintains it after launch.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to change our phone system to use an AI answering machine?
No, you keep your existing phone system. You get a Swedish phone number that you add to your current setup. From there you choose which calls the agent handles.
What is the difference between an AI answering machine and an AI receptionist?
The terms are used for the same kind of service; Real Talk calls its service an AI phone agent.
What happens if the agent cannot solve the problem?
The agent hands the case over to your staff. The call is transferred to your staff along with a summary. The caller avoids telling their story from the start.
This guide is written by Real Talk, the Nordic AI phone agent.