Never miss a call: set up an AI front desk
Answer every call and message, book appointments and field common questions, day and night, with a human for anything tricky.
- Time
- Two afternoons
- You'll need
- Your booking calendar · An AI phone or chat answering service · A shared document of your policies
- You'll end up with
- An assistant that answers calls and messages from your own policies, books into your calendar and hands off anything it can't handle.
The steps
- 01
Write down what callers actually ask
Go through a week of calls, texts and emails and list the twenty most common questions. Hours, prices, availability, directions and "can you do X?" usually cover most of them.
- 02
Turn the answers into a policy sheet
Write a short, plain answer to each question in one document, including what you don't do. This sheet is the only thing the assistant is allowed to answer from.
Prompt Turn these notes into a customer policy sheet for an AI receptionist. Use short questions and plain answers. Flag any answer that is vague or that you think a customer could misread. [paste notes]
- 03
Define the handoffs
List what must always go to a person: complaints, emergencies, refunds, anything about money owed, and any question not on the sheet. Decide who gets the handoff and how fast they must respond.
- 04
Connect the calendar with guardrails
Let the assistant book only the appointment types you choose, with buffers and daily limits. Start with confirmation texts that let customers reply to change a booking.
- 05
Test it with 20 real questions
Call and message it yourself, using real questions from your list plus a few awkward ones. Fix the sheet wherever it answers wrongly, then go live after hours first.
What breaks
- The assistant makes up an answer. Tell it to say "let me get someone for you" when a question isn't on the sheet.
- Double bookings when the calendar isn't the single source of truth.
- Nobody picks up the handoffs, so customers wait longer than before.
Keep it safe
- Tell callers they're speaking with an AI assistant.
- Keep call recordings and transcripts only as long as you need them, and check the provider doesn't train on them.
How you'll know it worked
- Missed calls per week.
- Bookings made after hours.
- Handoffs answered within your promised time.
Do it with Hands
AI employees that work beside your team. Led by Coach.
Personal assistants, agentic staff and team augmentation, run by Coach, your AI chief of staff.
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