How to set up AI phone answering for a small business

1. Decide whether you need a conversation

If callers only need opening hours or a way to leave a message, your phone system's greeting and voicemail may be enough. Consider AI when callers ask varied questions and you need to collect details or route the request.

Write a narrow brief. For example: answer approved service-area questions, collect a name and callback number, then create an enquiry for the team. Keep quotes, complaints and urgent requests with a person. For trade businesses, compare this with the workflows on our trades automation page.

2. Choose a hosted service or a custom connection

For a hosted receptionist service, ask for a test number and demonstrate your actual questions before connecting your main line. Check transfer support, Australian number availability, data retention, call charges and how to disable the service.

A custom setup needs a phone connection, speech handling, an AI application and a destination for enquiries. As one example, Twilio ConversationRelay handles speech recognition and speech synthesis while your application manages the conversation logic over a WebSocket connection. It still needs an application to decide what to say and do.

Ask for a complete cost estimate covering setup, phone numbers, call usage, AI usage and support. Check the phone provider's forwarding charges separately. Compare the scope with our small-business automation pricing; confirm phone-specific usage costs before agreeing to a build.

3. Prepare the answers and handoff

1. Supply current opening hours, services and service areas. Name the person who maintains them.
2. Write a greeting that identifies the business and says the caller is speaking with an automated assistant.
3. Define the minimum enquiry details and ask the caller to confirm names and callback numbers.
4. Set a transfer or message route for unsupported questions, plus a fallback when nobody answers.
5. Limit booking access. Confirm an appointment only after the booking system accepts it.

Keep access limited to what the task needs. Check how the provider stores recordings and transcripts before using customer information. The ACSC's AI security guidance recommends assessing tools and protecting sensitive information. Use synthetic enquiries for initial tests.

4. Call the test number before forwarding real calls

Try a routine enquiry, an unfamiliar suburb, background noise, a correction to a phone number and a request outside your services. Ask to speak to a person. Test an unanswered transfer and a provider outage fallback. Confirm each message reaches its assigned person exactly once.

Start with a limited overflow or after-hours pilot if your phone service supports it. Keep the previous routing settings so you can restore them. A successful test call does not prove the system can handle every customer conversation.

Track completed enquiries, incorrect answers, failed handoffs and usage costs. Check the callback process as well as the call itself. Our lead response guide explains how to give each enquiry an owner and measure the first useful reply.

Common questions