The AI Receptionist is a virtual assistant that answers your business calls, speaks in a natural-sounding voice, follows the instructions you give it, and helps callers using information you provide. It is an add-on to your ReliaRing phone system.
Think of it as a helper that never misses a call. When someone rings a number you assign to it, the assistant greets the caller, answers common questions, and then either transfers the call to the right person or takes a message so nothing falls through the cracks.
What it can do
- Answer every call with a greeting you write, in a voice you choose.
- Answer questions using a knowledge base you fill in — your hours, location, services, pricing policy, and any FAQs you add.
- Take messages when no one is available, and log them for you to follow up.
- Transfer calls to a team member, extension, or department when the caller needs a person.
- Follow your business hours — it can behave differently after hours (for example, take a message or send callers to voicemail).
- Capture leads (optional) — ask callers a few questions you define and save their answers.
- Book appointments or callbacks (optional) — collect the details needed to schedule a follow-up.
Every call is recorded as a conversation you can review later, with a written transcript.
What it cannot do
- It is not a human. For anything complex or sensitive, it hands off — it transfers the caller to a person or takes a message rather than guessing.
- It only knows what you teach it. If your knowledge base is empty, it can greet callers and take messages, but it can't answer detailed questions yet. See Teaching Your AI Assistant About Your Business.
- Scheduling and lead qualification are turned off by default. You switch them on when you're ready.
- It works with your ReliaRing calling service. It doesn't replace your emergency (911) dialing or your other ReliaRing features — it sits alongside them.
How it fits together
You can create more than one assistant — for example, a "Main Reception" and a separate "Sales Assistant" — each with its own voice, instructions, knowledge, and phone number.
Getting started takes four short stages:
- Create an assistant and give it a name, voice, and greeting. See Creating Your First AI Assistant.
- Teach it about your business by adding knowledge items and FAQs. See Teaching Your AI Assistant About Your Business.
- Connect it to your calls by assigning it a phone number and turning it on. See Connecting Your AI Assistant to Your Calls.
- Review the calls and messages it handles, and refine as you go. See Reviewing Calls and Messages Your Assistant Handled.
A note on data and consent
The AI Receptionist processes call audio to understand and respond to callers, and some of that processing may happen across borders. Before you can turn an assistant on, you'll be asked to acknowledge this. It's a one-time checkbox during setup, and we surface it so you're never surprised about how your call data is handled.
Availability
The AI Receptionist is available under AI Receptionist → My Assistants for accounts with ReliaRing calling. It comes in more than one tier — a higher tier unlocks additional voice options. If you don't see it in your portal, contact support to have it added to your plan.
Ready to build one? Start with Creating Your First AI Assistant.