AI receptionist setup
What should your AI receptionist know?
Prepare business details, services, location information, and clear next steps for your AI receptionist. Use a practical test plan before going live.
The short version
- Review imported business details rather than treating a website fetch as approval.
- Give each location and phone line the context that applies to it.
- Test answers, actions, and exceptions separately before a real customer relies on them.
A welcoming voice makes a good first impression. Accurate information makes the conversation useful. Before choosing the perfect greeting, decide what your receptionist needs to know about the business and what it should do with different requests. You can start with a small, reliable set of answers and expand it as your team learns.
Start with the facts customers ask about
Prepare the business name, website, relevant address, opening hours, service area, and services. Use the information your team would give a caller today. If the website lists old hours or an outdated offer, importing it does not make it current.
In Zweelie, review the business details and the location information used by the receptionist. Website suggestions are a starting point. Compare them with your own records, correct missing details, and decide who will keep them up to date.
Make location details specific
A business with two locations may have two different schedules and service areas. Give the phone line the context for the location it serves. If a caller asks for another branch, the next step should be clear rather than based on whichever address appears first on the website.
Keep public opening hours distinct from call-transfer availability. Saying when the business is open does not, by itself, configure when a particular person can receive a transferred call. Review both the caller-facing information and the actual routing setup.
Define what a useful conversation accomplishes
Choose common requests and describe a successful outcome for each. A question about services may need an approved answer. A request to change an appointment needs the correct scheduling process. A caller with an unresolved concern may need a specific team member.
For each action, check what the configured workflow can actually complete. Treat an appointment request as confirmed only when the scheduling process has confirmed it. Keep professional advice, exceptions, and decisions that require authority with the appropriate people.
Test the questions customers really ask
Use test details and speak naturally. Try a normal question, then change a detail halfway through. Check both the conversation and any resulting record. Good delivery alone will not reveal a wrong location or a missing next action.
- Ask for opening hours at a specific location.
- Describe a service the business does not offer.
- Change the preferred date or contact detail during the conversation.
- Ask a question whose answer is not in the approved information.
- Check what happens when a transfer or requested action is unavailable.
Give the setup an owner
Choose who updates hours, services, and routing when the business changes. After a change, repeat the small set of test conversations that depend on it. Keep a note of the expected result so another teammate can verify it too.
Start with the questions your business receives most often. Add more detail when a real gap appears. A short set of accurate instructions and tested next steps is easier to maintain than a long document full of conflicting promises.
About the author
Alex Hanna is the founder and CEO of Zweelie. He writes about bringing customer conversations and everyday business work into one connected workspace.
