Free training · Phone & AI · 9 min
What your AI receptionist needs to know.
An AI receptionist is only as good as what you tell it. Give it the wrong hours or no handoff rule and it will confidently book the wrong thing. Here's what it needs, in order of importance, and a builder that turns your answers into the brief.
01Who you are and what you do
The business name as callers say it, the two-sentence description of what you do, and the services you offer with plain-English names. Also what you don't do, so it can say no quickly and suggest where to go instead.
02Where and when
Service area by city or radius, hours by day, and what happens outside hours. "We serve Denver, Aurora and the Front Range" and "after 6 pm, book the next available morning" are both rules it can follow.
03Prices it may quote, and prices it may not
Decide what it can say about money. A safe pattern: ranges for common jobs ("most water heater replacements run $X to $Y"), and "the owner will confirm the exact price" for everything else. Never let it invent a number.
04How to book, and what to collect
The calendar it books into, how long each job type takes, and the details it must capture before booking: name, phone, address, the problem in the caller's words, and anything else you'd ask (gate code, pets, parking).
05When to hand off to you
Emergencies, angry callers, anything outside the script, and anyone who asks for a person. Write the rule and the handoff line: "Let me get [Name] on the line for you," or "[Name] will call you back within 15 minutes."
06Hear one before you build one
Call (213) 727-7238 and talk to Elliot, the AI front desk for Donahue Works. Ask it what you'd ask a business like yours. That's the same agent, set up with a brief like the one below, that would answer your calls.
Your turn
Build my receptionist brief
Answer in plain English. The brief assembles itself as you type. Copy it, or use it as the handoff document when the agent gets built.
Keep it
Email me this training
You'll get the link to this page and your exercise results, and the next training in the series. One email, no sequence chasing you. Privacy.
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