If you are running a local small business, you probably know the struggle of answering every time the phone rings. You never know who is calling you – Is that a customer in distress? Did someone get your business number from a neighbor who is now calling to book an appointment? Did you recently run a marketing campaign and expect potential leads? For smaller businesses, having a large team of customer care or support staff rarely makes economic sense. Thanks to advancements in tech, you can now have an ai voice receptionist! Here are some details worth your attention.
- AI receptionists can handle millions of calls: Yes, you read that right. Humans have limitations. Even the most dedicated receptionists can only answer a certain number of calls in a day. However, AI voice agents can manage as many as a million simultaneous calls.
- Customers cannot tell the difference: One of the many reasons many small business owners hesitate to use AI voice agents is because of the robotic nature of responses. Fortunately, that’s not a concern anymore. Many advanced models rely on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning, and the conversations with customers are natural and conversational in the truest sense.
- Virtual receptionists can do many things: If you choose the right AI voice receptionist, you can expect numerous things. The agent can take calls within two rings, answer queries and FAQs, and schedule meetings and appointments. When AI cannot answer a question, the agent will forward the call to a real human agent.
- You can train your AI receptionist: Many service providers have flexible systems where you can update and modify the responses of your virtual agent. With time, you can train AI models to become more responsive and handle issues that aren’t very generic and require more comprehension.
- AI receptionists are cheaper: What do you need to do to hire two or more receptionists for your small business? You probably have to start with job ads, find people, complete the hiring process, and train the selected candidates before they can begin taking calls. However, that’s not the case with AI receptionists. You can sign up with a reliable service in less than 30 minutes, and the voice agent can start taking calls. In the long run, this could mean massive savings.
- Reduce work for your team: You don’t have to get away with the current customer care team just because you have an AI voice agent. In fact, you can let them handle the queries that AI cannot resolve, which will reduce their burden. In fact, small companies benefit the most from a hybrid model, where virtual receptionists take regular calls while their core team manage customer relationships and complex issues.
- Scalability is assured: One of the other reasons to consider an AI receptionist is scalability. You can choose between pricing models based on daily or average call volume, but as your business grows, you can switch easily. Make sure you look at pricing slabs before choosing one.
- Focus on uptime: The very advantage of AI virtual agents for reception is availability. You know the AI receptionist is around to take calls even beyond business hours, but that’s only possible when the service is backed by uptime. Before you select an option, consider the tech used and the guaranteed uptime. Also, don’t forget to look at the add-on features.
Final word
Whether you run a plumbing business or a florist shop, you need to ensure all calls are answered to serve existing customers and capture potential leads. Instead of trying to burden your existing team, invest in an AI voice receptionist to simplify the experience for in-house staff and callers alike.
