Front Desk
Every call answered, even when you can’t pick up.
An AI receptionist that answers your business line, books the appointment and sends anything urgent to a person. Callers hear that it’s an AI assistant in the first sentence.
30 minutes, no cost. You’ll leave knowing whether Front Desk is the right first step.
Sound familiar?
- “I’m on a ladder when the phone rings.”
- “After-hours calls go to voicemail, and most of those people never call back.”
- “Our answering service takes messages. Then I still have to call everyone back.”
If that’s your week, Front Desk was built for it.
What changes
When a call goes to voicemail, many callers don’t leave a message, and some go straight to the next business on the list. Front Desk answers the calls you can’t. It says up front that it’s an AI assistant, answers common questions from information you’ve approved, books the appointment where your tools allow, and gets anything urgent to a person right away. You get a short summary of every call, so nothing waits on you listening to voicemail at 9pm.
Before
- Calls go to voicemail while you’re on a job, with a client or closed for the night.
- Many callers hang up without leaving a message, and some call someone else.
- Evenings go to returning calls and playing phone tag.
After
- Every call is answered, day or night, by an assistant that says it’s an AI.
- Common questions get answered and appointments get booked while the caller is still on the line.
- Urgent calls reach a person right away, and you get a written summary of every call.
Why it’s worth doing
Four things decide whether anything is worth your time: how big the result is, how sure you can be that it works, how long it takes, and how much it asks of you. Here’s how Front Desk measures up.
The result (bigger is better)
Every caller gets a useful answer or a booked appointment instead of voicemail.
Why it works (more certainty is better)
It answers only from information you’ve approved, hands off anything it can’t handle, and you read the transcripts every week for the first month.
How fast (less waiting is better)
Live on after-hours and overflow calls in 1–2 weeks. More of the day once the transcripts look right.
Your effort (less is better)
One setup session on your services and rules, then about 30 minutes a week reading transcripts for the first month.
Everything you get
Front Desk, piece by piece. Built on tools you already use or can buy off the shelf.
The Call Playbook
Your services, service area, hours, policies and what you will and won’t say about price, written down from how you actually answer the phone. It’s the only thing the assistant answers from.
The Voice Assistant
An off-the-shelf voice AI platform handles the phone line and the speech. Where the platform lets me choose the model behind the conversation, I use Claude. It opens every call by saying it’s an AI assistant and, where calls are recorded, that the call is recorded.
Booking and intake
It collects the caller’s name, number, address and problem, and books into your calendar or scheduling software where that tool allows it. Where it doesn’t, you get a booking request to confirm. Callers who agree get a text confirmation.
Urgent routing
You decide what counts as urgent. Emergencies and anything it can’t handle go to the person on call, either transferred with a quick summary or sent as an immediate text.
Call summaries
A short written summary of every call by text or email, with the transcript attached.
Your existing number
Calls forward from the number you already have, so nothing changes on your website, your signs or your Google listing.
Ongoing care
Monitoring, tuning as your business changes, fixes when a connected tool changes, and a 30-minute review with me every month. Cancel with 30 days’ notice.
Plus three bonuses
- Bonus 1
Missed-call audit
A look at last month’s call log from your phone provider: how many calls went unanswered, and at what times.
- Bonus 2
Business listing check
Your hours, service area and phone number checked across your website and Google Business Profile, so callers hear the same facts everywhere.
- Bonus 3
On-call guide
A one-page guide for whoever is on call: what each alert means and how to pick up a transferred call.
Want to see it on your own work? Bring a real example to the call.
Book a free consultationHow it works
Write the playbook
Your real FAQ, pricing rules, service area and what counts as urgent.
Test with scripted calls
We call it with the questions and curveballs your real callers bring, and fix what it gets wrong.
Start after hours
Forward your existing number for after-hours and overflow calls only. No new number needed.
Read the transcripts
Every week for the first few weeks, and each problem becomes a fix to the playbook.
Widen the hours
Once the transcripts look right, it takes more of the day, or every call if you want.
The math
$36k
a year in jobs that used to go to voicemail
Illustration: 10 missed calls a week, 1 in 4 of them a job you would have booked, at a $300 average job, over 48 weeks. Count your own missed calls first. The missed-call audit does that.
Every figure here is an illustration. On the call, I run it with your hours, your rates and your deal sizes.
Run the numbers with meIs it right for you?
It’s for you if
- You miss calls while you’re on a job, with a client or closed for the night.
- Your phone is how work arrives: trades and home services above all, restaurants during service, insurance agencies fielding routine requests, and clinics, salons and offices that book appointments.
- You can describe what a good receptionist would say to your callers.
Skip it if
- Most of your calls are long consultations or sensitive conversations that need a person every time.
- You run a clinic and need it live this week. If your practice is covered by HIPAA, patient calls need a HIPAA-eligible setup first, with a signed business associate agreement (BAA) from each vendor that records, transcribes or stores them.
- You want AI to make outbound sales calls. This answers your phone. It doesn’t make cold calls.
Questions about AI receptionists
Can AI answer my business phone?
Yes, a voice AI assistant can answer your existing business number, answer common questions from information you’ve approved, take the caller’s details and pass urgent calls to a person. It can also book appointments where your scheduling tool allows. Most businesses start with after-hours and overflow calls, then widen it once they’ve read the transcripts.
Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service?
It’s better when you want calls booked and answered, not just messages taken. An answering service takes a message and you still call everyone back, while an AI receptionist can answer from your approved information, book where your tools allow and send urgent calls to a person. Both usually charge by the minute or by the call, so on the free call I’ll compare them against your own call volume.
Will callers know they’re talking to AI?
Yes, because it tells them at the start of every call. I set it up that way on purpose: most callers are fine with an AI assistant that helps them quickly, and not fine finding out later. Anyone who asks for a person gets passed on or gets a callback.
Is it legal to record calls with an AI receptionist?
It can be, and the setup is built for it: every caller hears at the start that they’re talking to an AI assistant and that the call is recorded. California (Penal Code 632) and several other states require consent from everyone on the call, not just one side, and California courts are also hearing claims against AI call vendors themselves, so the vendor’s data terms get checked too. Texts to callers are covered by the TCPA, the federal law on calls and texts, so the assistant asks before it sends one. I review all of this during setup, but I’m not a lawyer, so get legal advice for your situation.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments into my calendar?
Often yes, depending on the scheduling tool you use. Google Calendar and Outlook can usually be connected. Field-service and practice software varies: some tools accept outside bookings and some don’t. Where yours doesn’t, the assistant takes the details and sends you a booking request to confirm.
What happens when someone calls with an emergency?
It follows the rules you set. A burst pipe, or no heat in January, goes straight to the person on call, by transfer or an immediate text, and the caller hears that someone is being reached now. You also decide what happens if nobody picks up, such as a second number to try.
What if it tells a customer something wrong?
It answers only from the playbook. When a question falls outside it, it takes the details and says someone will call back, instead of guessing. In the first weeks you read every transcript, and each mistake becomes a fix to the playbook.
Can a dental office or clinic use it?
Yes, with more setup first. If your practice is covered by HIPAA, as most dental and medical offices that bill insurance are, every tool that records, transcribes or stores the calls has to be HIPAA-eligible and covered by a signed business associate agreement (BAA) before any patient call goes through it. I review that during setup, but I’m not a lawyer, so your compliance lead should sign off too.
What does it cost?
It depends on the tools you use and how much setup is involved. Every solution is a one-time setup plus optional ongoing care, and you get a fixed quote before anything starts. On the free call, I’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth it for your numbers.
Count the calls you missed last week. I’ll show you what Front Desk would have done with them.
30 minutes, no cost, no pressure.