AI Voice Receptionist — setup, training, and getting the most out of it

The AI Voice Receptionist is an add-on for any Voxinly plan. When a customer calls, it answers in a natural-sounding British voice, takes down the job, the postcode, the callback number, and emails you a transcript inside 60 seconds. It does not replace you — it covers the calls you can't answer, which for most tradesmen is 30–40% of inbound enquiries.

How activation works

1. You click "Activate voice" from any add-on banner on the dashboard or pricing page
2. We buy you a dedicated UK mobile number on Twilio (takes about 30 seconds)
3. We email you the number, divert codes for your existing line, and a link to the setup screen
4. You spend 90 seconds at /admin/voice picking a greeting, voice, and hand-off rule
5. You set up a divert on your existing phone (we give you the exact GSM code to dial)
6. Done — the next missed call is answered by your bot

The setup screen — five inputs

Once activated, the voice setup lives at /admin/voice. It's deliberately small — five fields, sensible defaults, and a "Test call" button that rings your mobile from the bot's number so you can hear it in real time before live calls come in.

1. Greeting line

What the bot says when it picks up. Default: "Hello, you've reached {business name}. I'm the assistant on this line. How can I help?" Edit it to add personality — "Alright mate, you've got Alan's Locksmiths…" or "Good afternoon, this is Beth at PlumbRight…" both work. Keep it under 30 words so callers don't hang up before you get to the point.

2. Voice

Pick from four natural-sounding voices:

• Amy — warm British female (default)
• Brian — British male, slight London
• Olivia — Australian female (use for Aussie-based brands)
• Russell — Australian male

Each voice has a preview button. Pick the one that sounds closest to how your business actually feels on the phone.

3. Hand-off rule

What the bot says it'll do after taking the details:

• Tell the caller you'll ring back today (default)
• Text the caller confirmation now and ring back when free
• Try to patch the caller through to your mobile if you're available

Most traders pick option 1 or 2 — they don't want to be ambushed by transferred calls while they're under a sink. Patch-through is good if you've got an apprentice or office cover.

4. Call length cap

Default 90 seconds. If the bot is still on a call after that, it wraps with "Right, I've got enough — someone will ring you back within the hour. Cheers." Stops a chatty caller from running up cost. You can stretch this to 180s for trades where call notes need more detail (kitchen rebuilds, multi-room boiler quotes).

5. Emergency escalation

When the caller uses an emergency trigger word ("locked out", "no heat", "flood", "stranded"), what does the bot do?

• Text the trader the customer's number immediately so they can call back in 30 seconds (default)
• Give the trader's mobile to the caller directly
• Continue through the standard script (use only if you don't take emergencies)

Training the bot — what it already knows vs what you teach it

Here's the bit that matters. The voice bot reuses about 90% of what your existing Voxinly chatbot already knows. You don't need to re-enter anything you've already taught it.

What it inherits automatically

• Business name, trade type, and the services you offer
• Your knowledge base entries (boiler servicing prices, callout policy, FAQs)
• Service area / postcode coverage
• Opening hours and emergency rules
• Call-out fees and day-rates
• Hot-lead trigger words ("locked out", "no heat", etc.)

What you might want to add for voice specifically

Voice has tighter time pressure than chat. A caller wants short answers fast — they won't wait for a 4-paragraph explanation. So as you listen back to early calls, watch for these patterns:

1. Common questions where the bot's chat answer is too long — add a shorter version to your knowledge base titled "voice: {topic}"
2. Brand-specific phrases ("the locksmith", "the boiler man") that callers use but the bot doesn't understand yet — add a knowledge note clarifying
3. Pricing the bot quotes wrong (e.g. callout fee is now £75, not £60) — update the knowledge entry
4. Postcodes you've started covering — add to the area entry

Updates take effect within minutes. No re-training step, no waiting overnight.

Listening back to calls

Every inbound call shows up at /admin/voice with the full transcript, call length, postcode, and a flag if a hot-lead trigger fired. You can:

• Mark calls as won / lost / spam to train the system on what a good lead looks like
• Listen to the audio recording (we keep them for 30 days)
• Copy the caller's number to your phone in one tap
• Edit the greeting or hand-off rule from anything that surprised you
• Add a knowledge entry covering anything the bot fumbled

Setting up the call divert

Customers ring your existing mobile. When you don't pick up (or you're on another call), it rolls to the voice bot. You set this once and forget it.

From your phone, dial one of these GSM codes once:

• **61*{voice number}# — divert when you don't answer (recommended)
• **67*{voice number}# — divert when line is busy
• **62*{voice number}# — divert when phone is off / out of signal
• **21*{voice number}# — divert every call (use when on holiday)
• ##002# — turn the divert off entirely

These work on every UK network (EE / O2 / Vodafone / Three). Your phone will say "Service was enabled" when it takes.

What it costs

• £19/month on top of your Voxinly plan (works on Starter, Pro, or Business)
• Includes the first 200 minutes of inbound calls
• Each additional minute is 8p (much cheaper than a human answering service)
• 3-month minimum because we have to buy and configure a dedicated UK number — cancelling earlier loses us money
• After 3 months: cancel any time, the number stops forwarding immediately

Frequently asked