A is for Answer · ATL Crew
An AI receptionist that answers every call.
Ari replaces the “press 1” menu with a real conversation: it understands what callers need, books the appointment, answers your FAQs and hands off to your team with the details already written down.
Transcript
- Ari
Thanks for calling Crestline Home Services. This is Ari, Crestline's virtual assistant, and this call may be recorded. How can I help you today?
- Caller
Hi. My air conditioner stopped blowing cold air this morning, and it's getting pretty warm in the house.
- Ari
I am sorry to hear that. Is your system completely off, or is it running but just not blowing cold air?
- Caller
Yeah, it's just blowing warm air. It's, it's running though.
- Ari
Okay, we can definitely help with that. A diagnostic visit is eighty-nine dollars, and that amount will be applied to any repair you decide to go ahead with.
- Caller
Okay. Yeah, let's go ahead and do that.
- Ari
For tomorrow, Monday, our two earliest appointment windows are eight to ten in the morning or ten to twelve. Which one works better for you?
- Caller
Yeah, let's do that 8:00 a.m., please.
- Ari
May I have your full name? In voice mode, please spell it letter by letter.
- Caller
Sure. It's Bob Sinkit.
- Ari
Could you please spell your full name for me letter by letter?
- Caller
Sure. It's Bob, B-O-B Sinkett, S-I-N-K-E-T-T.
- Ari
Thanks, Bob. What is the service address where we will be performing the visit?
- Caller
It's 123 Oakview Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30316.
- Ari
You are all booked, Bob, for Monday between nine and eleven in the morning. The technician will call you about thirty minutes before arriving. A quick tip for weak cooling: check if your air filter is clogged. Just so you know, this is a demonstration line, so no technician will actually be sent. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
- Caller
No.
- Ari
Thanks for calling Crestline Home Services! Have a great day!
Recorded on the Crestline demo line, built on ElevenLabs Reception. The transcript is the platform's call log. Crestline Home Services is fictional, and the caller is a member of our team using a made-up name and address.
Why not a phone menu?
Press 1 isn’t a conversation.
Phone menus route calls. An AI receptionist resolves them: it books, answers and hands off, and your team hears about every call.
| Phone menu (IVR) | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| How callers say what they need | Press 1, press 2, repeat the menu | In their own words, like talking to a person |
| After hours | Voicemail, often never returned | Answered, booked and logged, 24/7 |
| Booking | Takes a message for someone to call back | Books into your calendar during the call |
| Questions | Recorded menus of general information | Answers from your approved facts: hours, prices, policies |
| Handing off | Cold transfer; the caller starts over | Warm transfer with a summary, so nobody repeats themselves |
| What you learn | Call counts at best | Every call summarized in your CRM, with reasons and outcomes |
- 68%
of consumers prefer to call a business rather than use other channels.
Invoca, 2021 - 51%
of consumers said they had abandoned a business after reaching an automated phone menu.
Vonage, 2019 - 7x
more likely to qualify a lead when a company responds within an hour instead of later.
Harvard Business Review, 2011
What it does on every call
Ari answers, books and hands off.
Answers every call
Day, night and weekends, including the calls that come in while your team is busy.
Understands plain speech
No menus. Callers explain what they need, and Ari asks the right follow-up questions.
Books the appointment
Checks real availability in your calendar and books it during the call.
Answers from your facts
Hours, service areas, prices and policies, only from information you approve.
Hands off to a person
Transfers with a summary, or takes a detailed message and alerts the right person.
Follows up and logs
Texts a confirmation, and writes a summary of every call to your CRM.
Make it yours
Customized to fit your brand, down to the voice.
Choose how Ari sounds, what it knows, what it’s allowed to do and where it hands off. Here’s everything you can set, and an example profile.
- Name
- Ari
- Voice
- Warm, clear, mid-paced
- Gender
- Female voice
- Age
- Sounds 30 to 40
- Accent
- Neutral American
- Language
- English, with Spanish
- Tone
- Friendly, calm, direct
- Traits
- Patient, concise, never pushy
Greeting
“Thanks for calling Crestline Home Services. This is Ari, Crestline's virtual assistant, and this call may be recorded. How can I help you today?”
Persona and voice
Name, voice, gender, age, accent and personality, chosen to fit your brand. Hear options before you pick one.
- Name
- Voice
- Gender
- Age
- Accent
- Personality
Language and tone
Formal or relaxed, brief or chatty. It can switch to the caller's language, so Spanish speakers are answered in Spanish.
- Languages
- Tone
- Pace
- Word choice
Greetings and scripts
Your opening line, recording notice, after-hours message, holiday hours and the way it closes every call.
- Greeting
- After hours
- Holidays
- Sign-off
Business context
Services, prices, service areas, policies and FAQs, taken from your website and documents, and nothing it can make up.
- Services
- Prices
- Service area
- FAQs
Rules and guardrails
What it must always do, what it must never say, and which topics always go to a person: emergencies, complaints, billing.
- Always
- Never
- Escalate
- Disclosures
Transfers to people
Warm transfer to the right person or team by topic, time of day or caller, with a summary so nobody repeats themselves.
- By topic
- By schedule
- Warm handoff
- Voicemail
Booking and calendars
Books into Google or Outlook calendars or your scheduling system, with your appointment types, windows and buffers.
- Outlook
- Booking rules
- Reminders
CRM and tools
Logs every caller, summary and outcome in your CRM, and triggers your workflows through Zapier or webhooks.
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Zapier
- Webhooks
Payments
Texts a secure payment link from your payment provider. Card numbers go to the payment page, never to the AI.
- Payment links
- Deposits
- Invoices
How it works
Your number, a better first answer.
Setup keeps your existing phone number and connects to the calendar and CRM you already use.
- 01
Your number, forwarded
Keep your existing phone number. Calls forward to Ari when you choose: always, after hours or when lines are busy.
- 02
A clear greeting
Ari says it's a virtual assistant and that the call may be recorded, then asks how it can help.
- 03
Understand and act
It asks follow-up questions, checks your calendar and approved facts, and books or answers.
- 04
Hand off when it matters
Urgent, sensitive or unusual calls go to a person, with the context already written up.
- 05
Summarize and learn
Every call is logged with its reason and outcome, so you can see what callers need and improve the answers.
Who it’s for
Built for businesses that live on the phone.
Home services
Emergency calls routed to the on-call tech, estimates booked, service areas checked.
Dental and medical
New-patient bookings, office hours and directions; clinical questions go to staff.
Legal and professional services
New-matter intake questions, consultation booking and conflict-check details captured.
Automotive
Service appointments, recall questions and hours, with a quick transfer to the service desk.
Real estate
Showing requests and property questions answered and routed to the listing agent.
Multi-location businesses
One number, the right location's calendar and rules, and consistent answers everywhere.
Guardrails
Honest, careful and easy to reach a person.
Part of the ATL Crew: Ari passes qualified leads to Lane for follow-up, and Tate tracks which calls turn into customers.
- Says it’s a virtual assistant, and that calls may be recorded, at the start of every call
- Callers can reach a person any time; emergencies and complaints go straight to your team
- Answers only from facts you approve, and says so when it doesn’t know
- Recording and consent settings match the states your callers are in
- No card numbers through the AI; healthcare setups use vendors that sign HIPAA agreements
- Every call summarized and logged, so you can review and improve it
FAQ
AI receptionist: common questions
Will callers know they're talking to AI?
Yes. Ari introduces itself as a virtual assistant at the start of every call. Being upfront builds trust, and some states require it.
Can it transfer to a person?
Yes, at any time. Callers can ask for a person, and you decide which topics always go to your team (emergencies, complaints, billing, anything clinical or legal). Transfers include a short summary.
Do we keep our phone number?
Yes. Your number forwards to the receptionist when you choose: always, after hours, or when your lines are busy. Nothing changes for your customers.
What about call recording laws?
The greeting includes a recording notice. Some states, including California, Florida and Pennsylvania, require every party's consent, so we set the notice and settings for where your callers are. We'll confirm the approach with you before launch.
Can it take payments or handle health information?
Card numbers go to your existing payment system, never to the AI. For healthcare, we build with vendors that sign HIPAA business associate agreements, and keep clinical questions with your staff.
What does it cost to run?
A fixed-price setup, plus usage for the phone line and AI platform, which is billed per minute. We estimate it from your call volume before you commit.
How fast can we go live?
Usually within a week. After a 30-minute kickoff call, we set up the voice, greeting, business context, rules and transfers, connect your calendar and tools, and test it with you before any customer hears it. Complex integrations can take longer, and we'll tell you up front.
Is the sample a real call?
It's a real call to a working AI receptionist, recorded on our demo line. The business is fictional and the caller is role-played by our team, so no customer details are involved.
Fast start
Up and running this week.
Reach out today. After a short kickoff, we build, test and launch your receptionist, usually within five business days, with your number, your voice and your rules.
- Today
Reach out
Tell us about your calls: the top questions, how you book, and who should take what.
- Day 1
Kickoff call
30 minutes to choose the voice and persona, and agree the greeting, rules and transfers.
- Days 2 to 4
Build and test
We load your business context, connect your calendar and tools, and test it on real call scenarios with you.
- Day 5
Live
Your number forwards to it when you choose: always, after hours or when lines are busy. We review the first week's calls with you.
Timing assumes a standard setup: phone forwarding, one calendar and a CRM we already support. We’ll confirm your timeline on the first call.