Customizing Your AI Receptionist for Any Conversation
Learn how to use Customer Type Segmentation, Conditional Call Forwarding, and Post-Call Automations to handle any type of phone call.
Your AI receptionist is designed to handle virtually any type of phone call your business receives. This guide explains the three core tools that make this flexibility possible: Customer Type Segmentation, Conditional Call Forwarding, and Post-Call Automations.
Understanding Customer Types: Current vs. New
At the heart of your AI receptionist is a fundamental distinction between current customers and new customers. This separation exists because these two groups have completely different needs.
Why the Distinction Matters
| New Customers | Current Customers |
|---|---|
| Inquiring about services | Billing questions |
| Asking about pricing | Customer support issues |
| Interested in deals/discounts | Rescheduling appointments |
| Learning about your business | Account-specific concerns |
How It Works
When a call begins, your AI receptionist quickly identifies whether the caller is new or existing. Once determined, the AI forgets all instructions for the other customer type. This prevents common mistakes like:
- Accidentally offering a new-customer discount to an existing client
- Confusing a prospect with billing information that doesn't apply to them
Configuring Customer-Specific Settings
For each customer type, you can customize:
- Business information shared
- Frequently asked questions
- Pricing details
- Special offers and promotions
- Conversation flow and steps
Adding Additional Segmentation
The current/new distinction is your primary differentiator, but you can layer in additional segmentation by writing dual instructions within your conversation steps.
Common Secondary Segments
- Commercial vs. Residential
- Landlord vs. Tenant
- Individual vs. Business accounts
- Different service tiers or membership levels
By combining these with your primary customer type, you can create highly tailored conversations—for example, handling a new commercial customer completely differently from a new residential customer.
Handling Special Situations with Call Forwarding
For urgent matters like emergencies, your AI doesn't have to handle everything alone. Conditional call forwarding lets you route calls to the right person in real time.
Setting Up Emergency Call Forwarding
- Define the criteria that triggers forwarding (e.g., "emergency plumbing situation")
- Specify the personnel to receive the forwarded call
- Configure multiple forwarding numbers as backups—if the first person doesn't answer, the next one rings
This ensures that urgent calls reach a live person immediately, even if your primary contact is unavailable.
Extending Capabilities with Post-Call Automations
Not everything needs to happen during the call. The Automation Builder lets you trigger actions after a call ends, giving you more flexibility and eliminating the pressure of real-time responses.
What Post-Call Automations Can Do
- Analyze the call – Have your AI review the conversation to determine if specific criteria were met (e.g., was this a true emergency?)
- Trigger conditional actions – Based on the analysis, branch into different workflows
- Notify the right people – Automatically call or text a technician, owner, or team member with full details including customer's phone number, address, and description of the situation
- Send follow-up messages – Deliver text or email summaries so your team has everything in writing
Why This Matters
Post-call automations free you from the constraints of keeping a caller on the line. Your AI can collect the necessary information, end the call professionally, and then handle the complex routing and notifications behind the scenes.
Bringing It All Together
By combining these three tools, you can design an AI receptionist that handles nearly any scenario:
| Tool | Best For |
|---|---|
| Customer Type Segmentation | Tailoring conversations based on relationship status |
| Secondary Segmentation | Further customization within customer types |
| Conditional Call Forwarding | Real-time routing for urgent or specialized calls |
| Post-Call Automations | Complex workflows, notifications, and follow-ups |
The key insight is that your AI receptionist's capabilities extend beyond the live conversation. With thoughtful configuration of these tools, you can create a system that feels personalized, responsive, and capable of handling the full range of calls your business receives.
Tags:
Was this article helpful?
Related Articles
Setting Up Your AI Voice Receptionist
A complete guide to activating and configuring your AI-powered phone assistant.
Setting Up Your AI Receptionist's Initial Greeting
Learn the two ways to configure how your AI receptionist answers the phone: dynamic instruction-based greetings or static fixed messages.
Troubleshooting AI Voice Issues
Solutions for common AI Voice problems including call quality, recognition, and transfer issues.