AI Receptionist for Business Calls: Answer Every Call with RingQ
An AI receptionist answers calls by voice, uses your business knowledge, books meetings and hands callers to a person. See how RingQ's SI Receptionist works.
An AI receptionist is a virtual receptionist that answers your business calls by voice, understands what the caller wants, answers questions from your own business information and passes the call to a person when needed. In RingQ it is called the Smart Intelligence (SI) Receptionist, and it runs inside your phone system, on its own extension.
What can an AI receptionist do?
- Answer every call, day and night, with a greeting in your company's voice.
- Answer questions about opening hours, prices, products, policies and locations from the knowledge you give it, including documents and pages of your website.
- Look up callers and book meetings when connected to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, always confirming with the caller first.
- Transfer to a person on keywords or when the caller asks, to an extension, a queue or a colleague.
- Speak your customers' language, with a choice of voices and languages.
AI receptionist vs IVR menu
A traditional IVR asks callers to press 1, 2 or 3. An AI receptionist lets callers say what they need in their own words. Many businesses use both: an IVR digital receptionist for simple routing and an AI receptionist for questions, after-hours calls and overflow.
Choose your AI provider
RingQ does not lock you into one AI. Each SI Receptionist can use its own provider and key: OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq, DeepSeek, Grok or Azure OpenAI, with Deepgram for speech recognition and voice. You can try several side by side and keep the one that works best for your callers.
How to set up an AI receptionist in RingQ
- In the RingQ web app, open Settings, then AI Receptionists, and create an agent with a free extension number.
- Choose the AI provider, voice and language, and write the greeting.
- Add your business information: a short system prompt, facts the AI must know and the web pages or documents it may quote.
- Set keyword transfers and escalation to a person.
- Point a DID, IVR option or after-hours rule at the receptionist's extension.
Follow the full guide: Set up a Smart Intelligence (SI) Receptionist.
More AI in RingQ
- AI call transcription and summaries for every call in Reports.
- AI Agent Coach: live transcripts, suggested replies, caller mood and after-call notes for agents.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that answers phone calls by voice, understands natural speech, answers common questions from your business information and transfers callers to the right person.
Can an AI receptionist transfer calls to a human?
Yes. The RingQ SI Receptionist transfers callers on keywords you set or when the caller asks for a person, and hands over when it does not know the answer instead of guessing.
Which AI models does RingQ support?
OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq, DeepSeek, Grok and Azure OpenAI, each with its own API key.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments?
Yes. When connected to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, it can check availability and create calendar events after the caller confirms.
Does an AI receptionist replace my staff?
No. It handles routine questions, after-hours calls and overflow, so your team can focus on the calls that need a person.