What an AI receptionist does well
It doesn't replace a person's judgment. Complaints, sensitive situations and decisions that commit the business should go to a human.
- Giving business hours, the address and closing days.
- Answering the common questions you wrote yourself.
- Directing the call to the right person or department.
- Taking a complete message: name, callback number, reason for the call.
- Answering after hours instead of letting the phone ring out.
Be transparent from the first sentence
Your customers should know they are talking to an artificial intelligence and that the conversation is transcribed. It is a matter of trust, and it is consistent with Québec's Law 25, which requires telling people how their information is collected and used. If calls are recorded, a notice must be given before recording.
Always keep a door to a person
Plan a transfer to an extension or an on-call mobile, or at least a message with a callback commitment. Tell callers clearly what will happen: “I'm passing on your message; someone will call you back today before 5 p.m.” is better than a vague promise.
Write good instructions
- List the exact facts: hours, address, services offered, payment methods accepted, appointment policy.
- Say what it must not do: quote an unconfirmed price, promise a refund, give medical, legal or financial advice.
- Specify when to transfer: complaint, emergency, unhappy customer, question not on the list.
- For an emergency, the instruction is simple: ask the person to hang up and dial 9-1-1.
- Review and update these instructions whenever your hours or services change.
French first
In Québec, the Charter of the French language gives consumers the right to be informed and served in French. Set up the greeting in French first, with English at the caller's choice if you serve a bilingual clientele, and check how street and product names are pronounced.
Personal information
The Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec publishes resources for businesses on Law 25.
- Ask only for what is needed to call back and handle the request.
- Never have the AI take a credit card number over the phone.
- Limit access to transcripts and summaries to the people who need them.
- Set a retention period and delete what is no longer useful.
- Mention the AI receptionist and its provider in your privacy policy.
Test, then adjust
Before going live, call it yourself: ask the usual questions, then unexpected ones, speak fast, switch languages. During the first weeks, read the call summaries every week to spot unanswered questions and improve the instructions.
What an AI receptionist should not do
- Promise a price, a delay, a refund or an exception that is not written in your instructions.
- Give medical, legal or financial advice, even general: it should direct the caller to a qualified person.
- Take a payment card number or a password over the phone.
- Pretend to be a person, or hide that it is taking notes.
- Handle an emergency: if a caller describes a dangerous situation, it must tell them to dial 9-1-1.
Measuring whether it works
After a few weeks, look at the call summaries and ask simple questions. How many calls were settled with no one stepping in? How many asked for a person? Which questions come back often and are not covered by your instructions? Do callers hang up during the greeting? These observations tell you what to add or simplify. A good AI receptionist doesn't replace your team: it filters repetitive questions and leaves the conversations that matter to people.
Listen to your customers too. If several people say they would rather talk to someone, make the transfer to a person more visible at the start of the call, or limit the AI to closed hours.
Recordings and transcripts
An AI receptionist transcribes the conversation to understand it. If you keep these transcripts or recordings, Law 25 applies: tell the caller at the start, limit access to the people who need it, set a retention period and delete what is no longer useful. If the AI provider processes data outside Québec, the law asks you to assess the risks before the transfer and to cover it with a written agreement.
With MIMT
The MIMT Business AI receptionist always introduces itself as an artificial intelligence agent at the start of the call and says the conversation is transcribed. It answers from your hours and frequently asked questions, transfers to a person or takes a message. The AI is provided by Claude, from Anthropic, and each account has a monthly AI cost cap; once reached, calls keep working normally. See MIMT AI and MIMT Business.