Use case

AI Receptionist

An AI receptionist that picks up on the first ring, books appointments, qualifies callers, and hands off to a human only when one is needed.

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Pick-up time
<2s
Availability
24/7
Languages supported
100+
Refund guarantee
$2M

01 — Overview

What does an AI receptionist actually do?

An AI receptionist is the voice that answers your inbound phone line. Open's AI receptionist picks up on the first ring 24/7, listens to the caller, runs whatever you've taught it (booking, qualification, lookup, transfer), and only escalates to a human when the conversation genuinely needs one.

Most businesses lose calls the same way: a customer dials, the phone rings four times, the call goes to voicemail, the customer hangs up. An AI receptionist eliminates the two failure modes that drive that — wait time and queueing — by answering every inbound call instantly and handling the conversation entirely in voice. There's no IVR menu, no "press 1 for sales," no hold music; the caller talks, the AI listens and replies in natural language.

What makes Open's AI receptionist different from an IVR or a chatbot is what it can do mid-call. It looks the caller up in your CRM by phone number, checks their order status in Shopify, books a slot in Google or Outlook calendar, sends a payment link by SMS, escalates a billing complaint to a human with the full transcript already attached. The range of actions is set by the tools you've connected in the Open dashboard — there's no script to maintain.

Routing is per-number. You can run one AI receptionist for the main line and a different one for sales, support, or after-hours. Numbers can stay on whatever carrier you already use — Twilio, Vonage, RingCentral, Zoom Phone, your own SIP trunk. Open registers as a SIP destination behind your existing phone system; the AI picks up on the calls you opt in.

When the AI hands a call to a human, it does it warmly. It tells the customer who they're being transferred to and why, then bridges via SIP REFER or PSTN with the live transcript and detected intent attached. Your teammate picks up the call already knowing the customer's name, what they wanted, and what the AI tried before deciding to escalate.

Setup is measured in minutes, not weeks. Connect your phone system, point the inbound line at Open, define the agent's role and the tools it can call. Test calls run end-to-end the same day. Most customers are live with their first AI receptionist before the next round of phones rings.

What stays the same

  • Your phone numbers and carrier

    Bring your existing numbers from Twilio, Vonage, RingCentral, Zoom Phone, or any SIP trunk. No porting required.

  • Your team and queues

    Existing extensions, ring groups, and queues keep working. The AI is a routing destination on the lines you opt in.

  • Your CRM, calendar, and billing

    Open uses your existing Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Calendar, etc. via official APIs — no new system of record.

  • Your reporting

    Carrier-side call logs continue. Open adds AI-side reasoning traces and outcome tags on top.

What's new with Open

  • Calls get answered instantly

    No more phone tag — every call is picked up on the first ring, 24/7, in the caller's language.

  • AI takes action mid-call

    Bookings, payment links, CRM lookups, ticket creation, refunds — handled live during the call.

  • Transfers carry context

    When the AI escalates, the next agent sees the live transcript and detected intent before they pick up.

  • Pricing model

    Open charges per resolved conversation, not per agent or per minute. Carrier minutes stay invoiced by your provider.

02 — Why it works

What makes Open the right use case answer

  • Picks up every call, instantly

    No queueing, no IVR maze, no voicemail abandonment. The AI answers on the first ring with a real conversation.

  • Takes action live, not just messages

    Books appointments, looks up orders, sends payment links, creates tickets, and updates CRMs without putting the caller on hold.

  • Warm-transfers with full context

    When a human is needed, the AI hands the call off with the transcript and intent — no "tell me what happened" moment.

  • Works with what you already use

    Sits behind your existing phone system, CRM, and helpdesk. No migration, no rip-and-replace.

03 — How it runs

What actually happens on a call

  1. 1

    Caller dials your existing number

    Number stays on your carrier. The inbound INVITE forwards to Open over SIP.

  2. 2

    AI picks up in <2 seconds

    It greets the caller in your brand voice and language, then listens.

  3. 3

    AI fetches caller context

    CRM lookup by phone number, order history pull, last-conversation summary — all before the second sentence.

  4. 4

    AI runs the conversation and acts

    Books, qualifies, answers, sends links, charges cards, creates tickets — whatever the conversation requires.

  5. 5

    Escalates only when needed

    Warm transfer via SIP REFER or PSTN bridge with full transcript attached. Voicemail or callback offered if no human is available.

  6. 6

    Logs everything

    Recording, transcript, reasoning trace, outcome tag — all available in the Open inbox and your CRM.

04 — Security

Encrypted, audited, refundable

SIP over TLS for signaling, SRTP for media. Every call logged with full reasoning traces. SOC 2 Type II, GDPR-aligned, HIPAA- and PCI-ready. Backed by the Open $2M Refund Guarantee.

05 — FAQ

AI Receptionist questions, answered

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