If you use an AI tool to answer calls you can't get to, its first sentence matters more than anything else it says. That's when the caller decides whether to stay or hang up.
Tell them what it is
Don't dress the bot up as a person. Customers can usually tell, and they feel tricked when they figure it out. Plenty of people are fine talking to an AI if it's honest and helpful. What they hate is being fooled.
A good first sentence:
> "Thanks for calling Riverside Repair. I'm Mike's assistant, an automated helper. Mike's on a job right now. I can take down what you need and have him call you back. What's going on?"
That's honest (an automated helper), useful (Mike gets the message), and it ends with a question so the caller starts talking.
Bad first sentences
- "Hi, this is Jessica!" (when there is no Jessica)
- "Your call is important to us." (nobody believes it)
- "Press 1 for..." (they called to talk, not to press)
- A long speech about your 20 years of experience
"Are you a robot?"
Someone will ask. The answer should be yes, plus a reason to keep going:
> "Yes, I'm an automated assistant. I'll get your details to Mike right now so he can call you back. Is this about a repair or a new project?"
If they still want a person, the tool should say when the callback will happen, and then you have to make that callback. A bot that promises a call in an hour and nobody calls is worse than voicemail.
Check the law where you work
If the tool records calls, some states require that everyone on the call agrees. "This call may be recorded" in the first sentence or two covers you in most places.
What comes after the first sentence
The questions your answering tool asks should be the same ones you'd ask: name, address, what's wrong, how bad, when they're home, photos if they can. It should never give a price or promise a day. See the missed-call text that never gives a price and why putting AI on your whole phone system can cost you jobs.
Write the first sentence yourself. Read it out loud. If it doesn't sound like your business, change it.
