> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.limecall.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.limecall.com/ai-receptionist.md).

# AI Receptionist

An AI voice agent that answers your calls, qualifies callers, books meetings and hands over to a human.

The AI receptionist answers your phone. It greets the caller in your business's words, answers questions from what you have taught it, works out whether the caller is worth your time, books them in, and hands over to a human when it should.

It works on phone calls, SMS, WhatsApp and email — the same assistant, the same knowledge, across every channel you switch on.

## What it can do

| It can                               | Notes                                                     |
| ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Answer calls 24/7                    | No hold music, no queue.                                  |
| Answer questions about your business | From the knowledge you give it.                           |
| Qualify a caller                     | Against criteria you define, with a score.                |
| Book into your calendar              | Real availability, not a callback promise.                |
| Take a message                       | Structured, not a recording you have to listen to.        |
| Transfer to a human                  | On request, on emergency, or when it is out of its depth. |
| Write the call up                    | A summary, tags and the collected fields.                 |
| Recognise a returning caller         | And refer to what was discussed before.                   |

## What it will not do

It will not invent an answer it does not have — when it does not know, it says so and offers to take a message. It will not make outbound sales calls. It will not pretend to be human if asked directly.

## How it is organised

The editor groups its settings the way the assistant itself is built. These docs follow the same order:

1. **Assistant** — who it is. [Your assistant](/ai-receptionist/your-assistant.md)
2. **Channels** — where it answers. [Phone calls](/ai-receptionist/phone-calls.md), [Text messages](/ai-receptionist/text-messages.md), [WhatsApp](/ai-receptionist/whatsapp.md), [Emails](/ai-receptionist/emails.md)
3. **Instructions** — what it does. [Scenarios & call types](/ai-receptionist/scenarios-and-call-types.md), [Lead qualification](/ai-receptionist/lead-qualification.md), [Summaries & tagging](/ai-receptionist/summaries-and-tagging.md), [Caller memory](/ai-receptionist/caller-memory.md)
4. **Voice** — how it sounds. [Voice & tone](/ai-receptionist/voice-and-tone.md)
5. **Integrations** — what it connects to. [Transfers & escalation](/ai-receptionist/transfers-and-escalation.md), [Calendar & booking](/ai-receptionist/calendar-and-booking.md), [Actions & webhooks](/ai-receptionist/actions-and-webhooks.md)
6. **Knowledge** — what it knows. [Company details](/ai-receptionist/company-details.md), [Contact information](/ai-receptionist/contact-information.md), [Products & services](/ai-receptionist/products-and-services.md), [Additional knowledge](/ai-receptionist/additional-knowledge.md)
7. **Safety** — who it will not talk to. [Spam & blocking](/ai-receptionist/spam-and-blocking.md)

## Start here

New to it? [Create your assistant](/ai-receptionist/create-your-assistant.md) walks through the first setup, and [Test your assistant](/ai-receptionist/test-your-assistant.md) shows how to check it before you put it in front of customers.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Before taking live calls, read [Recording, consent & AI disclosure](/ai-receptionist/recording-consent-and-disclosure.md). Several jurisdictions require you to disclose recording, AI use, or both.
{% endhint %}