An AI receptionist is a voice AI agent that answers your business phone, talks to callers in natural speech, answers common questions from your knowledge base, books appointments into your calendar, sends texts and transfers calls to a person when needed. In Oceanic Funnels OS you build one under AI Agents → Voice AI, assign it a phone number and choose whether it answers every call, only after hours, or as a backup when nobody picks up.
What a voice AI agent does
- Answers inbound calls with your welcome message and voice.
- Answers questions using a knowledge base with your services, prices and policies.
- Collects caller details and saves them to the contact record.
- Books appointments into a connected calendar.
- Transfers calls to a person's phone when the caller needs a human.
- Sends a text during the call, such as a booking link or directions.
- Logs everything: each call is saved with a recording, transcript and summary.
When to use it: always on, after hours or backup
You decide when the agent picks up. Common setups:
- After hours only: your team answers during the day, and the AI handles evenings and weekends.
- Backup: the AI answers only when nobody on the team picks up.
- Always on: the AI answers every call first and transfers when needed, which suits busy front desks.
How to set up a voice AI agent
- Go to AI Agents → Voice AI and click Create Agent.
- Name the agent, then choose its voice, language, timezone and welcome message.
- Write the prompt: who it is, what your business does, how to handle common requests and when to transfer.
- Add a Knowledge Base with your services, prices, hours and FAQs.
- Add Actions: appointment booking with your calendar, call transfer to a team member, and send SMS.
- Test it with a web call or phone call.
- In Deploy, pick the phone number, choose Answer Calls Directly or Use as Backup, and set working hours.
Tips for a natural-sounding agent
- Keep the welcome message short: name the business and ask how you can help.
- Tell the agent to confirm details back to the caller, such as dates and phone numbers.
- Give it a clear rule for emergencies and complaints: transfer straight away.
- Review call summaries in the first week and tighten the prompt where callers got stuck.
Costs
Voice AI in Oceanic Funnels OS is pay-as-you-go, billed by the minute from your wallet. If you take a lot of calls, AI Agent Unlimited (+$147/month) covers unlimited AI replies and voice minutes. On the Done-For-You plan, our team builds and tunes your voice AI agent for you.