Hire an AI + Human Receptionist With Smith.ai
Your phone rings all day but you can't answer every call — and you're losing leads because voicemail is where business goes to die. A virtual receptionist combines real humans with AI to answer every call professionally, qualify leads, and book appointments. Here's how to set it up.
Tools You'll Need
| Tool | What It Does | Cost | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Virtual receptionist service combining live agents with AI to answer calls, qualify leads, book appointments, and handle FAQs 24/7 | $285 – $700/month depending on call volume | Get it → |
The Walkthrough
Step 1: Sign Up and Set Your Call Handling Instructions
What to do: Go to Smith.ai and choose a plan based on your expected call volume. During onboarding, you’ll fill out a detailed questionnaire: what your business does, common caller questions, how to qualify leads, what to say about pricing, and where to transfer urgent calls.
Why you’re doing it: Smith.ai isn’t a generic answering service — they train their agents and AI on your specific business. A caller shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between your receptionist and Smith.ai. The onboarding questionnaire is how they learn to sound like you.
Use this prompt to write your call handling script: Ask Claude: “Write call handling instructions for a virtual receptionist service for [business name], a [business type]. Include: how to greet callers, what to say about our services (brief, benefit-focused), lead qualification questions to ask (3-5 questions that determine if they are a good fit), how to handle pricing questions without giving exact numbers, and how to book an appointment or take a message. Professional but warm — should sound like our best team member.”
What to expect: 30 minutes for signup and questionnaire. Smith.ai’s team reviews your instructions and follows up with clarifications before going live.
Step 2: Connect Your Phone System
What to do: Forward your business phone to the Smith.ai number they provide. You can forward all calls, only overflow calls (when you don’t answer within 3 rings), or only after-hours calls. Most phone systems support this with a simple settings change.
Why you’re doing it: You choose how much Smith.ai handles. Forwarding everything means you never miss a call. Forwarding only overflow means you try first and Smith.ai catches what you miss. Start with overflow and expand if you like the experience.
What to expect: 10 minutes to configure. Test with a call from your personal phone to make sure it routes correctly.
Step 3: Set Up Appointment Booking
What to do: Connect your calendar (Google Calendar, Calendly, or Acuity) to Smith.ai. Receptionists will check your real-time availability and book appointments directly into your calendar during calls. Set rules for appointment types, durations, and buffer time between meetings.
Why you’re doing it: The most valuable thing a receptionist can do is convert a phone call into a booked appointment. Without calendar integration, they can only take messages — which still requires you to call back and play phone tag.
What to expect: 15 minutes to connect and configure. New appointments appear in your calendar automatically.
Step 4: Set Up Lead Qualification
What to do: Define your lead qualification criteria in Smith.ai’s dashboard. For a law firm: “Ask what type of case, when the incident happened, and their location.” For a home service business: “Ask what service they need, their address, and their preferred date.” Smith.ai screens callers based on your criteria and marks them as qualified or unqualified.
Why you’re doing it: Not every call is a good lead. Qualification means you only follow up with callers who match your ideal customer profile. Unqualified callers still get a polite, professional response — they just don’t consume your time.
What to expect: 15 minutes to define criteria. Review qualified leads in your Smith.ai dashboard or via email/CRM integration.
Step 5: Review Calls and Optimize
What to do: Smith.ai provides call summaries via email, text, or CRM integration after every call. Review them daily for the first week to make sure calls are being handled correctly. Provide feedback on any calls that didn’t go well — Smith.ai adjusts their approach.
Why you’re doing it: The first week is calibration. Your business has nuances that no questionnaire fully captures. Real call data shows where the instructions need refinement.
What to expect: 10 minutes per day for the first week. After calibration, check weekly or when a flagged call comes through.
Confidence Level
This workflow is Beta — Based on Best Available Knowledge. Smith.ai is a well-established virtual receptionist service with strong reviews from law firms and professional service businesses.
What to Do If It Doesn’t Work
- Callers complain it doesn’t feel personal: Update your call handling instructions with specific phrases your business uses, common questions, and personality notes.
- Leads not booking: Check that calendar integration is working and availability is set correctly.
- Too expensive for call volume: Smith.ai offers a pay-per-call option. If call volume is low, this may be cheaper than a monthly plan.
- Need more help? Smith.ai Support or email us at hello@thenewsbakery.com.