What happens when someone calls
The agent picks up, greets the caller in your language and answers from the same knowledge it uses on your website: your services, your hours, your prices, your way of doing things. When the caller is interested it asks for a name and a number or an e-mail, and the lead reaches your inbox with a short summary of the call. A caller with a problem becomes a support ticket; a caller who wants to talk to a person becomes a callback request.
Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarised. You read it in your dashboard, next to the website conversations, whenever you want.
What is an inbound AI voice agent?
An inbound AI voice agent is an AI that answers incoming calls in natural speech: it listens, understands what the caller wants, answers from a knowledge base and takes an action - a message, a lead, a callback, a hand-over to a person. It differs from a phone tree in that the caller talks instead of pressing keys, and from voicemail in that the caller gets an answer. On EqualWeb the inbound agent is the same agent that runs your website chat, with the same knowledge, the same rules and the same voice.
A virtual AI receptionist, not a phone tree
Virtual AI receptionist software answers the phone the way a good receptionist does - by talking - and does the paperwork a receptionist would: who called, what they wanted, what was promised. This is how it compares with what most businesses use today:
| Feature | Virtual AI receptionist (your agent) | IVR / phone tree | Voicemail | Human receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers | 24/7, in your language | 24/7, a menu | 24/7, no answer | Office hours |
| Understands | Natural speech, interruptions | Key presses and fixed phrases | Nothing | Everything |
| Answers from | Your website and documents | A recorded menu | - | Training and memory |
| Captures a lead | Yes, summary by e-mail | No | Only if a message is left | Yes |
| Remembers the caller | Yes, on the next call | No | No | Sometimes |
| Cost model | Pay-as-you-go from your credit | Phone system licence | Included in the line | Salary |
An automated phone system for business, run by AI
An automated phone system for business used to mean a menu: press 1 for sales, 2 for support. An AI-run system removes the menu. The caller says what they need; the agent answers or routes; and the rules live in plain language you can change at any time - "take a message after 18:00", "offer a callback for quotes", "hand refunds to a person". It sits in front of your existing line or on a new number, so nothing about how customers reach you has to change.
Callers who cannot use your website
For some customers the phone is not one option among several; it is the one that works. A blind or low-vision caller gets your answers by voice, without a screen reader and a busy page. A caller with a motor disability is not asked to press 1 for sales. An older customer, or one who is not at ease online, talks to a voice that answers at once, at any hour. And a phone tree is a barrier of its own - keys to press in time, options to remember - which the agent removes: it simply listens and answers.
The reverse is true too. Customers who cannot use the phone - deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, people with a speech impairment - get the same agent, the same knowledge and the same answers in written chat on your website. One agent, both doors.
It remembers your customers
When a customer calls back, the agent remembers the previous conversation. It does not start from zero: it knows what was asked last time and what was promised, and it carries on from there.
How to add a phone line
- Choose a number in your dashboard. Adding a phone number requires a payment card on file; the number and the call minutes are paid from your usage credit.
- Point your calls at it. Publish the new number, or forward your existing business line to it, all the time or only when you are busy or closed.
- Keep what you already set up. The agent uses the knowledge, the greeting and the voice you chose for the website, plus phone-specific instructions you can edit in plain language.
- Call it. Test it yourself before you tell your customers. Change anything you do not like and rebuild with one click.
When a person is needed
You decide the rules, in plain language: when to take a message, when to book a callback, and when to hand the call to your team. The agent follows them, and it says so when it does not know an answer instead of guessing.
After hours, busy hours, every hour
- Answers when the office is closed, on holidays and at night, in the caller's language.
- Takes the overflow when your lines are busy, so a caller is never left with a ringing phone.
- Follows up by e-mail or text message where you allow it, for example to send a link the caller asked for.
- Leaves you a transcript and a summary of every call, so the morning starts with a list, not a voicemail box.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI phone answering system?
Software that answers your business calls with an AI agent instead of a menu or voicemail: it talks with the caller, answers from your own content, takes messages, captures leads and hands over to a person when your rules say so. EqualWeb's AI Business Assistant, powered by UiriX, adds this to the agent already on your website.
How does a virtual AI receptionist work?
The caller speaks; the agent listens, answers from the knowledge base built from your website, and takes the action you set - a message, a lead, a callback, a hand-over. Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarised in your dashboard.
Is an automated AI phone system right for a small business?
It is built for one: no phone system to buy, no menu to record, no script to write. The agent learns from your website, and the phone line is added from the dashboard when you want it, paid from your credit.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. You can take a new number from the dashboard or forward your existing business number to the agent, all the time or only outside your hours.
What does the phone line cost?
The number and the call minutes are drawn from your usage credit, like website conversations. Adding a phone number requires a payment card on file.
Can callers still reach a person?
Yes. The agent can take a message, book a callback or hand the call to your team, according to the rules you set in plain language.
Are calls recorded?
Yes. Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarised in your dashboard. Check the call-recording rules that apply where you operate and tell callers where the law requires it.
Is an AI phone agent easier for callers with disabilities than a phone tree?
For many, yes: the caller talks instead of pressing keys in time, gets an answer instead of a menu, and can ask again in their own words - which helps blind and low-vision callers, callers with motor disabilities and older customers in particular. Customers who cannot use the phone at all get the same agent in written chat on your website.
Last updated . Reviewed by the EqualWeb accessibility team.
Let your agent take the calls
Start with the website agent and add a phone number from your dashboard when you are ready. $100 free for every EqualWeb customer: a pay-as-you-go UiriX agent with $100 in the wallet, which is about 50 million chat tokens, and no credit card.