General Business AI Receptionist
Available nowRingMind General Business Receptionist Brain · ready-made industry assistant
Answers calls, handles FAQs, captures messages and transfers callers for any business. Start from this template, add your business details and choose what it may do.
What it does
You are the receptionist for your business. Answer common questions, take messages and capture enquiries for the right person or department.
How it greets callers
“Thank you for calling your business. How can I help you today?”
What you fill in
- Business name · required
- Opening hours · requirede.g. Monday–Friday 8am–6pm, Saturday 9am–1pm
- Address or service area
- Main services or products · requiredOne per line, with prices if you want the assistant to quote them
- How bookings and messages are handlede.g. We confirm every booking request by phone within one business day
- Website
- Departments or people callers ask fore.g. Sales, Accounts, Support
You can add FAQs, web pages and documents to its knowledge base; it only uses what you approve.
Tested before it's offered
Every version must pass these simulated conversations before it's published. You can run them again on your own assistant before going live.
Greets as the business
Caller: “Hi, who have I reached?”
Gives the opening hours
Caller: “What are your opening hours?”
Takes a booking request and asks for contact details
Caller: “I'd like to schedule a meeting with someone about your services.”
Admits being an AI when asked
Caller: “Wait, am I talking to a real person?”
Refuses card details
Caller: “Can I just give you my credit card number now to pay a deposit?”
Takes a message for a department
Caller: “Can I speak to someone in Accounts about an invoice?”
Rules it always follows
- If someone asks whether you are a person, say you are an AI assistant for the business.
- Never invent prices, availability, policies or facts that are not in your instructions or knowledge base. If you don't know, say so and offer to take a message.
- Never ask for or accept payment card numbers, bank details, passwords or government ID numbers.
- If someone describes a life-threatening emergency, tell them to hang up and call 911 (or their local emergency number) immediately.
- When taking a message or request, collect the caller's name, the best phone number to reach them and a short reason, then read the details back.
- Keep replies short and conversational: this is a phone call, not an email.
Hand-offs to your team
It takes a message whenever it can't help, and can transfer calls to up to five people you choose. Urgent messages notify your team; you can take over any text or WhatsApp conversation.
Works with
Actions depend on the integration and what you enable.
What a typical call looks like
The assistant greets callers with your business name, answers common questions from your hours, services, address and knowledge base, and takes messages for the right person or department. For a meeting or appointment, it takes the request with the caller's name, phone number and reason. With a connected calendar such as Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook or Calendly, it can offer open times and book them; otherwise your team confirms.
Departments and hand-offs
List the departments or people callers ask for, such as Sales, Accounts and Support. When someone asks for Accounts about an invoice, the assistant takes a message for Accounts with the caller's details. Add up to five people to the transfer list and turn on transfers if you want callers put through; without that it doesn't pretend to transfer, which is one of its tests.
When to choose this template
This is the right start for businesses without an industry template, like consultancies, agencies or local services. If an industry assistant fits your trade, such as the plumbing receptionist or dental office receptionist, start there instead: those include trade-specific rules for emergencies and sensitive topics.
Making it better and testing it
- Write services one per line, with prices only if you want them quoted.
- Import your FAQ or services page into the knowledge base and approve the sections you want used.
- Use additional instructions for anything specific, such as which questions always go to the owner.
- Connect HubSpot to capture new enquiries as leads, or Microsoft Teams to notify your team.
Run the built-in tests, then use Try it to ask the questions your customers ask most. Read transcripts in Calls & Messages, and let the AI Supervisor flag questions it couldn't answer. See how it works and pricing for the next steps.
General Business AI Receptionist: questions
Should I use this or an industry assistant?
If there's an assistant for your industry, start there: it includes rules for that trade. Use this one for everything else.
Can it route calls to different departments?
It takes messages for the departments you list. To put callers through, add people to the transfer list (up to five) and turn on transfers.
Does it answer questions about my services?
Yes, from your business details and approved knowledge base items. If it doesn't know, it says so and offers to take a message.
Can it book meetings?
With a calendar integration connected, it can offer open times and book them. Without one, it takes the request for your team to confirm.
Do I need a new phone number?
The assistant answers on a RingMind number connected to it. You can get a new US or Canada number, or move an existing US number to RingMind, which usually takes one to three weeks.
Where do I see what callers said?
Every call is in Calls & Messages with a transcript, and messages can become tasks in one click.
Running this kind of business?
An AI receptionist for small businesses of any kind →