Common Questions
Will My Customers Know It’s AI?
Some will, some will not, and it matters less than most owners expect. What does matter is whether you tell them — and our recommendation is that you do, in the first sentence.
Why we recommend telling them
The instinct is to say nothing and hope nobody notices. We would advise against it, for practical reasons rather than moral ones.
Concealment only has to fail once. A caller who works it out mid-conversation feels misled, and that reaction is far worse than anything they would have felt had you simply said so at the start. You have also just taught them that your business was willing to try it.
Disclosure also changes how people speak. Told they are talking to an automated receptionist, callers speak more clearly and get to the point — which improves recognition accuracy and makes the call go better for everyone.
How to word it
Short, matter-of-fact, and immediately followed by something useful. Apologising for it invites the caller to mind.
Works well
- Naming the business first, then the disclosure, then a question
- Plain wording: an automated assistant, or an automated receptionist
- Making clear a person is available if wanted
- Moving straight on to how you can help
Works badly
- A long explanation of the technology nobody asked for
- Apologising, which suggests there is something to apologise for
- Giving the system a human first name and letting callers assume
- Burying the disclosure after two sentences of greeting
The naming point is worth dwelling on. Giving the receptionist a human-sounding name is not disclosure, and callers who later realise tend to feel the name was the deception. Wording is covered further in the call script writing guide.
What callers actually react to
In practice, complaints cluster around three things, and none of them is the existence of automation.
- Not being understood, and having to repeat themselves
- Asking for a person and not getting one
- Being given a confident answer that turns out to be wrong
Fix those three and disclosure becomes a non-event. Leave them unfixed and concealing the automation only delays the complaint.
The handover rule. If a caller asks for a person, they get one — not another question, not an offer to help first. That single rule does more for how automation is received than any amount of careful scripting.
Recording is a separate disclosure
Telling a caller they are speaking to an automated receptionist is not the same as telling them the call is recorded. If you record, that requires its own notification, and the obligations sit under the Personal Data Protection Act.
We set out the general position in PDPA and call recording and consent and call notifications. Neither is legal advice, and your own advisers should confirm what applies to your business.
Sensitive calls skip the question entirely. Matters involving a child, clinical questions, security incidents, allergen queries, distressed callers, grievances and requests for regulated advice reach a person immediately. Those callers are not deciding how they feel about automation, because they are not talking to it.
Frequently asked questions
Are we legally required to disclose?
Requirements vary and change. We recommend disclosure as good practice regardless, and suggest confirming any specific obligations with your own advisers.
Will disclosure make people hang up?
Some may. Weigh that against the alternative, which for most businesses is the call not being answered at all.
Can we give it a name?
You can, and we would avoid a human first name presented as a colleague. A role description is clearer and ages better.
What about repeat callers who already know?
The greeting can be shortened for recognised numbers. See caller recognition.
Do we have to say it on every call?
We recommend it, since the caller may be new even if the number is not. It costs a few words.
What if a caller objects?
They should reach a person quickly and without argument. That is the fallback for every objection, and it should be easy.
Related reading
Hear the opening line before you decide
We will show you the disclosure wording we recommend, and what happens the moment a caller asks for a person instead.