A salon, a clinic, a studio or a repair shop has the same problem at the front desk. The phone rings while the admin is with a client, messages pile up in three apps, and the person who wrote at 11 pm books with whoever answered first. An AI receptionist takes the written part of that job.
What an AI receptionist is
It is an AI agent set up for one task: greet the person, answer their question and collect a request your team can act on. It works in the channels where people already write: Telegram, the chat on your website and email.
What it does well
1. Answers prices, services, opening hours and directions in seconds, at any hour.
2. Asks the questions your admin would ask: name, service, preferred day and a phone number.
3. Understands voice messages, so a client driving to work can just talk.
4. Creates a task for the team when a request is ready, so it does not get lost in the chat.
What it should not do
An AI receptionist does not see your live schedule unless you give it one, so it should not promise a time. The honest version sounds like this: "I have noted Tuesday afternoon, the administrator will confirm the exact time." It also should not give medical, legal or financial advice. Write these limits into the agent rules once and they apply to every conversation.
Where the requests go
Every conversation lands in one Inbox, next to the messages your team handles by hand. The admin opens a chat that already has the name, the service and the time in it, confirms the slot and moves the deal to the next stage on the board. If the client asks for a person, the agent steps back.
How to set one up
1. Connect the channels you use: a Telegram bot or account, the website chat, a mailbox.
2. Create an agent from a template close to your business: beauty, clinic, fitness studio, auto service and more.
3. Replace the company placeholder with your name and add your price list and FAQ to the knowledge base.
4. Add one or two reminders, so a client who stopped replying gets a polite follow-up.
5. Test it in the sandbox and assign it to the project.
Start with evenings and weekends if you are not ready to hand over the whole day. That is where most requests are lost today.
Start from a ready AI agent
Pick a template for your business, add your prices and rules, and test it in the sandbox before it talks to clients.
Build your agent Free plan, no card needed.Questions and answers
Can an AI receptionist answer phone calls?
Cicada works with written channels: Telegram, the website chat and email. Voice messages in chats are understood and answered.
Will it book appointments by itself?
It collects the service and a preferred time and creates a task. Your team confirms the slot, so nobody is promised a time that is already taken.
What happens when a client wants a person?
The agent passes the chat to your team, and everyone sees the whole conversation in the Inbox.
Choosing a platform?Cicada or respond.ioCicada or SleekFlowCicada or ManychatCicada or Kommo
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