Can AI Be a Receptionist? A Folkestone Guide to Written Enquiries, Not Phone Calls
Before you buy an AI receptionist, check which kind it is. Some answer the phone. Others deal with the messages that pile up beside it.
An AI receptionist can answer written enquiries on email, web and WhatsApp, book appointments and pass difficult questions to a person. Dean Keating, based in Horndean, Hampshire, builds this kind for Folkestone businesses remotely; it is not a phone-answering service or an off-the-shelf chatbot.
"AI receptionist" can mean three different products. One answers phone calls with a synthetic voice. One is a chat box on a website. And one deals with all the written enquiries that reach a business through different doors. They solve different problems, so it pays to know which you are looking at.
Which one this is
The service on this page is the third. Dean Keating's website lists answering common questions across email, web and WhatsApp, sorting and routing messages, sending confirmations and reminders, and escalating to a person. It does not answer the phone, and it is not a chatbot product you subscribe to. It is a set of agents built around the way your business already works.
Who gets most from it
Look at the dentists on this site: nine are listed, and the same goes for nine garages and six salons and barbers combined. These are businesses where the person who would normally reply is busy with somebody in front of them. A dental nurse cannot check WhatsApp mid-appointment. A mechanic with his head under a bonnet cannot confirm a booking.
A written-enquiry receptionist helps in three ways. It answers the routine questions, such as opening hours, how to book, and what to bring. It books the appointment or hands the booking to the right person. And it sends reminders, which tend to cut down on the missed slot.
Where to be careful
Anything involving health, money or a complaint should go to a human. A good setup says so openly and escalates quickly. Be wary of any provider who says their system handles everything. Ask them what it does when it does not know the answer.
Setting it up
The route is a free call, an audit of what your team is repeating, the build and install, and then training and support. Starting small is sensible: one channel and a short list of questions it may answer, then widen from there.
Dean Keating is based in Horndean, Hampshire, and does this remotely. There is no published price; the cost follows the free call. If you want a receptionist solution that covers the telephone, you will need a different provider, and Kent has several.
Contact
Call or WhatsApp Dean Keating on 07418 627304, or email dean@deankeating.com. See the Dean Keating profile on Folkestone.co. Websites: ai-agent.deankeating.com and deankeating.com.
About this guide
Folkestone.co is published by Dean Keating, who also runs the service described here. He is based in Horndean, Hampshire, and works with Folkestone and Kent businesses remotely. If you want someone in the room, say so on the first call and look at Folkestone-based providers too. This guide recommends our own service, so compare it with other providers before you decide.
From the publisher of Folkestone.co
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Free, no obligation. With Dean Keating, the publisher of Folkestone.co. Based in Horndean, Hampshire; works with Folkestone and Kent businesses remotely.
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