Blog · Trust and etiquette
Is it rude to have an AI call a business for you?
Not if the call is short, clear and honest. Rude is wasting someone's time, and people manage that perfectly well on their own.
By the CosVoice team · · 5 minute read
Why does it feel rude in the first place?
There's a small flush of embarrassment the first time you ask an assistant to ring your barber. It feels like sending a note to someone you could have spoken to. Like you've decided your time is worth more than theirs.
It isn't rude, provided the call is done properly. Think about what the person who picks up wants from any caller: to find out what's needed, quickly, and get back to the customer in front of them. A call that says what it is, asks for one thing and gets off the phone has good manners, whoever or whatever is speaking. A rambling one that hides what it is has bad manners. That's the whole of AI calling etiquette, and the rest is detail.
What makes an assistant's call polite?
Four things. They're the same four you'd want from a human assistant.
- Short. The reason for the call arrives in the first sentence. Nobody should have to ask "sorry, what's this about?"
- Clear. Date, time, party size, name. Said once and confirmed back once.
- Honest. It introduces itself as an assistant calling for you, and if anyone asks whether it's an AI, it says yes.
- Quick to leave. When the answer is no, or the person is slammed, it thanks them and goes.
How do staff tend to take it?
Mostly the way they take any call from somebody's assistant. They deal with the request. Booking a table, moving an appointment, asking whether the part has come in: a business does these all day, and the caller is bringing them work.
Some people get curious and ask a question or two. Some are a bit cool about it. A few won't deal with an automated caller at all, and that's their choice to make. We go through the reactions one at a time in how businesses react when an AI calls.
What annoys staff usually isn't the AI part. It's a caller who can't answer a simple follow-up ("inside or on the patio?"), who talks over them, or who won't accept a no. Nearly all of that comes down to how well the call was briefed before anyone dialed.
Isn't it just lazy?
People said that about answering machines, and about executives whose secretaries placed their calls. Handing off a routine call isn't a moral failing. If you're on a roof, in a classroom or driving between jobs from eight until six, the choice isn't your call versus your assistant's call. It's the assistant's call versus no call, and the business would rather have the booking.
Where the charge does stick is when you hand off a call that was owed in person. That's the real etiquette question.
Which calls should you make yourself?
Some calls carry a message beyond the words, which is: I took the time. Send an assistant and you've deleted the message. A person is better at these calls in every way that counts. A person hears hesitation, changes tack, knows when to say nothing. We wouldn't trust any assistant with that, ours included.
- Condolences and bad news. Always. We can't think of an exception.
- Complaints. If you're upset enough to complain, the business should hear it from you, and you'll get a better result. An assistant can't convey what it was like to stand in a flooded kitchen.
- Apologies. An apology delivered by proxy isn't one.
- Anything delicate. Money owed between friends, a falling-out with a contractor, a favor from someone who doesn't have to say yes.
- First calls in a relationship that matters. The new accountant, the builder you're about to trust with your house. Let them hear your voice first. The assistant can do the scheduling after that.
What about calls coming the other way?
Same manners, reversed. If your assistant answers when you can't, the caller should find out straight away who they've reached, be asked sensible questions, and not be kept on the line longer than it takes. Done well it's kinder than voicemail, because they get to tell somebody what they need and have it written down properly.
Our line answers as your assistant, asks who is calling and what they need, and sends you a written summary afterwards. The how it works page shows the whole loop, and the promises it keeps on every call are on the trust page.
Do you need to warn a business first?
No. You don't email a restaurant to say your assistant will be ringing, any more than you'd announce a call from your office manager. The assistant introduces itself when they pick up, and that's the notice.
The exception is a place where you're a regular and it's personal. If the owner of your barbershop knows your voice, mention it next time you're in the chair. Something like "my assistant might ring to book, it's an AI, be nice to it." He'll probably want to know how it works. He might want one.
Common questions
Do I have to tell the business that an AI is calling?
The assistant should do that itself. Ours introduces itself as your assistant and says it's an AI whenever anyone asks. It never claims to be you.
Will the business treat my booking differently?
There's no reason it should. The booking is under your name with a callback number, like any other made by phone. If they want a deposit or a card, that comes back to you to decide.
Is it rude to use an AI to cancel an appointment?
A routine cancellation with proper notice is fine, and far better than not turning up. If you're canceling late, or for the third time, ring yourself and apologize.
What if the person who answers gets annoyed?
A well-behaved assistant thanks them and ends the call. You get an honest note of what happened, and then it's your turn to pick up the phone.
Read next: Should an AI say it's an AI? · Write a call brief that works · How an AI books a table by phone
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