FAQ

Questions, answered

Everything you might want to know before your AI receptionist picks up its first call — how your phone number works, what it costs, and how it handles the day-to-day. Still stuck? Call (629) 217-2310.

The basics

What is Volunteer AI?
It's an AI receptionist for small businesses across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. It answers your phone in English and Spanish, handles common questions, and emails you a summary of every call — so the customers who ring after you've clocked out don't land in voicemail. Most owners start on After Hours: $99 a month plus a one-time $99 setup, covering nights, weekends, and holidays.
Is this an AI, or an overseas call center?
It's an AI receptionist — not a call center. It picks up instantly with no hold music and no queue, and it's set up and supported locally by us, right here in Middle Tennessee.
Will callers know they're talking to an AI?
Yes. It's upfront about being a virtual assistant, and it lets callers know when a call is being recorded. There's no pretending to be a person — most callers just care that someone helpful picked up.
Can I hear it before I sign up?
Absolutely. Call our demo line at (615) 583-8217 to test an example AI receptionist live — it answers, takes a message, and reads it back. Takes about a minute.
Can I pick the receptionist's name and voice?
Yes — that's the whole point of a custom build. You choose the name callers hear, a male or female voice, and the exact greeting it opens with. We tune the wording and tone to how your business actually talks, so it sounds like your front desk and not a stock persona with your name pasted on. Change your mind later and it's a normal change request.
Do you have terms of service and a privacy policy?
Yes — you can read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy anytime; they're also linked at the bottom of every page.

Your phone number & transfers

Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You keep the number you already give out. Your AI receptionist gets its own line, and we point your existing number to it with call forwarding — nothing on your trucks, cards, or Google listing has to change.
Do I have to port my phone number to you?
No — we never port numbers and we're not your phone company. You keep your existing number with your existing carrier, and you simply forward your line to the number we assign your receptionist. Your carrier relationship, your bill, and your number stay exactly where they are. If you'd rather have a brand-new separate business number as well, we can set one up, but that's quoted as its own one-time setup — it isn't part of a monthly plan.
Can it just back up my office — only answer when we can't get to the phone?
Yes — that's a common way to set it up. Calls ring your office or cell first and only roll to the AI when the line is busy, nobody picks up after a few rings, or you're closed. You keep answering the calls you want; the AI catches the ones that would have gone to voicemail.
Can the AI answer everything first and only transfer to me when needed?
Yes. It can pick up every call, handle the routine questions and booking, and pass a call to you or the right person when it genuinely needs a human — either because your rules say so or because the caller asks. Live transfers during business hours are part of the Front Desk plan and up.
If it transfers a call to me, will the caller see my personal cell number?
No. Transfers and callbacks go through your business line, so the caller only ever sees your main business number — never your personal cell. Your cell stays private.
What if I don't want to give out a cell number at all?
You don't have to. It can run message-only: the AI answers, captures who called and why, and emails you the summary — no live transfer and no number shared. You call back on your own time. That's exactly how After Hours works.
Can it send different calls to different people?
Yes — on Front Desk and up, it can route by name or reason, so new customers reach you and billing questions reach the office. Calls land with the right person the first time.
Do I need a special phone, app, or equipment?
No. It works with the phone number and carrier you already have. There's nothing to install and no new hardware to buy.

How it handles calls

Will it sound robotic?
No. It holds a natural back-and-forth, uses your business name, and answers in plain language — no 'press 1 for hours' phone tree, and it never puts anyone on hold.
What happens if it doesn't know the answer to something?
It won't make things up. If a question is outside what it's been set up to handle, it takes a message or offers to have you follow up, and flags it in your summary so you can tighten it up over time.
Can it book appointments on my calendar?
Live calendar booking starts on Front Desk — there it checks your availability and schedules customers straight in. On After Hours and Answer it takes the booking request as a message and emails it to you, and you confirm on your own time. Calendar and app connections through Zapier (2,000+ apps) are available from the Answer plan up.
¿Habla español? Do you offer Spanish?
Yes — every plan is bilingual. It answers calls, books appointments, and handles questions in both English and Spanish, so Spanish-speaking callers get the same smooth experience.
Can it handle more than one call at once?
Yes. It never gives a busy signal and never puts anyone in a queue — if three people call at the same time, all three get answered.
What do I get after each call?
A clear summary of who called, what they needed, and the best number to reach them. On After Hours and Answer that summary arrives by email — those plans are email-only, with no SMS. Front Desk and up add a text message as well as the email.

Healthcare & HIPAA

Is this HIPAA compliant?
On our Healthcare plan, yes. That's a separate tier built for practices: we sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) before a single call comes in, and the voice platform underneath is HIPAA-compliant and SOC 2 Type II certified, with configurable data retention and secure, access-restricted recordings.
Is the After Hours plan HIPAA compliant?
No. After Hours and Answer are standard business plans with no BAA — they are not HIPAA plans, and you shouldn't run a medical or dental practice on them. If your calls touch patient information, you need the Healthcare tier. We'd rather turn the work away than put you on the cheap plan and leave you exposed.

Pricing & billing

How much does it cost?
Most owners start on After Hours — $99 a month plus a one-time $99 setup — which covers nights, weekends, and holidays with 150 minutes and email summaries. All five plans are published on our pricing page, up to a full 24/7 front desk and a HIPAA-Ready option. No waiting and no 'call for a quote.'
How am I billed for minutes?
You pay for connected talk time only — never ring time or hold time. Time is rounded to the nearest 15 seconds, and there's no charge for calls under 15 seconds, spam and robocalls, or our own test calls.
What happens if I go over my minutes?
Overage is a flat $0.25/min on every standard plan, and we never move you to a pricier plan on our own. There's a 10% grace band first, plus alerts at 80% and 100% so there are no surprises.
What happens if I cancel?
You turn off call forwarding and your calls ring your own phone again, exactly as they did before. You keep your number — it was always yours, we never ported it, and there's nothing to transfer back. We shut the receptionist down, and on request delete your call records. No hostage-taking and no exit fee.
Am I locked into a contract?
There's a 90-day initial term, then it's month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel. If it isn't working right in the first month and we can't fix it, we cancel and refund your first month — our 30-day assurance.

Setup & getting started

How long does setup take?
Setup is quick — usually just a few days once we have your details. We do the setup for you and tune it to how your business talks, books, and answers questions.
What do you need from me to get started?
The basics about your business — your hours, services, common questions, and how you want calls handled. A quick call or an AI Ops Audit is usually enough to get it built.
Can I change how it works later?
Yes. Every plan includes a set number of change requests each month, and we'll always quote anything larger before doing the work.
Do you serve my area?
We're built for Nashville and Middle Tennessee — Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Gallatin, Lebanon, Smyrna, Murfreesboro, and the surrounding towns. Not sure if you're covered? Just ask.

Still have a question?

Call us and ask a real person, or hear it yourself: Call our demo line at (615) 583-8217 to test an example AI receptionist live.

HIPAA-ReadyBAA ProvidedBuilt on a SOC 2 Type II Platform