Terms of Service

Steven Michael Ford d/b/a Volunteer AI (“Volunteer AI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) Effective date: October 5, 2026 (replaces the version effective August 1, 2026)

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the AI receptionist and related services (the “Services”) provided by Volunteer AI. By signing an order form or agent sign-off, or by using the Services, you (“Client,” “you,” or “your”) agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. The Services

Volunteer AI provides an automated (“AI”) receptionist that can answer telephone calls on your behalf, greet callers, answer questions you have configured, book appointments, take messages, transfer calls, and send you summaries of calls. The specific features available depend on the plan you select, as described on our pricing page. We may add, change, or remove features over time.

The Services rely on your existing telephone number being forwarded or routed to the Services. You keep ownership of your telephone number.

In these Terms:

Your business number is the telephone number your customers call. It is held in your own name with your own carrier.
The Volunteer AI number is the number we provide in our account that your business number forwards to.
Your fallback number is a different number you control (for example, your mobile phone or an office line that is not forwarded to us) where calls can be sent if the Services are paused, suspended, or ended. It must not be your business number. You agree to keep it current and answerable.

2. Not for Emergencies

The Services are not an emergency service and must never be used to place or route calls to 911 or any emergency responder. The AI receptionist is an automated system that may be unavailable, delayed, or unable to understand a caller.

The Services can capture urgent service requests and relay them to you as you configure them (for example, flagging an emergency in a call summary, or reading safety instructions you provide). The Services are not an emergency response, dispatch, or monitoring service, are not a substitute for 911, and do not guarantee that an urgent request will be answered, understood, or relayed in time. Any safety instructions the receptionist gives (such as telling a caller to leave a building and call 911 or their gas company) are provided at your direction, and you are responsible for their content. You must maintain your own reliable process for responding to emergencies.

3. The AI Is Automated — No Guarantee of Accuracy or Availability

You understand and agree that:

The AI receptionist is automated and may misunderstand callers, make mistakes, give incomplete or incorrect information, mis-book or miss appointments, or fail to answer, transfer, or record a call.
We do not guarantee that every call will be answered, that any particular information will be conveyed correctly, or that the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free.
You are responsible for reviewing call summaries and for verifying anything important (such as appointments, quotes, or commitments) before relying on it.
You should test the Services and confirm they meet your needs before they go live, and after any change you request.

4. Your Responsibilities

You agree to:

Provide accurate, current, and lawful information for us to configure the Services (hours, services, pricing, answers, transfer targets, etc.).
Use the Services only for lawful purposes and in compliance with all applicable laws, including telemarketing, consumer-protection, and privacy laws.
Be solely responsible for the content the AI is configured to say on your behalf and for the accuracy of that content.
Obtain any consents required from your callers (see Section 5).
Keep your account credentials and any admin links (including sign-off and form links) reasonably secure.

The Services record and transcribe calls so we can deliver call summaries and improve your receptionist. You authorize us to record, transcribe, store, and process calls on your behalf, and you represent that you have the authority to do so.

We announce it by default. Unless you instruct us otherwise in writing, the receptionist tells every caller at the start of the call that they are on a recorded line.
You may ask us to remove that notice. If you do, please understand the risk first. Tennessee allows a call to be recorded with the consent of one party, so recording calls from Tennessee callers without announcing it is generally permitted. But your callers are not always in Tennessee. People call from other states, travel, and keep out-of-state cell phones, and some states (for example, California, Florida, Illinois, Washington, and Pennsylvania) require the consent of everyone on a call. Recording those calls without notice can create legal claims.
If you remove the notice, you accept that responsibility. You are responsible for ensuring that recording your callers’ calls complies with all applicable laws, and Section 15 applies to any claim arising from calls recorded without the notice at your request.

This section is a summary of how the Services handle recording, not legal advice about your obligations. If you are unsure, ask your own attorney.

6. Telephone Numbers, Forwarding, and Carriers

You authorize us to configure call forwarding or routing so that calls to your number reach the Services, and to provision telephone numbers as needed. Telephone transport depends on third-party carriers and networks that we do not control. We are not responsible for carrier outages, forwarding failures, number-porting delays, call quality, or other issues arising from your or a carrier’s network.

6A. Your Number Stays Yours

Your business number must be held in your name, with your carrier. Do not publish or advertise the Volunteer AI number as your business number. We may need to release it when the Services end, and you could lose calls made to it.
You control the forwarding on your business number. Only you or your carrier can turn it on or off. We will give you instructions on request.

7. Third-Party Services

The Services are built on third-party platforms, which may include (without limitation) voice-AI, telephony, calendar/booking, and email providers. Your use of the Services may be subject to those providers’ terms, and their availability and performance are outside our control. We are not liable for any act, omission, outage, or data practice of a third-party provider.

8. Fees, Billing, and Taxes

Fees, included minutes, overage rates, and setup charges are as stated on our pricing page or your order form, which are incorporated into these Terms.
We bill for connected talk time as described in our published billing terms (for example, time rounding, and no charge for very short calls, spam, or our own test calls). Overage applies at the rate stated for your plan.
Unless stated otherwise, fees are billed monthly in advance and setup fees are billed at the start of work. Monthly fees are due on your billing date (the day of the month your service went live), payable by card or bank transfer through the link on each invoice, or automatically if you have authorized automatic payment. Amounts are exclusive of taxes; you are responsible for applicable taxes.

8A. Late Payment and Suspension

We know your phone is how your customers reach you. This section is designed so that a billing problem never leaves your callers with nobody answering.

Reminders. If a payment is not received, we will remind you by email and text message about 3 days and about 14 days after its due date. Most late payments are an expired card, and a reminder is usually all it takes.
The 30-day rule. If a payment is still unpaid when your next monthly invoice is issued, that invoice will show the full past-due balance, and we will send written notice by email and text message. The notice states the amount owed and the date the Services will be suspended, at least 5 business days after the notice. Suspension takes effect on a business day (Monday–Friday, excluding federal holidays), no earlier than 9:00 a.m. Central Time. We will not charge a past-due balance to your card as a single doubled payment without your permission.
What suspension means. During a suspension the AI receptionist stops answering. Instead of letting calls go unanswered, we will route calls that reach the Volunteer AI number to your fallback number, using commercially reasonable efforts. Pass-through depends on your fallback number and on carriers and providers we don’t control (Sections 6 and 7), and Section 14 applies. You are responsible for answering those calls, and you may turn off forwarding on your business number at any time so calls ring you directly.
No charges while suspended. No new monthly fees accrue during a suspension. Amounts already owed remain due.
Reinstatement. When the past-due balance is paid, we will restore the Services within one business day. There is no reactivation fee, and your configuration is kept.
Disputed charges. If you dispute a charge in good faith and tell us in writing before it is due, we will not suspend the Services over the disputed amount while we work it out together. Undisputed amounts remain due.
Ending the Services for non-payment. If the past-due balance remains unpaid 30 days after a suspension begins, either party may end the Services by written notice. Fees owed through that date remain due, and “When service ends” in Section 9 applies.
We may extend any of these deadlines at our discretion. Doing so once does not waive them in the future.

9. Term, Renewal, Cancellation, and Refunds

Unless your order form states otherwise, the initial term is ninety (90) days, after which the Services continue month-to-month.
Either party may cancel with thirty (30) days’ written notice, effective at the end of the then-current billing period.
Setup fees are refundable in full before build work begins. Any additional assurance or satisfaction terms stated on your order form or pricing page apply.
Except as expressly stated, fees already paid are non-refundable.
Termination for cause. Either party may terminate on written notice if the other materially breaches these Terms and does not cure the breach within ten (10) days after written notice. We may suspend the Services immediately if they are being used unlawfully or to harm others.
Survival. Amounts owed, “When service ends” below, and Sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17 survive the end of the Services.
Annual plans are paid in advance for 12 months. At renewal, if the renewal payment is not received, your plan converts to monthly billing at the current monthly rate, and Section 8A applies to that monthly invoice.
When service ends (for any reason: cancellation, non-payment, or otherwise):
- The AI receptionist stops answering. For up to 90 days, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to route calls that reach the Volunteer AI number to your fallback number (subject to Sections 6, 7 and 14), so you have time to turn off forwarding on your business number.
- Turning off that forwarding is your responsibility. We will send written reminders when service ends and about 30 and 60 days later.
- We may release the Volunteer AI number once a test call to your business number no longer reaches it, or at the end of the 90 days. After it is released, calls forwarded to it may not reach you, and we are not responsible for them.
- On request made within 30 days of the end of service, we will provide an export of your call summaries and transcripts. After that we may delete your call data, except as required by law. Your agent configuration and prompts remain our property (Section 11); your business information remains yours.

9A. Support

Support response times are as stated for your plan on your order form or our pricing page. Response time means we acknowledge your request and tell you the plan to resolve it. It does not mean the problem will be fixed within that time.
Business days are Monday–Friday, excluding federal holidays. Business hours are 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Central Time.
Contact support at [email protected] or 629-217-2310.
If your receptionist stops answering entirely, tell us by phone or text. We will treat it as our highest priority on a best-effort basis, ahead of your plan’s normal response time. If we can’t restore it promptly, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to pass calls through to your fallback number.
Change requests (new wording, hours, services, routing) count against your plan’s monthly allowance. Fixing our own errors is always free and never counts as a change request.

10. Data, Privacy, and Security

We collect and process call data, recordings, transcripts, summaries, and the business information you provide in order to deliver the Services. We will handle this data as described in our Privacy Policy, published at volunteer-ai.com/privacy. We use commercially reasonable measures to protect data but cannot guarantee absolute security. The standard Services are not intended for protected health information (PHI) or other regulated data unless you have signed a separate, applicable agreement with us (for example, a Business Associate Agreement for a HIPAA-eligible plan).

11. Intellectual Property

We retain all rights in the Services, our software, configurations, prompts, and methods. You retain all rights in your business content and the information you provide. You grant us a limited license to use your content solely to provide and improve the Services for you. You may not copy, resell, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works of the Services.

12. Confidentiality

Each party may receive non-public information from the other. Each party agrees to use the other’s confidential information only to perform under these Terms and to protect it with reasonable care.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, or that they will capture or handle every call.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Volunteer AI will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any lost profits, lost business, lost customers, lost revenue, or missed calls or appointments, even if advised of the possibility. Our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Services will not exceed the amount you actually paid us for the Services in the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

These limitations apply to all claims, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise. They do not limit liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct, and they do not limit your obligation to pay fees or your obligations under Section 15.

15. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Volunteer AI and its owner(s) from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) the content you configure the AI to convey; (b) your use of the Services; (c) your callers or your handling of caller consent; or (d) your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

16. Changes to the Services or Terms

We may modify the Services or these Terms. We will give you at least thirty (30) days’ notice by email of a material change to these Terms or to your fees. If a change is materially adverse to you, you may cancel without penalty before it takes effect. Otherwise, the change applies from its effective date.

17. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The exclusive venue for any dispute will be the state or federal courts located in Wilson County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to that jurisdiction.

18. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with your order form and our pricing and billing terms, are the entire agreement between the parties and supersede prior discussions.
Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a sale or reorganization of our business.
Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
Notices. Notices to us may be sent to [email protected].
No waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

19. Contact

Volunteer AI — Steven Michael Ford (sole proprietor) Mount Juliet, TN 37122 Email: [email protected] Phone: 629-217-2310