When customers call, they don’t want to wait. They want help – fast. That’s exactly what an AI answering service like Joy delivers: instant, always-on support with a full army of living breathing humans for support.
We launched our AI answering service in March 2025 to help businesses automate routine calls and get quick answers when live agents aren’t needed. SAS has always specialized in live operator support – and still does. Joy simply adds another layer, giving businesses the flexibility to blend live and AI coverage based on what works best for them.
We kept hearing the same things from customers:
- They loved our live agents, but wanted ways to lower costs for routine calls
- Answering on the first ring was still a top priority
- Not every call needs a person – some just need quick info
That feedback led to Joy – a hybrid AI+human call-handling system that gives you the best of both worlds. Live agents when it matters most, and AI to handle the rest—fast, flexible, and ready to scale with your needs.
So how do you set it up to work its best? Start here:
1. Set up your AI like a new team member
When you hire a new receptionist, you don’t sit them at a desk and hope for the best. You train them. You give them FAQs, scripts, and a process.
Same thing with Joy – train the AI on your business.
Start by pulling the most common questions your team gets – billing questions, hours, directions, basic service info – and feed them into Joy’s system. Then, think about the call flow: what should happen when someone asks for a manager, or wants to reschedule? Build those steps in. You want the AI receptionist to function like a real receptionist, and Joy should be built as such.
For example, one of the tools you have with Joy is FAQs where you can define key questions and how to structure the agent responses. With these questions and answers in place, you’ll make sure every response the AI agent gives is accurate and relevant to your business. The last thing you want is a rogue AI making up answers to questions!
Pro Tip: If your current receptionist has a playbook, Joy should too. Match your AI’s responses to how a real person would handle it.
2. Put up smart boundaries
AI is powerful – but it’s not a fit for every situation. Think about your callers: What types of questions are okay for Joy to handle? Where would a real human make all the difference?
That’s where your rules come in.
Let Joy handle simple stuff like taking messages, checking hours, or confirming basic info. But if a caller sounds upset, or has an urgent need—like a medical issue or emergency – route them straight to a live agent.
AI works best when it enhances the experience, not replaces it. At SAS, our live agents are still at the core of what we do. The human connection they provide can’t be replicated. Joy is here to support that – not replace it.
Take a medical account, for example. If a patient needs a doctor urgently, that call kileky shouldn’t go through AI. If there’s a bad phone connection and Joy can’t understand the caller, that delay could be costly. In cases like this, it’s better to stay human-first.
So think through your boundaries – not just in terms of what AI can do, but what it should do for great customer service.
Pro Tip: Start strict. You can always loosen the rules later, but a bad AI experience is hard to un-do.
3. Start small, scale smart
Don’t throw Joy into every call right out of the gate. Start with the simple stuff – like taking a message or collecting a name and number – and send everything else to your live answering service.
Then watch what happens. What kinds of calls still end up with your live agents? What’s tripping Joy up? That’s your roadmap. Use what you learn to train Joy to handle a little more, then a little more.
If you’re feeling unsure about rolling AI out to all your callers, take a surgical approach. Maybe your longtime customers expect a person after hours. Maybe Joy works better for new callers. You won’t know until you test.
So start small—like 10% of your calls – and scale from there. If you aimed for 50% AI coverage, but it feels off? Dial it back. There’s no one-size-fits-all. The right balance is what works for your customers.
Pro Tip: Real-world use is your best teacher. Adjust based on actual calls, not assumptions.
Keep refining
The best thing you can do after launch? Stay involved.
Keep checking which calls go where. Keep tuning Joy’s answers. And make sure both your AI and your live agents have access to the info they need to make every call a good one.
With smart setup and regular tweaks, Joy doesn’t just answer the phone – it makes your whole service smarter.
Ready to get started? It’s easy to set up your AI answering service on our free trial! Start by getting your protocols together, monitoring calls, and making changes based on real conversations – both with the AI agent and the live receptionists. The more you monitor, the more you adjust, the better the service will work for your customers.
