Inbound & outbound call handling with an AI receptionist
Inbound and outbound calls are often treated as separate problems — but in practice, they're part of the same customer journey.
Modern AI receptionists are designed to handle both: answering inbound calls when customers reach out, and making outbound calls to follow up, remind, or rebook when needed.
Inbound calls: handling enquiries as they come in
Inbound calls are usually the first point of contact between a business and a customer.
An AI receptionist can answer inbound calls automatically and handle common requests such as:
- Booking new appointments
- Rescheduling or cancelling existing bookings
- Answering routine questions
- Routing urgent calls to the right person
- Collecting key information from callers
Because calls are handled automatically, inbound enquiries don't go unanswered during busy periods, evenings, or weekends.
Outbound calls: follow-ups, reminders, and rebooking
Outbound calls are where many businesses struggle to keep up.
AI receptionists can place outbound calls to:
- Send appointment reminders
- Rebook cancelled or missed appointments
- Follow up on enquiries
- Re-engage existing customers
These calls help reduce no-shows and increase bookings — without relying on staff to remember or manually trigger follow-ups.
Why inbound and outbound work best together
Inbound and outbound calls shouldn't operate in isolation.
When an AI receptionist handles both, it can:
- Respond immediately to inbound enquiries
- Trigger outbound follow-ups automatically when needed
- Maintain context across conversations
- Avoid duplicated or missed communication
For example, a cancelled inbound booking can automatically trigger an outbound rebooking call — without staff involvement.
What happens after the call
A key advantage of AI receptionist call handling is what happens once the call ends.
Instead of relying on staff to update systems manually, AI receptionists can:
- Update calendars and booking systems
- Log call outcomes
- Add notes to CRMs or internal tools
- Keep records accurate and up to date
This ensures calls don't just get answered — they result in completed actions.
When inbound & outbound call handling matters most
This approach is especially valuable for businesses that:
- Receive frequent phone enquiries
- Rely on bookings or appointments
- Lose revenue from missed calls or no-shows
- Want follow-ups handled consistently
In these cases, handling inbound and outbound calls as a single system reduces friction and improves outcomes.
How Intavia fits
Intavia uses an AI receptionist to handle inbound calls, run outbound booking and follow-ups, and keep admin in sync automatically.
It's designed to manage calls end-to-end — from the first enquiry to follow-up and record updates — without adding workload for your team.
If you'd like to hear how this works in practice, you can listen to a real call or explore the setup in more detail.