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Heedify · Voice AI3 min read

AI phone receptionist for Microsoft Teams hands tough calls to people

Heedify's AI receptionist for Microsoft Teams answers calls and passes hard ones to staff. Here is what it does and what to ask before using any such tool.

By the Dashline deskSource: CX Today
AI phone receptionist for Microsoft Teams hands tough calls to people
Photo: Abmpublicidad, CC BY-SA 4.0

A company called Heedify has built an AI receptionist that answers phone calls inside Microsoft Teams and sends the hard ones to a real person. It is among the first voice agents certified under Microsoft's Teams Unify Integration Model. The pitch is simple: let AI handle routine calls, and make sure people pick up the rest with full details in hand.

What it does

The AI receptionist is meant to be the first point of contact when a customer calls. It draws on a knowledge base to answer common questions. It also connects to a customer records system, known as a CRM, so it can tell who is calling. According to Heedify's CEO and co-founder, Mefteh Werghemmi, that gives it the caller's identity, location, customer history and any open tickets or requests.

Werghemmi says the goal goes beyond giving out information. In his words, the voice agent should be able to take action in the system and solve the problem. It can also ask follow-up questions instead of following a stiff script.

How handoffs work

When a call needs a person, the AI sends it to the right employee or queue and passes along the details of the conversation. Heedify pairs the receptionist with its own contact center built for Teams. Teams presence, which shows who is available, can help find someone to take the call sooner.

The Microsoft certification matters here. The model lets outside voice agents work with Teams Phone, routing calls to users or queues while keeping the caller's context. In plain terms, the customer should not have to repeat everything after being transferred.

Why limits matter

Werghemmi warns that unusual cases are not always rare. He said that if even 5% of customers are unhappy because a handoff is poor or comes at the wrong time, that is a large number of people having a bad experience.

The article points to a few ways to reduce that risk:

  • Set clear boundaries on what the AI may resolve on its own.
  • Require extra checks or a human for sensitive requests.
  • Tell callers from the start that they are talking to AI.
  • Give callers a clear path to a person.

Regulated organizations may need added controls around identity checks, data access and what the AI is allowed to do.

What is not known yet

The material does not give pricing, a release date or customer results. It also does not say how well the handoffs work in practice. Those claims come from Heedify and its CEO, so businesses should test the tool on their own calls.

One practical benefit is reporting. Because the AI and the human team sit on the same platform, a business can see how many calls the AI resolved and where handoffs or resolutions fell short. That shows where the rules or escalation steps need fixing.

The takeaway

If your business takes calls in Teams, decide what AI may handle and how it hands off, so upset callers always reach a person.

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