Zoom is expanding access to its AI-powered receptionist, making the technology available to businesses using any phone system, not only Zoom Phone.
Speaking to UC Today, Chris Moss, General Manager of Zoom Phone, said the move is designed to help more businesses experience how AI can support customer-facing operations, particularly where every incoming call has commercial value.
“For a lot of these SMB and mass-market customers, every call is revenue.”
Beyond the Traditional Auto Attendant
Zoom’s AI receptionist is designed to go beyond the conventional auto attendant. Rather than directing callers through a static “press one for sales, press two for service” menu, the agent can use natural-language interactions to answer questions, share business information, book appointments and route callers to the appropriate person.
Businesses can configure the agent through a setup wizard, selecting its voice and personality, connecting calendars, importing information from their website, and setting routing rules for specific employees or roles. Moss said this enables organisations to determine when an enquiry can be handled automatically and when it should be escalated to a person.
The technology is particularly relevant for B2C organisations that face high call volumes alongside in-person customer interactions. Moss pointed to healthcare providers, dentists, veterinary clinics, auto body shops, multi-site retailers and legal services as examples of businesses already seeing value from AI reception.
For these organisations, the immediate use cases include handling routine enquiries about opening hours and services, reducing missed calls, managing appointment booking, and providing coverage outside regular business hours. In sectors such as legal services, where client intake can directly affect revenue, the ability to respond quickly to prospective customers is especially important.
From Call Handling to the AI Front Desk
Moss also positioned AI reception as an early step towards a more comprehensive AI front desk. Over time, he expects agents to gain deeper integrations with CRMs and other business applications, allowing them to move beyond answering questions and booking appointments to completing tasks and coordinating activity across back-office systems.
However, he acknowledged that businesses need to maintain control over the customer experience. Zoom’s receptionist inherits the company’s broader AI foundations, including its approach to security, guidelines and model selection, Moss said. Organisations can also establish the conditions under which calls should be transferred to human staff.
Looking ahead, Moss believes the greatest opportunity lies in surfacing the intelligence locked inside phone calls and meetings. That could mean turning voicemail into actionable tasks, assigning follow-ups automatically, and giving businesses more usable context from every customer conversation.
