AI receptionist vendor checklist for Australian businesses

Most AI receptionist failures are predictable. They come from weak guardrails, messy handoffs, and unclear ownership. A vendor checklist keeps you focused on what matters: accuracy, escalation, privacy, uptime, and integrations — not glossy demos.

Use this as a practical due diligence script. Keep answers short. If a vendor cannot answer clearly, treat that as the answer. (For the privacy baseline, see AI phone agents in Australia: privacy and call recording.)

TL;DR

• Most AI receptionist failures are predictable. They come from weak guardrails, messy handoffs, and unclear ownership.
• Vet vendors across five areas: accuracy, escalation, privacy, uptime, and integrations.
• Ask short, direct questions. Demand specific answers and written artefacts.
• Watch for red flags like “it learns automatically”, vague security, and unclear phone number ownership.
• Use a simple scorecard so you can compare options without getting dazzled.

The five categories that matter

You can ignore most of the noise. These five categories decide whether an AI receptionist is safe, reliable, and worth paying for.

1. Accuracy and guardrails: what the agent is allowed to say, and what it must never guess.
2. Escalation and human handoff: what happens when the caller is upset, the question is sensitive, or the agent is unsure.
3. Privacy and data controls: how recordings and transcripts are handled, who can access them, and how long they are kept.
4. Uptime and failure modes: what happens when the model, the phone carrier, or the integration fails. Calls will fail sometimes. The question is how you fail.
5. Integration and ownership: your phone numbers, your data, your CRM, and your scheduling. You want control. You do not want lock-in by accident.

The 25-question vendor checklist

Use this as a due diligence script. Keep answers short. If a vendor cannot answer clearly, treat that as the answer.

A) Accuracy and guardrails (5)

1. What exact tasks will the agent handle on day one, and what is out of scope?
2. How do you prevent the agent from guessing when it is unsure?
3. Where does the agent’s “business knowledge” live, and how is it updated?
4. Can we approve and lock answers for sensitive topics (pricing, cancellations, refunds, clinical questions)?
5. Do you provide a way to test prompts and knowledge changes before they go live?

B) Escalation and human handoff (5)

1. What are the default escalation triggers (anger, uncertainty, billing, urgent)?
2. How does handoff work in practice (warm transfer, message capture, scheduled callback)?
3. What context does staff receive at handoff (call summary, transcript, caller details, intent)?
4. Can we set escalation by call type and by business hours (after-hours vs peak times)?
5. What happens if escalation fails (no answer, voicemail, out of hours)?

C) Privacy and data controls (5)

1. Do you record calls, store transcripts, or both? Can we choose?
2. What personal data is captured by default, and can we minimise it?
3. Who can access recordings and transcripts, and is access role-based with audit logs?
4. What are the retention settings, and can we delete specific calls and transcripts?
5. How do you handle incidents (detection, notification process, and your support)?

D) Uptime and failure modes (5)

1. What is your uptime target, and what is excluded (telephony provider outages, upstream model outages)?
2. What is the safe fallback when anything breaks (route to human, capture message, SMS link)?
3. How do you monitor failures in real time (missed calls, tool errors, dropped transfers)?
4. Can we see call outcomes and reasons at a glance (answered, captured, escalated, lost)?
5. How do you prevent “silent failure” where calls seem handled but no follow-up happens?

E) Integration and ownership (5)

1. Who owns the phone number, and can we port it in or out at any time?
2. Can we run it on our existing number and brand, or do we need a new number?
3. What CRMs and scheduling tools do you support, and what does “support” actually mean (native, webhook, custom)?
4. Who owns the call data and customer data, and how do we export it?
5. How is pricing structured (minutes, messages, overage, setup), and what costs grow with volume?

Red flags to watch for

If you hear these, slow down.

• “It will figure it out” without clear boundaries and a do-not-guess rule.
• No written explanation of where knowledge is stored and how updates are controlled.
• No clear escalation design, or escalation that is always “send an email”.
• Vague answers about retention, deletion, access control, or incident response.
• Phone number ownership is unclear, or porting out is “not supported”.
• Reporting is limited to a call log with no outcomes, no reasons, and no failures.
• They promise it will handle “anything”. It should not.

Evaluation scorecard template

Use a simple scoring model so you can compare vendors without bias. Score each line from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

Practical tip: if a vendor scores below 4 on guardrails or handoff, treat it as not ready.

How to run the evaluation without wasting weeks

• Pick your top 10 call reasons and write them down.
• Ask the vendor to walk through how each call reason is handled — live.
• Force edge cases: angry caller, unclear request, sensitive topic, after-hours.
• Ask to see the admin view for logs, escalation, retention, and exports.
• Run a small pilot window (after-hours or peak overflow) before broader rollout.

If you're designing your operating model, these guides are useful alongside the checklist:

• Peak period phone calls: triage without burnout
• After-hours call handling for Australian SMEs

CTA

If you want, we can run a short assessment call and apply this checklist to your business. You will leave with a clear recommendation, a pilot scope, and a risk-controlled rollout plan.

Book a walkthrough or browse more guides in our articles library.

FAQ

What if the AI makes something up?

Treat that as a guardrails failure. A safe system has a do-not-guess rule, approved answers for sensitive topics, and clear escalation when uncertain. If a vendor cannot explain how they prevent guessing, do not deploy.

Who owns the phone number?

You should. At minimum, you should be able to port your number in and port it out. If the vendor controls the number and makes porting difficult, you are taking on lock-in risk.

Do we have to disclose AI to callers?

From a trust perspective, yes. Clear disclosure reduces confusion and complaints. Keep it simple and early. The goal is clarity, not a speech.

Do we need consent to record?

Recording expectations vary and can get complex. Operationally, the safest approach is to disclose recording at the start and provide an opt-out path. If a vendor cannot support your preferred approach, that is a risk.

Can we delete transcripts?

You should be able to set retention and delete data you no longer need, subject to your own record-keeping obligations. Ask vendors exactly how deletion works, including backups.

Can we start without CRM or scheduling integrations?

Yes. A sensible pilot can start with FAQs, lead capture, SMS links, and staff follow-up. Integrations come later once call flows and boundaries are proven.

What is a safe first pilot scope?

After-hours and peak overflow are the cleanest starts. Keep the agent to logistics, FAQs, and lead capture. Escalate anything sensitive or uncertain.