An AI receptionist answers in the same calm voice whether it is right or wrong. That is the problem. If the hours it was given are six months old, it will tell a caller you open at 7 when you open at 8, and it will sound sure about it.
The fix is not a smarter model. It is a short document your receptionist reads before it says anything about your business. Call it the answer sheet. Someone has to write it, and someone has to keep it true.
Why a wrong answer costs you
In 2024, a British Columbia tribunal ruled on a case where an airline's website chatbot told a customer he could apply for a bereavement fare after travel. The airline's own policy page said otherwise. The airline argued the chatbot was a separate entity responsible for its own words. The tribunal rejected that. As [McCarthy Tetrault's summary](https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/blogs/techlex/moffatt-v-air-canada-misrepresentation-ai-chatbot) quotes it, "It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot." [Mondaq's write-up of the decision](https://www.mondaq.com/canada/new-technology/1427926/airline-ordered-to-compensate-a-bc-man-because-its-chatbot-provided-inaccurate-information) quotes another line: "It should be obvious that it is responsible for all the information on its website."
That was a Canadian tribunal and it does not bind a US court. It still shows how a customer may see it: what your receptionist says is what your company said. Ask your own counsel how that applies where you operate.
For a roofer or a broker, the damage is usually smaller than a lawsuit and still real. A homeowner shows up expecting a free inspection you do not offer. A shipper hears you cover a lane you dropped last year.
What goes on the sheet
Keep it to one or two pages. If it needs more, you are writing a policy manual. Cover these sections.
- Hours, including holidays, and what happens outside them - Service area, written as counties, cities, or states, with a plain statement of what is outside it - Services you offer, and a separate list of services you do not offer - How pricing works in general terms - Who handles what, by role and by name - Phrases the receptionist must never say
### Hours and after-hours behavior
List the hours for each day and the holiday closures you already know about. Then say what the receptionist does outside those hours: take a message, offer a callback window, or pass an urgent call to a named person. Do not write "we're available 24/7" unless a human really is.
### Service area
Be literal. "We serve the Lehigh Valley" is vague. A list of counties is not. Add the edge cases you already argue about, like "we may go to a neighboring county for a large job, but a person decides." For a brokerage, the equivalent is the lanes and equipment types you do and do not move.
### Services offered and not offered
The "not offered" list does more work than people expect. A receptionist with only a "yes" list will stretch to be helpful. Write down what callers ask for that you decline, such as a roofing company that does not do interior water damage repair, or a brokerage that does not book hazmat. One line each, plus a referral if you have an honest one.
### Pricing in general terms
This section is the most likely to go wrong. Decide what the receptionist may say about money and write it as a rule. For example: "Inspections are free. Roof prices depend on size, pitch, and materials, and an estimator gives a written price after seeing the roof. Do not quote a range or a per-square number." For freight: "Rates depend on lane, equipment, weight, and timing. A broker gives the quote. Do not state or estimate a rate."
If you publish a price, such as an inspection fee, put the exact figure and its start date on the sheet.
### Who handles what
Name the roles and the people. "Billing questions go to Dana in the office. Carrier payment questions go to accounting." Put the role next to every name so the sheet still makes sense when someone leaves. Keep this section consistent with your escalation rules.
### Phrases it must never say
Write these as exact lines. A roofing company might ban "Your insurance will cover that" and "That will cost about." A brokerage might ban "We can cover that load" and "That rate is locked." Each one is a promise only a person with the facts can make.
One owner, one date
Give the sheet one owner, not a committee. That person is responsible for its being true and is the only one who edits it. Pick someone who hears about business changes early, such as the owner or the office manager.
Put a "last reviewed" date and the owner's name at the top. If the date is older than 90 days, treat the sheet as suspect. That interval is my suggestion, not a standard. Pick one you will keep.
Update it when the business changes
Stale facts come from ordinary events. You hire a second estimator and callback times change. You stop taking jobs past a certain distance. A broker leaves and the carrier-payment contact is someone else.
Make the update part of the change itself. When the hours change on your website or Google listing, the sheet changes the same day. When someone is hired or leaves, the "who handles what" section is on the checklist. If the sheet only gets reviewed when somebody remembers, it will drift.
Test it before you trust it
After each edit, call the receptionist and ask what the sheet covers. Then ask what it does not: a price, a service you decline, an address outside your area. The right answer to anything missing is "I don't know, I'll have someone call you," not a guess.
Keep a short log of wrong answers from real calls. Each one points to a gap, an ambiguous line, or a fact that changed and was never updated.
If you want help writing the answer sheet for your AI receptionist, [book a call with Chosen AI Solutions](https://chosenai.co/book).
Sources
- McCarthy Tetrault. "Moffatt v. Air Canada: A misrepresentation by an AI chatbot." [mccarthy.ca](https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/blogs/techlex/moffatt-v-air-canada-misrepresentation-ai-chatbot) - Mondaq. "Airline ordered to compensate a BC man because its chatbot provided inaccurate information," discussing Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149. [mondaq.com](https://www.mondaq.com/canada/new-technology/1427926/airline-ordered-to-compensate-a-bc-man-because-its-chatbot-provided-inaccurate-information)