An AI that picks up our line, tells a buyer from a sales pitch and puts the real calls through. Everyone else gets a polite answer and a note in our call log. Here are three sample calls, with what it noticed along the way.
IdeaDramatized examples. The callers and companies are made up, the voices are synthetic, and no phone line is connected yet.
Sound plays only when you press Play, and the site's own soundtrack pauses until the call ends.
Sample call 1 · 1:02
A real prospect
A tea company owner wants a Shopify redesign before the holidays.
Put through
0:00 / 1:02
Transcript
ReceptionistAI
Hi, thanks for calling #10! You've got the AI receptionist. I take notes for the team, so... what's going on?
Dana
Hi! Um, so I run a little tea company, Larkspur Tea, and our Shopify store is... honestly, it's held together with tape at this point. We want it redone before the holidays.
ReceptionistAI
Held together with tape. I hear that one a lot. And before the holidays, so not a ton of runway. Is the company yours?
Dana
Yeah, I co-own it with my sister.
ReceptionistAI
Perfect. And is there a rough budget in mind? A ballpark is fine.
Dana
We've set aside around thirty thousand. Is that... I mean, is that normal?
ReceptionistAI
Pricing's above my pay grade, and I don't technically get paid. But this sounds like one the team wants to hear about. Can I put you through?
Dana
Oh! Yes, please.
ReceptionistAI
Connecting you now. If nobody grabs it in thirty seconds, I'll take a message, so you won't be stuck listening to hold music.
Sample call 2 · 0:52
An SEO cold pitch
A caller promises guaranteed first-page rankings and asks for the owner.
Declined and logged
0:00 / 0:52
Transcript
ReceptionistAI
Hi, thanks for calling #10! You've got the AI receptionist. I take notes for the team. What can I do for you?
Brad
Hey, how's it going? Quick question. Who's handling your Google rankings over there? Because we ran your site through our tool, and, uh, there are some serious SEO issues. We can get you on page one. Guaranteed.
ReceptionistAI
Guaranteed. Bold. Just so I file this in the right place, are you looking to hire #10, or offering us a service?
Brad
Well, I mean, we'd be doing the work for you. If I could just grab fifteen minutes with the owner, I really think...
ReceptionistAI
Funny thing: SEO is kind of what we do here. So I'm going to pass on putting you through. If you ever want to talk shop, the team reads info@nr10.com. Good luck out there!
Brad
Oh. Uh, sure. Okay. Thanks.
Sample call 3 · 0:53
An existing client
A client's contact form stopped sending, with a sale coming up.
Message taken
0:00 / 0:53
Transcript
ReceptionistAI
Hi, thanks for calling #10! You've got the AI receptionist. I take notes for the team. What's up?
Priya
Hi, it's Priya, from Hollow Oak Furniture? You guys built our WordPress site. The contact form stopped sending us emails. Since yesterday, I think.
ReceptionistAI
Oh no. Sorry, Priya. Everyone's in a meeting right now, but let me get the details so this is waiting for them. Is the whole site down, or just the form?
Priya
Just the form. The site's fine. It's just, we have a big sale this weekend, so...
ReceptionistAI
So it matters this week, not next week. Got it. I'm marking it urgent, so it's the first thing they see when they come out. Is email still the best way to reach you?
Priya
Yes, the address you have on file. Thank you.
ReceptionistAI
You got it. The team will email you as soon as they're out. And good luck with the sale!
About the voices: the receptionist is Eleven v3 from ElevenLabs. As of October 30, 2026, it costs about 8 cents per 1,000 characters, or roughly 8 cents a minute of speech. The callers are VoxCPM2, a free, open-source model from OpenBMB that runs on a Mac mini in our office, with the background noise added afterward.
How it would work
One line, a short note.
We'd start small: one extension of our existing phone line forwarded to the receptionist, for a few weeks, before it touches anything else.
01
It says what it is
Every call opens with the receptionist saying it's an AI and that it takes notes. If we ever record calls, it says that too.
02
It listens for a few things
Who's calling, whether they want to buy or to sell, what they need, and how soon. A couple of questions is usually enough.
03
It routes the call
Real prospects and urgent client calls go through to a person. Pitches get a polite no. Anyone who isn't put through can leave a message.
04
It writes the note
Every call ends as a short note in our call log, read with the rest of the day's work. No new alerts, no extra inbox.
The test we'd hold it to: over four weeks, no real prospect lost, and we agree with how it handled 9 calls out of 10.
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