AI call agents for Nepali businesses, a practical guide
It’s eleven in the morning at a mobile shop on New Road. There are two customers at the counter, and one of them wants a refund for a cracked screen. The phone rings. Somebody looks at it, looks back at the customer, and lets it ring out.
The person calling only wanted to know if the new model was in stock. They’ll try the shop next door. Nobody at the counter will ever know they called.
We built AirFone’s call agent for that caller.
What the caller hears
They ring your normal number. The agent picks up, says your business name, and asks how it can help, in Nepali. The caller asks whatever they were going to ask: price, stock, whether you’re open Saturday, whether they can bring a laptop in for repair this afternoon.
It answers from what you’ve told it. If they want to book a time or have something put aside, it takes their name and number. If they ask for a person, or it’s a call the agent shouldn’t handle, it transfers them to your staff with a short note of what they’ve said so far. Your staff member doesn’t have to start with “how can I help you?”
Every call is recorded and written out as text. You can read a morning’s calls in a couple of minutes.
Setting it up
People expect this part to be a project. It usually takes an afternoon.
The agent only knows what you give it, so start with your price list in whatever form it’s in now. A spreadsheet’s fine. A PDF’s fine. Then write down the questions you get asked most and the answers you’d give. Ten is plenty to start. Last, decide what it shouldn’t touch. Most businesses send refunds, complaints and anything about a customer’s own account straight to a person.
When a price changes, change it once. The next caller gets the new price.
Where you’ll notice it
Mostly at the busy hour. Every business has one, and that’s when calls go unanswered. The agent can be on fifteen calls at the same time, so nobody hears an engaged tone.
You’ll also notice it after closing. A lot of people only get round to calling in the evening, and right now those calls just ring. And your staff will notice it, because they’ll stop answering “where exactly are you?” forty times a day.
What it shouldn’t do
It isn’t a replacement for your team and we don’t sell it as one. Money a customer has already paid, complaints, anything medical or legal: those calls should reach a person, and AirFone hands them over mid-call with a summary so the caller doesn’t have to repeat themselves.
Try it
The AI call agent page has a real recorded call from a business in Kathmandu. Or ring 970-269-7774 and talk to it yourself. Ask it something difficult.