Prompts and tone
How SIMCOAI sounds on your behalf - greetings, manner, disclaimers, and the boundaries of what it may say.
The first sentence matters most
It sets what the caller expects and how they answer your first question. A generic greeting produces generic calls.
| Line type | A greeting that works |
|---|---|
| General front desk | "Thanks for calling Harbour Supplies. How can I help?" |
| Refunds line | "Thanks for calling Harbour Supplies returns. Do you have your order number to hand?" |
| Bookings line | "Thanks for calling. Which service would you like to book?" |
Per-number greetings are configured in phone profiles.
Setting the manner
Match how your team actually speaks. A formal tone on a business that is warm and informal reads as a different company answering the phone.
- Keep sentences short - they are being spoken aloud, not read
- Avoid internal jargon; customers do not know your product names
- Decide how it refers to your business, and keep that consistent
- Warm and brief beats effusive - callers want their problem solved
Telling callers they are speaking to AI
Many jurisdictions expect disclosure, and callers generally prefer knowing.
Careful. Whether and how you must disclose AI handling and any recording or transcription is a legal question about your business and your jurisdiction. SIMCOAI gives you the controls; the obligation is yours. See data handling and take your own advice.
What it must not say
Tone controls how it speaks. Escalation triggers control what it will not attempt at all.
- Regulated advice - medical, legal, financial - escalates rather than being answered
- Payment card details are never taken on a call
- Anything you have not supplied should produce "I will get someone to confirm that", not a guess
- Add your own forbidden topics explicitly - see escalations
Hearing it before customers do
- Run a live test callReal AI turn against your live settings, no call credit used.
- Listen for pace, not just wordsCopy that reads well can still sound wrong aloud.
- Try an awkward callerInterrupt it. Go off-topic. Ask for a human.
- Adjust and repeatGreeting and tone are the cheapest things to iterate on.