RingCentral has expanded its AI Receptionist product with new links to Shopify, Calendly and WhatsApp, as the communications software company tries to push the product beyond basic call answering and into more routine customer service tasks.
The company said AI Receptionist, known as AIR, can now handle some order enquiries through Shopify, arrange appointments through Calendly, and respond to inbound WhatsApp messages. AIR is also being added to shared SMS inboxes and call queues, so it can answer texts and step in when phone lines are busy or staff are not available.
RingCentral said more than 11,800 businesses now use AIR.
The product is aimed mainly at smaller and mid-sized organisations that receive regular inbound enquiries, and RingCentral cited healthcare, financial services, legal, hospitality, and construction as areas where customers are using AIR for front-desk tasks and after-hours cover.
Keller Interiors, an installation company working for Lowe’s Home Improvement, said it deployed AIR in 33 locations. Beth Owens, chief of staff, said the company had a routing problem that was difficult to solve with staff. “RingCentral AIR solved a problem we didn’t have a good human answer for, how do you route every inbound call correctly, 24/7, across 33 locations, without building a call centre?” Owens said. She said Keller Interiors had reduced waiting times from 12 minutes to 90 seconds and saw customer satisfaction scores rise by three points in the course of four months.
Tara Breaux, vice-president of operations at Maple Federal Credit Union, said it used AIR to reduce hold times in branches. “We’ve reduced hold times by 90%, enabling faster service, less strain on staff, and more focus on the conversations that matter most.”
The new Shopify link is designed to let AIR answer basic questions about orders and customer support over the phone. The Calendly interface lets AIR schedule appointments using tools from Calendly, and using WhatsApp extends into the messaging app used widely by consumers and small businesses.
RingCentral is also adding automatic language detection. The company said AIR can recognise a caller’s language and continue the conversation in that language, offering 10 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese.
Michelle Morgan, research manager for AI-enabled sales, customer service and contact centre strategies at IDC, said the update was an example of applied AI in daily business. “RingCentral’s expansion of AIR into Shopify, Calendly, WhatsApp, and intelligent call queues shows what applied AI should look like: every feature tied to a clear pain point,” she said.
Joe Fahrner, RingCentral’s vice-president of growth for AI products, gave the company’s more expansive view of the product, saying AIR is becoming a “digital employee” for small and mid-market businesses.
RingCentral said AIR is now available as a standalone product starting at $49 a month, including 100 minutes. Existing RingEX customers can add AIR starting at $39 a month, also including 100 minutes.
(Image source: Pixabay, under .)
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