Last updated: April 2026 · Receptionist, Inc.
What happens when someone calls your Aria number
When a caller dials your Receptionist.co-powered phone number, Aria answers within two rings and handles the entire conversation using the enterprise OpenAI Realtime API. No scripts, no touch-tone menus, no "press 1 for sales" — just a natural conversation.
The opening disclosure
Every call starts with Aria's mandatory opening disclosure. This cannot be disabled and exists for two reasons: it keeps you compliant with California's Bot Disclosure law (SB-1001) and similar state laws, and it sets honest expectations with the caller.
A typical opening:
"Hi, thanks for calling [Your Business Name]. This is Aria, an AI assistant on a recorded line. How can I help you today?"
You can customize the greeting text and business name in **Settings → Aria → Greeting**, but the "AI assistant on a recorded line" disclosure is always present.
What Aria can do on a call
•Answer questions about your services, hours, pricing, and policies from your knowledge base
•Check your connected Cal.com calendar for real-time availability
•Book, reschedule, or cancel appointments
•Take a message and notify you by email or SMS
•Transfer urgent calls to a human per your escalation rules
•Handle common follow-up questions like "what should I bring?" or "where are you located?"
What Aria will not do on a call
•Provide medical, legal, or financial advice (hard-coded refusal)
•Discuss anything outside your configured knowledge base without marking the response as uncertain
•Take a payment over the phone (callers are directed to a secure payment link instead)
•Continue a conversation that appears to involve a minor in sensitive contexts (Aria asks for a parent or guardian)
After the call
When the call ends, the text transcript is saved to your dashboard under **Calls**. You will see:
•The caller's phone number (encrypted in the database, displayed in clear in the UI)
•The full text transcript of the conversation
•An AI-generated summary of what happened and what was booked
•Any contact record Aria created or updated
•A link to the resulting Cal.com appointment if one was booked
About the audio
Call audio is never stored. Aria processes audio in memory during the call and discards it the moment the call ends. Only the text transcript persists. This is our Zero Audio Retention commitment, and it is enforced architecturally — see receptionist.co/security for details.