Call screening is the practice of gathering information about a caller and their purpose before connecting them to the appropriate resource. Traditional screening involves a receptionist asking 'may I ask who is calling and the nature of your call?' before transferring. Automated screening uses IVR or AI to gather this information. For home service businesses, call screening serves multiple purposes: it filters out solicitors and robocalls, captures initial job details so technicians are prepared before speaking with customers, and identifies emergencies that need immediate escalation. AI-powered screening does this through natural conversation rather than scripted prompts.
Technicians and owners who answer their own calls lose significant time to solicitors, wrong numbers, and calls that should go to other team members. Effective call screening routes only relevant calls to the right people while capturing information for all others. This protects productive time and ensures no legitimate customer call falls through the cracks.
AutoRev acts as an intelligent call screener for every inbound call. The AI identifies the caller's name and need, captures their contact information and job details, and then either handles the call completely or transfers to you with a full briefing. You can configure criteria for which calls transfer to you live versus which are handled and summarized.
The process of directing an inbound phone call to the appropriate person, department, or action based on caller input, time of day, or other rules.
The process of receiving and responding to inbound phone calls from customers, encompassing everything from in-house staff to automated AI systems.
A phone system technology that presents callers with pre-recorded audio menus and routes their call based on keypad input or basic voice commands.
An AI-powered virtual agent that answers phone calls, captures customer information, and books appointments without human intervention.