RingCentral adds Shopify, Calendly, and WhatsApp to AI Receptionist

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, ...