Service-aware intake allows AI Receptionist to ask different questions, collect different details, and take different actions depending on which service a new caller is requesting — so every lead gets the intake experience that's right for their situation.
By default, AI Receptionist handles all new-caller inquiries with a single, shared intake flow. With service-aware intake, you can give each of your services its own custom setup — including its own qualification criteria, data collection fields, and end-of-call action.
What's covered in this article
Overview: Two intake modes explained
When you open your Potential new clients & customers call playbook, you'll see two options under How do you want to configure your services?:
See How to expedite service-specific setup and How to revert to a shared intake for details on what happens to your data when you switch.
Use cases and examples
Service-aware intake is most valuable when your services have different intake needs. Here are some common examples:
Law firms: A firm handling personal injury, family law, and business litigation can configure unique qualification questions and different call outcomes (e.g., schedule directly vs. take a message) for each practice area — without asking callers redundant or off-topic questions.
Home services businesses: A company offering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical can tailor location qualification, service-specific data collection, and individual calendar links for each trade.
Real estate offices: Buyer leads, seller leads, and rental inquiries can each flow through distinct intake paths with the right questions and next steps.
Multi-specialty wellness practices: Different specialties or service lines can have their own screening questions and scheduling flows.
Note: Service-aware intake is available only within the Potential new clients & customers playbook. It is not available for the Existing clients & customers playbook at this time.
Option A: Configure intake the same way for all services
If your services share a similar intake flow, or if you're new to AI Receptionist and want to keep things simple to start, the All services together mode is the right choice. This is the default setting and works exactly as it has before service-aware intake was added to the dashboard.
Navigate to Call Instructions in your AI Receptionist dashboard.
Open your Potential new clients & customers call playbook by clicking Configure.
Under How do you want to configure your services?, confirm that All services together is selected.
Configure your qualifying services, qualification criteria, information collection, and end-of-call action.
Click Save to put any changes into effect immediately.
Option B: Configure intake separately for each service
When you select Each service separately, you'll configure a unique intake flow for each service you offer.
How to enable service-aware intake
Navigate to Call Instructions in your AI Receptionist dashboard.
Open your Potential new clients & customers call playbook by clicking Configure.
Under How do you want to configure your services?, select Each service separately.
If you had any services already configured under All services together, they'll automatically appear as individual services in the list — pre-filled with your existing settings as a starting point. If you had no services configured, you'll see a blank state with a text field to add your first service.
How to add and manage services
If you had no services configured, add your first service by entering the service name in the blank text box, then click Save.
To add a new service, click + Add service and type the service name (e.g., Personal Injury or HVAC Repair). Click Save or press Enter.
To edit a service's name, click the ⋮ (kebab) menu on its card and select Edit service name.
To copy a service and its configuration to a new card, click ⋮ and select Duplicate. The copy will be named [Original Name] Copy and can be edited from there.
To delete a service, click ⋮ and select Delete. A confirmation modal will appear — click Delete to confirm. This action cannot be undone.
Tip: If two or more of your services share similar intake requirements, set one up fully, then use Duplicate to copy it. You'll only need to adjust the differences — saving time on setup.
How to configure intake for each service
Once you’ve enabled service-aware intake, click the Configure link on any qualifying service to open that service's setup modal. Each service can be configured independently with the following options:
Location qualification: Specify whether location is a qualifying factor for this service and what the criteria are.
Custom qualification questions: Add yes/no questions specific to this service type to determine if the caller is a good fit.
Caller information to collect: Choose which details AI Receptionist should gather from the caller for this service (e.g., email, business name, or your own custom fields).
Call outcome: Select what AI Receptionist should do when the caller qualifies for this service:
End the call — collect caller details for follow-up
Transfer the call — route to a specific person or team
Schedule an appointment — link a specific calendar URL for booking this service
When you're done configuring a service, click Save within the service modal before moving to the next one.
Note: If you try to close a service's configuration modal without saving, you'll be prompted to either Discard changes or return and save. Unsaved changes will be lost if you discard.
Be sure to save your instructions!
Once all services are configured, click Save on the main playbook modal to apply your settings. AI Receptionist will begin handling calls according to each service's custom intake flow immediately.
How to expedite service-specific setup using your existing intake
If you've already set up your new client intake using All services together, you can use that configuration as a head start when switching to service-specific intake — saving you from configuring every service from scratch.
Open your Potential new clients & customers playbook in your AI receptionist call instructions.
First, make sure your All services together configuration is complete and saved — including your qualifying services, qualification criteria, data collection, and call outcome. This will become the foundation for each service's configuration.
Then, select Each service separately.
Your existing configuration will automatically be copied into each of your qualifying services as a starting point.
From there, click Configure on each qualifying service to customize the settings that differ service by service. You only need to update the fields that are different — everything else is already filled in.
Tip: Setting up All services together first, then switching to Each service separately, is the fastest way to get service-specific intake configured — especially if your services share many intake settings in common.
How to revert from service-specific back to a shared intake
You can switch back to All services together at any time. However, because AI Receptionist cannot automatically convert per-service configurations back into a single shared flow, your service-specific configurations will be permanently deleted when you make this switch.
Open your Potential new clients & customers playbook.
Under How do you want to configure your services?, select All services together.
A warning modal will appear letting you know that switching will delete all of your service-specific configurations. This action cannot be undone.
If you'd like to proceed, click Confirm. If you want to keep your service-specific setup, click Cancel.
After confirming, configure your shared intake flow as needed and click Save.
Important: Switching from Each service separately back to All services together permanently deletes your per-service configurations. We recommend noting down any custom settings you want to preserve before making this change.
Frequently asked questions
Is service-aware intake available for my existing clients, or only for new leads?
Service-aware intake is currently available only within the Potential new clients & customers (PNC) call playbook. It does not apply to existing-client call handling at this time.
Can each service have its own scheduling link?
Yes. When you configure a service with Schedule an appointment as the call outcome, you can assign a unique calendar URL to that service. Keep in mind the account-wide limit of 6 calendar URLs (see Calendar URL limit reached above).
Can each service have its own SMS follow-up message?
Yes. When using Each service separately, each service can have its own unique SMS follow-up message configured independently.
Does this support nested services, like multiple case types within a practice area?
Yes, as long as the level of specificity you need is reflected in the service name. For example, a personal injury firm could set up services named Workers' Comp, Car Accident, and Medical Malpractice — each with its own configuration.
What happens if a caller mentions multiple services in one call?
AI Receptionist handles multi-service calls the same way it did before this feature was introduced. There is no change to that behavior with service-aware intake.
If I switch from All services together to Each service separately, do I lose my existing setup?
No — your existing configuration is automatically copied into each service as a starting point. You'll keep all of your settings and can edit them service by service from there.
If I switch from Each service separately back to All services together, do I lose my service-specific configurations?
Yes. Switching back permanently deletes your per-service configurations. A warning modal will appear before you confirm, but this action cannot be undone. See How to revert from service-specific back to a shared intake for details.
Does switching intake modes affect my callers' experience immediately?
Changes take effect once you save your playbook. After saving, new calls will be handled according to your updated configuration.
Can I use service-aware intake to route callers based on location rather than service?
The primary trigger for each intake flow is the service a caller requests, but you can use location qualification within each service's configuration to further refine how AI Receptionist handles callers.
Still have questions? Our team is here to help. Chat with us using the button at the bottom right of your dashboard, email us at support@smith.ai, or call us at (650) 727-6484.
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