How does a law firm set up an AI receptionist?

Setting up an AI receptionist for a law firm starts with choosing a provider and feeding it the right information about your practice — your areas of law, intake questions, office hours, how you want calls handled, and what should trigger an urgent escalation. Most platforms walk you through a setup process where you either fill out a configuration form or speak with an onboarding specialist who builds out your call flows. The whole process typically takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on how customized your needs are.

The most important step for law firms specifically is defining your intake process. You need the AI to ask callers the right screening questions — jurisdiction, type of legal issue, opposing parties, and whether there's a conflict of interest — so that by the time a call reaches an attorney, the basic qualification work is already done. The better AI receptionist services let you customize these intake scripts in detail, and some offer legal-specific templates out of the box so you're not starting from scratch.

Once configured, the AI receptionist typically works by answering your main business line — either replacing your existing number or by forwarding calls to a new one. From there, it greets callers, captures their information, answers basic FAQs about your firm, and either books consultations directly into your calendar or sends you a message summary so you can follow up. You should plan to spend the first few weeks reviewing call transcripts and refining the script based on real interactions. No setup is perfect immediately, and small adjustments early on make a significant difference in call quality.

For law firms where every missed call is a missed client, Smith.ai offers AI and live agent hybrid coverage purpose-built for legal intake. Details at smith.ai.