Build your first persona.
The eight design choices that make or break an AI voice agent. Get these right and the rest is fine-tuning.
The eight choices
A persona is more than a voice. It's a structured set of decisions about how the AI should sound, what it knows, and when it should defer. Here are the eight you need to nail.
1. Voice
Listen to the eight default voices. Pick the one closest to your team's energy. The four bad mistakes here:
- Picking a voice that sounds more professional than your business actually is. If you're a 3-truck HVAC shop, don't pick the call-centre voice.
- Picking a voice with an accent your customers don't expect to hear.
- Picking a voice you personally like, instead of one your customers will be comfortable with.
- Spending three weeks on this. It matters less than the other seven.
2. Opening line
Eight words or fewer. Match the way a good receptionist on your team would say it.
Good: "Hi, Marcus' HVAC, how can I help?"
Bad: "Hello, thank you for calling Marcus' HVAC, this is your AI assistant, how can I direct your call today?"
3. Tone
One of: warm + casual, warm + professional, brisk + professional. Most SMBs want warm + casual or warm + professional. Brisk + professional fits law firms and high-end medical.
4. Knowledge
What does the AI actually know about your business? Upload your FAQ, service list, pricing rules (or pricing-not-discussed rules), hours, locations, and team names. The persona builder gives you a template — fill in every field, even the ones you don't think matter.
5. Handoff triggers
The list of things that should always escalate to a human. Examples: credit card on the phone, urgent medical complaint, anything the AI is less than 80% confident about. Be generous here — better to escalate too much in week one.
6. Boundaries
What the AI must never do. Examples: never quote a price for a custom job, never confirm a controlled prescription, never promise a timeframe outside your service area. Write these down explicitly.
7. Personality cues
Three or four phrases your team naturally uses — "we'll get you sorted", "no worries", "let me check that for you". These get woven in so the AI doesn't sound like a generic chatbot.
8. Disclosure
Decide whether the persona discloses that it's AI. For healthcare and legal we strongly recommend yes. For home services it's optional — most operators choose not to disclose unless asked directly.