Where and how to tell customers you use an AI operator: a simple disclosure policy
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
Tell customers openly that an AI operator works on your line, wherever they meet it: on your website and request form, in the greeting if you choose, and always truthfully when someone asks “are you a robot?”. Give the operator a name and your company’s name, but it must never claim to be a person. Teach staff how to answer “a robot called me” complaints, and leave customers an easy way to reach a human. Openness costs nothing; a lie found out costs trust.
Why openness pays
Customers often notice a voice operator anyway. If they know in advance, it looks like ordinary service: it answers at night and nobody waits. If it was hidden and they find out later, they are left thinking “they tricked me”.
Openness gives you something else: the company chooses the words. Otherwise customers will say it in their own words, often in an Instagram comment.
Where customers meet the AI operator, and what to say
| Where | What to write or say (example) |
|---|---|
| Website and request form | “Leave a request and our voice operator will call you right away.” |
| Instagram profile and ads | “Our voice operator answers calls day and night.” |
| Start of the call (optional) | “Nur Optika voice assistant, this is Malika.” |
| “Are you a robot?” | “Yes, I’m a voice assistant. I can answer your question or put you through to a manager.” |
| A staff member’s answer | “Yes, in the evenings and at weekends our voice operator answers calls.” |
Use one term everywhere: “voice operator” or “voice assistant”. A different name in every place confuses customers.
What not to do
- The operator must never say “I’m a real person”, even if the customer asks as a joke.
- If a customer asks for a person, don’t refuse: transfer to staff or have a manager call back.
- Don’t dodge the word “robot” with long, muddled answers. Short and plain works better.
- Staff shouldn’t hide the AI operator or say “that wasn’t us”.
When a customer complains: a sample for staff
If someone calls the company and asks about yesterday’s call, staff answer like this:
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Sarbon Avto, this is Dilshod.
Caller: Someone called me from you yesterday, and it was a robot. What’s that about?
Sado: Yes, that’s our voice operator. You left a test-drive request on our website, and it called to check the details.
Caller: I want to talk to a person.
Sado: Of course, you’re talking to me now. Which car are you interested in?
Caller: I said yesterday: the white crossover.
Sado: Yes, it’s on your card. There’s a test drive free on Saturday at ten; shall I book you in?
The staff member didn’t hide the AI operator, didn’t over-apologise, and carried on using what was said on yesterday’s call. The customer didn’t have to explain everything again.
Write the internal rule on one page
- Which calls the AI operator answers and which it makes.
- Whether it says “voice assistant” in the greeting or only when asked: choose one.
- The wording for “are you a robot?”.
- Who the call goes to, or who calls back, when a customer asks for a person.
- The text on your website, forms and Instagram.
- A sample reply to complaints for staff.
With Sado’s operator
Sado’s AI operator speaks in your company’s name, with the name and tone you choose. Asked directly, it never claims to be human. You decide what it says in the greeting. Following your company’s rule, it transfers the call to staff, for example when a customer asks for a person.
It works the same way on incoming calls and outgoing calls. If you want, the operator also says at the start that the call is recorded. More answers: frequently asked questions. To hear how it sounds, try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Do we have to tell customers we use an AI operator?
Ask a lawyer about the legal requirements. In practice, openness pays: customers notice anyway, and hiding it damages trust.
Won’t the word “robot” in the greeting put customers off?
Say “voice assistant” or “voice operator” instead of “robot”. What matters to the customer is a fast, accurate answer.
Does Sado’s operator claim to be human?
No. If a customer asks, it says it’s a voice assistant and carries on, or transfers to staff according to your rule.