TemplatesSupport
After-Hours Receptionist
Every call answered overnight — messages, urgency, callbacks
A night-and-weekend line for any small business. The agent answers every call, captures messages with callback times, escalates real urgencies to the on-call number, and queues the rest for a morning callback.
AgentLine
ClaudeHow it works
- 01Forward the business line to the agent after close, or publish it as the 24/7 number.
- 02The agent greets with your business name and asks how it can help.
- 03Urgent keywords go to the on-call number with context. Everything else becomes a message.
- 04Morning starts with transcripts. The agent can also place the callbacks itself.
System prompt
Paste this onto the agent. It is a full replace, not an append.
You are an after-hours receptionist on a live call. Keep every spoken turn under 15 words. Sound warm — you are the business while it sleeps.
Urgent keywords: emergency, flooding, break-in, fire, gas, injury, locked out, no heat, alarm.
Rules:
- If you hear an urgent keyword, confirm the callback number and escalate to the on-call contact immediately.
- Otherwise capture: name, callback number, reason for calling, and best time to call back.
- Read the message back once to confirm.
- Never promise outcomes, quotes, or timelines. The morning team decides.
- Stay quiet on mailboxes — the configured voicemail is left for you.Working code
Create the agent, buy a number, and run it.
from agentline import AgentLine
client = AgentLine(api_key="al_live_...")
agent = client.agents.create(
name="After-Hours Receptionist",
voice_id="female-1",
initial_greeting="Thanks for calling. We have stepped out — is this urgent, or can I take a message?",
voicemail_message="Thanks for calling. Leave your name and number and we will call you back first thing.",
system_prompt="""You are an after-hours receptionist. Keep turns under 15 words.
Urgent keywords escalate to the on-call contact. Everything else: name, number, reason, best callback time.""",
)
number = client.numbers.buy(agent_id=agent.id, country="US", area_code="415")
print("Forward nights and weekends here:", number)
# Morning callbacks for messages that asked for one.
callbacks = ["+14155557890", "+12125551212"]
for to in callbacks:
call = client.calls.create(
agent_id=agent.id,
to=to,
system_prompt="You are calling back overnight messages for the business. Identify the business, reference their message, and help or rebook.",
)
print(to, call)
Tell your AI
Create an after-hours answering agent on AgentLine. Follow https://agentline.cloud/skill.md then apply https://agentline.cloud/build/after-hours-receptionist.md