--- title: Glossary ยท Cavorite description: Definitions for AI receptionist terminology, from voice agents and call forwarding to takeover, transcripts, booking, and plan minutes. last_updated: "2026-07-02" --- # Glossary Plain-language definitions for the vocabulary around AI phone agents, call handling, booking, and business phone lines. ## AI Receptionist An AI Receptionist is a voice-based system that answers business calls, gathers caller details, answers routine questions, and routes or records the call outcome. It is designed to handle the front-desk phone workload when a person is unavailable or focused on other work. ## AI voice agent An AI voice agent is software that can listen, reason over a caller request, and respond by voice. In business phone systems, it usually combines speech recognition, language understanding, business rules, and voice generation. ## Call takeover Call takeover means a human can join a live call that an AI agent is handling. The goal is to let the AI cover routine moments while still giving the owner control when a conversation needs judgment or relationship context. ## Live call transcript A live call transcript is a real-time written version of what the caller and agent are saying. It helps a business owner understand a call quickly without waiting for the call to end. ## Missed-call rate Missed-call rate is the share of incoming calls that are not answered by a person or system. For service businesses, this matters because unanswered calls often become lost bookings, lost leads, or repeat calls. ## Call forwarding Call forwarding sends calls from one phone number to another destination. A business can use it to route an existing published number to an AI agent, a team member, or another phone line. ## Conditional call forwarding Conditional call forwarding sends calls somewhere else only under certain conditions, such as when the line is busy, unanswered, or unreachable. It lets a business keep answering normally while using backup coverage when no one picks up. ## Knowledge base A knowledge base is the set of business information an AI agent can use to answer questions. It can include service descriptions, policies, menus, price sheets, frequently asked questions, and other approved material. ## Speech-to-speech voice Speech-to-speech voice describes a voice system that listens to spoken input and produces spoken output as a conversation. The best versions are optimized for natural timing, interruption handling, and phone-call rhythm. ## Appointment booking Appointment booking is the process of collecting a requested date, time, caller details, and reason for the visit, then saving the appointment. A booking-capable AI agent should confirm key details before creating the final record. ## Booking conversion Booking conversion is the percentage of booking-intent calls that become scheduled appointments. It is useful for measuring whether calls are turning into revenue or stopping somewhere in the intake flow. ## Lead capture Lead capture means recording who called, how to contact them, and what they need. For phone-first businesses, lead capture turns a conversation into a follow-up record even when no appointment is booked. ## Call transfer Call transfer moves a live caller from the AI agent to a human or another phone destination. A good transfer flow protects the caller from silence and confirms that the receiving person is available before handing off. ## After-hours answering After-hours answering covers calls that arrive outside regular business hours. It can answer routine questions, collect leads, book appointments, or route urgent calls based on the business rules. ## Call summary A call summary is a short written recap of what happened during a call. It usually includes the caller need, the outcome, any next steps, and details that matter for follow-up. ## Business phone line A business phone line is the number customers use to reach a company. It may be a new local number, a toll-free number, or an existing number that forwards into a call-handling system. ## VoIP VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol. It is a way to carry phone calls over internet-based systems instead of only through traditional phone networks. ## Call recording Call recording is the saved audio of a phone conversation. Businesses use recordings for review, quality control, dispute resolution, and understanding what callers actually asked for. ## Caller intent Caller intent is the reason someone called, such as booking, pricing, support, directions, or speaking with a person. Detecting intent helps route the conversation and summarize calls accurately. ## Minutes (plan usage) Minutes are the call-time units counted against a voice plan. They usually reflect how long calls run through the phone agent, and they help set the capacity level a business needs. ## Sitemap [Site map](https://cavorite.ai/sitemap.md)