We let an AI answer our business phone.

What happens if an AI picks up when the boss can’t? Instead of guessing, we tried it ourselves.

We set up a test number

We used an off-the-shelf AI phone service in Japan. On the free plan we got a test number and set a simple rule: if the caller wants a new quote, the AI takes down the details. Then we called, pretending to be a customer: “I’d like a quote for 100 aluminum parts.”

The AI asked the right questions

In order, it asked for the company and name, a callback number, the product and quantity, the deadline, and what the parts were for. When we hung up, a summary arrived by email. Up to here, it sounded like a real front desk.

But “100 pieces” became “garage”

In Japanese, hyakko (100 pieces) was heard as shako (garage).

Numbers and short words were still hard for it. “Tomorrow” turned into “a 12-minute wait.” The service itself warns that speech recognition can be inaccurate.

Why we still think it works

The words were sometimes wrong, but not a single call went unrecorded: we always knew who called and why. What really worries a business owner isn’t missing a call — it’s not knowing a call was missed.

So our morning report never copies the AI’s transcript as-is. Anything that looks off gets a “please check” mark and a pointer to the recording. Saying up front what works and what doesn’t is how we want to start this business.