Telephony
Missed call
An incoming call that went unanswered: nobody picked up, not you, not a colleague, not a reception service. Some callers don't leave a message and call elsewhere, hence the value of counting these calls before choosing a solution. Find out more →
Outbound call
A call made by the business to a customer or contact, as opposed to an incoming call. At Sayelo, the AI agent doesn't cold-call anyone: you are the one who calls your customers from the app, with your agent's number, once outbound calls have been activated (only in France for now). The call is neither recorded nor transcribed. Find out more →
Simultaneous calls
The number of calls a line or an agent can handle at the same time. On a standard line, the second caller hears the engaged tone or goes to voicemail; at Sayelo, the agent takes 1, 2, 5 or 10 simultaneous calls depending on the plan. Find out more →
Overflow
A rule that sends a call to another destination when the intended extension or group doesn't answer in time, is busy or is saturated. An AI voice agent can act as overflow: it only takes the calls the team cannot take, as back-up. Find out more →
Exceptional closure
A period when the business is closed outside its usual opening hours: holidays, a public holiday, a long weekend or stocktaking. At Sayelo, you declare it on screen or in a single sentence to your agent, without touching your usual opening hours; during the closure, the agent plays your message, hangs up or transfers, and books no appointments. Find out more →
IP PBX
A private branch exchange running over IP: the system that connects a business's extensions and manages internal numbers, transfers, queues and forwarding. It can be installed on the premises or hosted by a provider. Find out more →
Call answering service
A service where call handlers answer your calls on your behalf, during agreed time slots, then pass the messages on to you. Its price usually depends on call volume. Find out more →
Voicemail
A messaging service that picks up when you don't answer, plays a greeting and records the caller's message. It doesn't answer any questions or book appointments: it's up to you to call back. Find out more →
Cloud phone system
A phone system hosted by a provider and used over the internet: it routes a team's calls to the right extensions, shows who is calling, records and measures. It doesn't answer calls itself: when nobody is free, the call goes into a queue and then to voicemail. Find out more →
IVR
Interactive voice response: the “press 1, press 2” type of phone menu. It recognises a key press, sometimes a keyword, and directs the call to an extension or a message, without understanding a sentence or dealing with the request itself. Find out more →
Call transfer
Passing a call in progress on to someone else, your mobile or a colleague for example. At Sayelo, the agent transfers urgent calls according to the rules you have set. The transfer is direct: if nobody answers, the caller reaches the recipient's voicemail. Find out more →
Number and operator
ARCEP
The Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse: the independent administrative authority that regulates telecoms in France, including numbering and number portability. At Sayelo, numbers and telephony are provided by a partner operator registered with ARCEP. Find out more →
RIO code
In France, the RIO (relevé d'identité opérateur, or operator identity statement) is a code specific to each line: it identifies the number and its holder, and proves that the porting request really comes from you. You get it free of charge by calling 3179 from the line concerned, and it also appears in the customer area of most operators. Find out more →
Number porting
The right to keep your landline or mobile number when you change operator. In France, the request is made to the new operator, with the RIO code, and it terminates the old contract for the line concerned. At Sayelo, number porting is available in France on all plans, and the team takes care of it, within a few working days. Find out more →
Conditional call forwarding
Conditional call forwarding is a setting on your line that forwards a call to another number only if you don't answer, if you are already on a call or if your phone is unreachable. Find out more →
Unconditional call forwarding
A line setting that sends all calls to another number, immediately, without your phone ringing. Handy during a closure, it makes you lose sight of your calls day to day. Find out more →
Voice AI
AI voice agent
An AI voice agent is software that answers the phone in natural language: it understands the caller's request, answers out loud and takes action, for example by booking an appointment or transferring the call. Find out more →
Language detection
A voice agent's ability to recognise the caller's language and continue the conversation in that language. At Sayelo, nearly 100 languages are included in every plan: with the “Multilingual agent” option, the agent switches from the first few words and switches back to its usual language if the caller does, and you receive a summary of every call, whatever language is spoken. Find out more →
Language model
An artificial intelligence program trained on large quantities of text, able to understand a freely worded request and respond to it. In a voice agent, it decides how the conversation continues, based on the information you have provided about your business. Find out more →
Speech recognition
Technology that converts speech into text, continuously, while the caller is speaking. Noise, accents, unusual names and spelled-out numbers are its main difficulties, hence the habit of having important information repeated or spelled out. Find out more →
AI receptionist
An AI phone answering service is a service in which an AI voice agent handles a business's phone line instead of a secretary: it answers, gives information, books appointments in the calendar and passes on a summary of every call. Find out more →
AI switchboard
An AI switchboard is an automated phone reception that answers every call, understands what the caller wants and directs them: a direct answer, an appointment booking, a message or a transfer to the right person. Find out more →
Speech synthesis
Technology that turns text into spoken voice. For a voice agent, the voice must remain natural and above all responsive, so that the caller isn't kept waiting for the answer. Find out more →
Transcript
The written version of a phone conversation, produced by speech recognition. At Sayelo, it comes with the summary sent by email after every call, and can be translated in one click when the call took place in another language. Find out more →
Calendar and tools
CRM
Customer relationship management software: it brings together contacts, the history of exchanges and ongoing deals. Sayelo integrates natively with Sellsy and monday.com, and sends calls to other tools by webhook. Find out more →
No-show
A missed appointment: the customer doesn't turn up, without warning. An SMS reminder the day before is a common way to reduce them; at Sayelo, this reminder is switched on by default. Find out more →
Call summary
A written report of a call handled by the agent: who called, about what, what was done and what is left to do. At Sayelo, it arrives by email after every call, with the transcript. Find out more →
Confirmation SMS
An SMS sent to the caller when an appointment is booked or cancelled, so that they have a written record of it. At Sayelo, confirmation and cancellation SMS are switched on by default, as is the reminder the day before. Find out more →
Calendar synchronisation
The connection between the agent and your calendar: it reads your availability live and writes the appointment into it, with no double entry. At Sayelo: Google Calendar, Microsoft 365 and Cal.com, other calendars on request. Find out more →
Double-booking lock
A safeguard that prevents the same slot from being booked twice, for example when two people ask for the same time at the same moment. At Sayelo, it comes on top of reading the calendar live. Find out more →
Webhook
A message sent automatically by one piece of software to another's address as soon as an event occurs, for example the end of a call. Sayelo's outbound webhooks pass every call handled on to your tools, with no re-keying. Find out more →
Data and rules
AI Act
The common name of the European regulation on artificial intelligence. Its transparency rules require a person interacting with an AI system to be informed of it, unless it is obvious: on the phone, the agent must therefore say that it is an AI. At Sayelo, it announces this from the very first sentence. Find out more →
Call recording
Keeping the audio of a phone conversation, not to be confused with its written transcript. In France, the CNIL (the data protection authority) asks businesses to inform the caller, allow them to object, limit how long recordings are kept and restrict access to them. At Sayelo, it is included from the Essentiel plan and is never active by default. Find out more →
HDS
Hébergeur de données de santé (health data hosting provider): a provider certified to host personal health data on behalf of professionals, healthcare establishments or patients. In France, this hosting is reserved for HDS-certified hosts; Sayelo offers HDS hosting in France on all plans. Find out more →
Data controller
Under the GDPR, the person or business that decides why and how personal data is processed. When you entrust your calls to a voice agent, you are the controller of your callers' data, and the provider is your processor. Find out more →
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation: the European text that governs the use of personal data, such as the name, number, voice or reason for a call. It sets out the obligations of businesses that process this data and of their providers, as well as the rights of the people concerned. Find out more →
Data processor
Under the GDPR, a provider that processes personal data on behalf of a controller and according to its instructions. A contract under Article 28 of the GDPR governs this relationship: security, confidentiality, what happens to the data at the end of the contract. Find out more →
Further reading
To see these concepts in action: conditional call forwarding, how an AI voice agent works and the difference between a voice agent and a cloud phone system. In your trade: physiotherapist, plumber and all industries. The prices of the four plans are on the pricing page, and answers about the service in the Sayelo FAQ.
