How to prepare an AI voice agent for your busy season
A busy season changes why people call, how patient they are and what you can promise. Tune your AI voice agent for the peak a few weeks before it starts, then relax it afterwards.
Start with what changes in the calls
Look back at last year's peak. Which questions doubled? Which ones disappeared? A heating company hears about no-heat emergencies in the first cold week. A tax preparer hears about missing documents in the final days before a deadline. A garden centre hears about delivery dates in spring. Write down the five or six questions that dominate and build around them.
Update the knowledge base for the peak
Seasonal facts go stale fast. Add the temporary hours, the current lead time for a booking, the deadline after which you stop taking new work, and any service you pause. Mark each entry with the date it stops being true so you remember to remove it.
Shorten the intake
When the phone is ringing all day, a ten-question intake is too long for the caller and for your team. Keep only the fields you cannot work without: name, callback number, what is needed and how urgent. Everything else can wait for the follow-up call.
Say the honest wait time
Callers accept a delay when they hear it early. Tell the agent the real lead time ("the next free visit is in about two weeks") so it does not offer slots you cannot honour. Update that sentence whenever your calendar changes.
Decide what gets priority
In a rush, not every call is equal. Give the agent a short rule for which calls go to a person right away, such as safety problems or an existing customer with a job in progress, and which are logged for the next working day.
Plan for the extra call time
More calls means more minutes. Check your credit balance before the peak, since one credit equals 60 seconds of call time, and top up your plan if the history from last season suggests a spike.
Relax the rules when the peak ends
Remove the seasonal entries, restore the full intake and go back to the normal hours. Put a reminder in your calendar for the date you expect it to end.
Example: the deadline week
Caller: Hi, I need you to file my return, is it too late?
Agent: Not yet. We are still taking new returns until Friday at noon. Can I get your name and the best number to reach you?
Caller: Sure. It's Dana, and I still have one form missing.
Agent: That's fine, our team will tell you exactly what to send. Is the missing form from an employer or from a bank?
What it costs
InfiVoice bills in credits, and one credit equals 60 seconds of call time. The Free plan includes 100 credits. Pro costs $79 per month with 250 credits.
Frequently asked questions
How early should I prepare?
A few weeks before the usual start, so you have time to test the new answers with real calls.
Can I give the agent different hours only for the season?
Yes. Set the temporary hours and holiday closures, and take them out when the season ends.
What if calls arrive faster than my team can return them?
Let the agent log every request with its urgency, so your team starts with the most pressing ones.
Should I tell callers the season is busy?
A short, honest line about wait times usually lowers frustration. Keep it specific.
Related
- /blog/how-to-set-business-hours-and-holidays-for-voice-agent
- /blog/how-to-handle-urgent-calls-with-an-ai-voice-agent
- /blog/can-ai-voice-agent-handle-multiple-calls-at-once