AI phone assistant that makes and takes real calls · Arlo
An enormous amount of real work still happens only on the phone. The vendor who never answers email. The clinic that confirms by call. The insurance line with the forty-minute hold. Most AI products are excellent at everything that happens in a browser and go completely silent the moment a task requires dialing a number.
Arlo doesn't. The phone is one of its native channels, alongside iMessage and SMS, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. You ask for a call in whichever one you're already in, and the outcome comes back to that same thread.
What it does on a call
- Places outbound calls— “call the venue and confirm Thursday for 12” — states who it is and why it's calling, and holds a real conversation through to an outcome.
- Answers inbound calls — fields the routine questions, captures name, number and reason, and escalates the ones that actually need you.
- Handles the awkward parts— hold music, phone menus, transfers, voicemail, and the “let me just check” pause.
- Writes down what happened — a summary in your thread and your calendar, CRM or notes updated to match what was agreed.
- Leaves a trail — the call, the sources, and every change land in a full audit trace.
AI phone assistant vs. voice assistant vs. phone tree
These three get grouped together constantly and do entirely different jobs. The dividing line is simple: who actually has the conversation?
| Capability | Voice assistant (Siri etc.) | Phone tree / IVR | Arlo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who has the conversation | You | Nobody — menus | Arlo, on your behalf |
| Places outbound calls | Dials for you | No | Yes |
| Answers inbound calls | Screens | Yes | Yes |
| Outcome captured in your tools | — | — | Yes |
| Approval before it commits you | — | — | Yes |
| Same assistant in your texts and team chat | — | — | Yes |
For how Arlo compares to the other assistants that can genuinely dial — Mitra, Martin, Catch — see AI assistants that can make phone calls, and the definition sits at what is an AI phone assistant.
A call is rarely an isolated event
Because Arlo also lives in your texts and your team's chat, calling connects to the rest of the work instead of sitting off to one side. You text a request from Messages, Arlo calls, and the confirmation lands back in the same thread — with the calendar already updated. A lead can go from a first text to a booked call without you opening anything. The phone-calling executive assistant guide walks the pattern end to end.
What it costs
Call time draws on the same prepaid credits as everything else: 45 credits a minute, roughly 11¢. There is no separate calling plan and no block of call hours to buy up front, so you never pay for minutes you don't use — the same credits also cover texts, Slack, research, and drafting. Full detail on pricing.
Governed, because a call commits you
An assistant that can speak to a stranger as you has to be safe to trust. Policy resolves before every run, anything that commits you waits for a reviewer you choose, and the whole call — what was said, what changed, what was approved — is recorded in an audit trace. You hand off the phone and still know exactly what happened.
AI phone assistant — FAQ
What is an AI phone assistant?
An AI phone assistant is an AI that handles real phone calls for you rather than just with you. It dials, speaks with whoever answers, works through holds and phone menus, and pursues the task to an outcome — then reports back. That is different from a voice assistant like Siri, which dials the number but leaves the conversation to you.
Can an AI assistant actually make phone calls for me?
Yes. Arlo places live outbound calls — confirming appointments, chasing a supplier about a missing order, following up on a quote — and handles the back-and-forth itself, including holds, transfers, and voicemail. You ask for it by text or in Slack, and the outcome comes back to the same thread.
Can it answer my incoming calls too?
Yes. Arlo takes inbound calls, answers the questions it can, captures the caller's name, number, and reason for calling, and escalates to you by text or transfer when a human is genuinely needed.
What happens after the call ends?
This is the part that separates a demo from a dependable assistant. A summary lands in your thread, your connected records — calendar, CRM, notes — are updated to match what was actually agreed, and the whole run lands in an audit trace you can check later.
How much does an AI phone call cost?
Call time draws on the same prepaid credits as everything else Arlo does: 45 credits a minute, roughly 11¢. There is no separate calling plan and no bundle of call hours to buy in advance — the credits that pay for a call also pay for texts, Slack, research, and drafting.
Will it commit to things on my behalf without asking?
No. Calls are governed like every other consequential action: approval gates hold anything that commits you, policy resolves before each run, and every call, source, and change is written to a full audit trail.
Do I need an app to use it?
No. You ask for a call the way you'd ask a colleague — by text in iMessage or SMS, in Slack, or in Microsoft Teams — and Arlo makes it. There is nothing to install.