Beyond the Bot: What Conversational AI Gets Wrong

​AI receptionists, AI answering services and AI voice agents are everywhere right now. But what's it actually like to put one on your business line?

​Every vendor is selling the same promise: never miss a call again. But answering the phone was never the hard part. The hard part is what happens next. Does the customer get booked? Followed up with? Remembered the next time they call? Do they feel like they're dealing with your business, or with a script?

​That's where most of these tools quietly fail, and it's where small businesses have the most to lose. Customers choose a small business because it's personal. The wrong AI makes you sound like everyone else.

​In this session, we look at AI the way a business owner should: not as a gadget, but as part of how customers experience your business. Business owners who've used these tools share what they've learned, good and bad.

​We'll discuss

• ​What AI receptionists, answering services and voice agents actually do, and what they don't

• ​Why answering calls isn't the same as running a front desk

• ​Where these tools break, and what customers notice

• ​How to adopt AI without losing what makes your business personal

​Part of BDC Small Business Week 2026.