NTA launches AI receptionist built into telephony core

NTA has launched AgenteX, an AI receptionist built into its telephone platform. The service is designed to sit at the core of the telephony system rather than operate as a separate layer.

The wholesale telecoms provider said the product has visibility of live call activity within a customer's phone system, including whether a user is available, already on a call or set to Do Not Disturb. This allows the system to decide how to handle incoming calls before attempting a transfer.

According to NTA, if a recipient is available, the system can pass the call through via an announced attended transfer, allowing that person to accept or refuse it. The approach is intended to make the service closer to a receptionist than a basic automated answering system.

Call context

AgenteX also uses previous call information when handling new enquiries, NTA said. The platform can access call history and transcripts, allowing it to take earlier conversations into account rather than treat each inbound call as a separate interaction.

It also gathers fresh information from customers' websites every 12 hours. That material is added to the agent's knowledge base so it can reflect changes in the organisation, its services and other details callers may ask about.

NTA describes the combination of live telephony data, historic call records, transcripts and updated website content as Dynamic Call Intelligence. The model is intended to give the AI receptionist more context when handling calls in day-to-day business settings.

The launch reflects a wider push among telecoms providers to add AI tools to hosted voice and unified communications services. NTA is seeking to distinguish its product from third-party systems that sit in front of an existing phone platform.

Paul White outlined that position in comments accompanying the launch. "There are plenty of providers putting AI agents in front of their telephone systems, effectively creating a separate solution that has to work alongside the telephony platform. We have taken a different route and embedded the AI directly into the core," said Paul White, Managing Director, NTA.

White also contrasted embedded and standalone approaches to AI call handling. "The difference is insane. It really is chalk and cheese when you look at the agility and performance you can achieve when the AI agents understand what's happening inside the telephone system. We want to deliver services that are genuinely useful to our channel partners and their end users, not just add a few AI features so we can say we have AI," he said.

Channel focus

NTA is a UK-owned wholesale telecommunications provider serving channel partners with hosted telephony and unified communications products. It said development of AgenteX was carried out in-house, reflecting its engineer-led model.

For resellers and service providers, the launch points to a more tightly integrated form of AI call handling within business telephony. Rather than relying only on scripted responses or static knowledge bases, the system is intended to combine operational status within the phone platform with customer-specific information drawn from earlier exchanges and web content.

This may be particularly relevant for businesses trying to manage high inbound call volumes or route enquiries more precisely without adding front-desk staff. An AI receptionist with visibility of staff status within the phone system could reduce unsuccessful transfers and improve the handling of repeat callers, although NTA has not provided performance figures.

White said further development is under way as the business extends the platform. "Over the coming weeks and months, we will be bringing some really impressive new services to market, building on our AI and call intelligence capabilities," he said.