Elira answers your office phone (free pilot)
Not open yet for any school. When it opens, free-pilot schools sign an add-on on Build Elira’s Brain, forward missed and after-hours calls to Elira, and review what she answered.
Your office number stays yours. When your office cannot pick up, the call forwards to Elira, and she answers from the same school information she uses on your website and text line. Your texts stay on your school's number.
Is it open yet?
Not yet, for any school. The line opens only after AskElira records the legal confirmation your contract promises (TCPA Scripting § 5a). Until then the Elira’s voice line card on Build Elira’s Brain says *"Elira's phone line opens after AskElira records the legal confirmation promised in the contract (TCPA Scripting § 5a). There is nothing for you to do yet."* — there is nothing to sign and no number to forward to, and families who call your office reach your office exactly as they do today. The steps below are what the card offers once it opens.
Who can turn it on
Schools in the free pilot. It is not offered to paid schools. Finish Build Elira’s Brain first — until it is done the card says Locked until Build Elira’s Brain is ready.
Turn it on
- On Build Elira’s Brain, find Elira’s voice line and type the Office number families call.
- Open Read the full amendment (the Voice Receptionist Add-On Amendment), fill in your Full name and Title, then press Read filled amendment to see it with your school's details.
- Tick I am authorized to sign for your school and I agree to sign electronically, then press Sign and set up voice line. AskElira then assigns a phone number for your school and shows it on the same card.
Forward your office number to it
Ask whoever manages your phones to forward your office number to the AskElira number, in the cases you choose:
- when nobody answers after 4 rings — set it to forward *before* your voicemail picks up, or turn voicemail off on that line;
- when the line is busy;
- after hours.
Most phone systems call these *No Answer* and *Busy* forwarding. Then call your office number, let it ring, and check that Elira answers.
What callers hear
Before Elira listens to anything, the caller hears a short notice, in this current wording when the office is closed: *"You've reached {your school}. The office is closed. I'm Elira, the school's AI assistant, operated by AskElira. By continuing, you agree to this call being transcribed and processed as described at askelira dot com slash privacy."* During office hours the notice instead says *"Our staff can't answer right now."* in place of *"The office is closed."* The providers that handle a call are not read aloud: they are listed on the privacy page at askelira.com/privacy and on the published subprocessor schedule it links. AskElira may reword the notice without dropping those elements. The full notice plays before the keypad listens. Then callers hear *"To continue, press 1."*, *"Para español, oprima 2."*, *"للعربية، اضغط 3."* Pressing 2 first plays the same notice in Spanish, then asks *"Para continuar, oprima 1."*; pressing 3 does the same in Arabic and asks *"للمتابعة، اضغط 1."* No or wrong key repeats the prompt once, then says *"Goodbye."*, *"Adiós."* or *"مع السلامة."* and hangs up. Elira listens only after the caller presses 1. Her first words are *"How can I help?"*, *"¿En qué le puedo ayudar?"* or *"كيف يمكنني مساعدتك؟"* in the chosen language. Once AskElira records the legal confirmation that lets callers go straight to Elira, the same notice plays and Elira then asks how she can help; continuing the call is the agreement, and your school may ask us to keep the key press permanently.
What she does with the call
- She never transfers a call to a person. A caller who asks for someone can leave a message.
- She answers every question your approved answers cover, even when a caller asks two things at once. Messages, and every question she could not answer, appear on AI Knowledge marked *left by phone*, with the caller's number.
- Every question she did answer is listed under Answered by phone, and in the hourly office email, for your office to confirm or correct. See Review what Elira answered on the phone.
- She does not take an email address by phone, and nothing is texted or emailed to a caller. Your office calls the family back at their number.
Minutes
The pilot includes 120 minutes a month at no cost. At 200 minutes in a month the line stops answering until the next month.
Stopping it
Any time, with no penalty: press Stop Elira answering calls on the same card, or stop forwarding your office number. Turn Elira back on restarts it without signing again.