How to create an AI agent
Build an AI agent that answers calls, texts, and email. Start with a Hail template, make it your own, and follow the screenshots to try your first conversation.
After-hours AI agent setup
Take clear messages when the team is away and reserve handover for the situations you define.
What does the after hours template do?
Take clear messages when the team is away and reserve handover for the situations you define. Start with the premade After hours template in the Hail console. The same agent can answer calls, texts, and email when you turn on those channels.
The template starts with a greeting and instructions you can edit as you go.
Make the agent familiar with your business
- Hours. Approved opening hours and the business timezone.
- Urgency. What counts as urgent for your team.
- Fallback. An on-call contact and a message-taking path when nobody answers.
Set up the after hours agent
Open Agents, then New agent (or Create agent when the list is empty). Select After hours. Use the console walkthrough with screenshots for each step.
- Give the agent a name your team will recognize.
- Review the starter greeting and add your business facts to Instructions.
- Choose any Hand over contacts and write when to call each person.
- Review Tools, call limits, language, and recording. Keep the message that tells callers they are speaking with AI.
- Turn on Calls, Texts, and Email for the channels you want.
- Add a number for your chosen channels. Its labels show what your agent will answer.
- Select Create agent. For email, choose this agent under Agent replies in Email domains.
- Try a call, text, or email. The visual guide shows the email reply settings.
Calls and texts use your prepaid balance. See usage prices. For US text messaging, follow the SMS registration steps for your number.
Instructions for your after hours agent
Use this example as a starting point. Replace the capitalized text with your business details.
Take after-hours messages for BUSINESS NAME. Ask for the caller’s name, callback number, and reason. Ask one question at a time. Ask whether the message is urgent and read the details back. Share APPROVED OPENING HOURS only. Do not promise a reply time. Call the person you chose for handover only when the note covers the situation. If nobody answers, take a message. For immediate danger, tell the caller to contact local emergency services.
Use a dedicated after-hours number or your phone provider’s forwarding schedule to choose when calls reach this agent. The template handles the conversation. Your provider controls the schedule. Try a call during open and closed hours. Give your handover contact a separate number so calls reach your team.
Test the after hours workflow
| Test | Expected result |
|---|---|
| A caller asks when the team returns | Use the approved hours and timezone. |
| A routine inquiry arrives at night | Take a message without waking the on-call person. |
| An urgent issue matches the contact note | Try the configured handover contact. |
| The on-call person does not answer | Return to message capture without promising a callback time. |
Open Activity to read each practice conversation. Adjust the instructions, try again, and share the number when you like the results.
Add context and human handover
Give callers a way to reach someone on your team. Add that person under Hand over and describe when to call them. Hail can send the caller’s number and reason by text and email while your teammate’s phone rings. Alert delivery times vary. The handover guide covers alert setup and unanswered calls.
You can also help callers pick up where they left off. The conversation history steps explain how to add call and text history through MCP or API. This is an optional addition to the console template.
Optional MCP, email, and API workflows
When you want to manage your agent through chat, connect Hail MCP to your AI assistant. Ask it to find your existing agent and help you update the instructions. You can also ask it to connect your Hail-mail address to this agent for email replies. The email setup steps explain who gets a reply.
For work inside your own software, your developer can use the API. Webhooks send updates when something happens, such as a completed call. Use these updates to add a follow-up task to your customer records or send a booking request to your calendar.
Read the After-hours answering service guide for the wider workflow and product choices.