The first job Charleston businesses give AI: answering the phone
What’s the one thing every busy business misses? The phone call that comes in while everyone is with a customer.
That’s where AI is showing up first around Charleston. Not in some big strategy deck. On the phone line.
Three local examples
Katsubō Chicken & Ramen in Park Circle answers calls with an AI attendant named Kat. It handles takeout, reservations, hours and even job questions. The owners liked it enough to start selling it to other restaurants as Noodl.
MUSC Health runs an AI agent named Emily on its patient lines. SoundHound, the company behind it, reports 2.2 million interactions a year. Emily confirms appointments, answers billing questions and now handles pharmacy refills.
Mount Pleasant uses Sawyer, built by Charleston company Citibot. Residents can report a pothole or check trash pickup by web, text or phone, in more than 70 languages.
Why the phone comes first
The questions are repetitive. Hours, directions, “do you take reservations.” Your staff answers them fifty times a week.
It’s also easy to measure. You know how many calls you miss today. You’ll know how many you miss next month.
Try it this week
Before you buy anything, write down the 20 questions your phone gets most. Then paste them into ChatGPT or Claude and ask for short, accurate answers plus a list of calls that should always go to a person.
That list is the script any AI phone tool will need. Doing it yourself costs nothing and shows you fast whether this is worth it for your business.
Published by Charleston AI Playbook.
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