Designing a voice your callers will talk to: lessons from AI intake

The difference between a caller hanging up and a caller finishing intake is mostly conversational design. What we’ve learned about pacing, empathy, and asking one thing at a time.

Someone calling a personal-injury firm has usually had one of the worst weeks of their life. The voice that answers sets the tone for the whole retainer. An intake agent that interrogates loses callers; one that listens finishes intakes.

What works

• One question at a time, confirmed back in the caller’s own words.
• Let the caller tell the accident as a story first; extract the fields from the story instead of forcing a form onto the conversation.
• Read phone numbers back digit by digit; never guess a date.
• Know when to stop — a caller who mentions a hospital admission needs a human follow-up flag, not three more questions.

Personality is a firm decision

Firms differ: some want warm and unhurried, others brisk and efficient. The voice, pacing, and script should be chosen the way you’d choose a receptionist — deliberately. That’s why CaseFlow ships voice personalities you can pick per firm, and custom-scripted ones on the Scale plan.