When I first started thinking seriously about building Switchly.ai, I had one unfair advantage: my fiancé was working as a receptionist when we met.

So while most people picture “a receptionist” as someone who answers phones and books appointments, I got to see (and hear about) the real job behind the job: the constant stream of edge cases, policy questions, awkward callers, scheduling conflicts, and split-second decisions that keep a business running smoothly.

When most people think about AI in business, they think about chat. Pop-ups. Website widgets. “Ask our bot anything.”

But if you’ve ever actually run a small business (or tried to book anything in the real world), you know the truth: the phone still runs everything.

You call a barbershop. You call a salon. You call your doctor. You call an auto shop. You call a restaurant to ask if they have space. Even businesses with online booking still get flooded with calls—because customers want answers now, in plain language, without clicking through a dozen screens.