Every step in Lesson 2 has been about routing calls to the right person on your team. This final step introduces another option: letting your AI agent answer inbound calls automatically. When it's on, the AI agent picks up the call, introduces itself, and handles the conversation — without your team needing to be available. This article explains what that means and how to turn it on.
Why This Matters
Your team can't be available 24 hours a day, and even during business hours there are moments when everyone is busy. An AI agent on inbound calls means no call goes unanswered — it handles the conversation, collects information, answers questions from your knowledge base, and can transfer to a human if needed. For many businesses, this is one of the highest-value features in Romulus.
What Happens When the AI Agent Answers
When a caller reaches the AI Agent block in your inbound rules, the agent picks up the call immediately. It uses the greeting you've configured, then follows the prompt and knowledge base you've set up for that agent. The caller speaks naturally — the agent listens, understands, and responds in real time.
Depending on how you've configured the agent, it can:
Answer questions using your knowledge base
Collect caller information (name, phone number, reason for calling)
Transfer the call to a human team member when needed
Handle the entire call from start to finish without human involvement
Before You Activate
The AI Agent block connects to an existing agent you've already configured in Romulus. Before activating it on inbound calls, make sure your agent has:
A prompt that defines how it should behave on calls
A knowledge base connected (if you want it to answer questions about your business)
A phone number assigned to it
If you haven't set up an agent yet, visit the Romulus Voice AI Agent Academy first — it walks you through the entire setup process.
How to Activate the AI Agent on Inbound Calls
The full step-by-step guide is here:
Add the AI Agent block to your inbound rules, select the agent to use, and connect it to the right point in your call flow — for example, as a fallback after your Ring block times out, or as the first destination for all inbound calls.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Test before going live. Make a test call to your number after activating the AI agent block. Confirm the agent picks up, introduces itself correctly, and responds as expected. Don't assume it's working without verifying.
The agent uses the prompt and knowledge base you've already set up. If the agent behaves unexpectedly on inbound calls, the issue is almost always in the prompt or the knowledge base — not in the inbound rule itself. Review those first before changing the rule.
You can use the agent as a primary or fallback destination. Some businesses route all calls to the agent first. Others use it only when no human answers. Both are valid — design the flow based on your team's availability and your callers' expectations.
Lesson 2 Complete
You've now configured everything about how your incoming calls are handled — from business hours and voice menus to call distribution, voicemail, and your AI agent. In Lesson 3, we'll cover the most common questions customers have about using the Romulus phone system.