An AI receptionist for your tax office, in English and Spanish
XyloDocs answers your office’s phone in English or Spanish, books appointments into your real calendar, takes messages and texts clients the links they need, then leaves a plain summary of every call for your team.
It is part of the XyloDocs client communication platform, next to texts, WhatsApp, the client portal and document intake.
What is an AI receptionist?
Software that answers your business phone in your office’s name, at any hour. It understands what the caller needs, answers common questions, books appointments, takes messages and transfers calls, then tells your team what happened. A tax office also needs it to check who is calling before sharing anything about a return, and to speak your clients’ language: ours answers in English or Spanish.
One evening in tax season
Nobody picked up. Nothing was missed.
An illustration with made-up names: what happens to the calls that come in after you lock up.
- 9:04 PM
María calls the office. Everyone has gone home.
- 9:04 PM
The receptionist answers. She started in Spanish, so the whole call stays in Spanish.
- 9:05 PM
She asks for an appointment this week. It offers Thursday at 10, an open slot on the office calendar.
- 9:05 PM
Booked. The confirmation is texted to her phone before she hangs up.
- 9:31 PM
José calls about an IRS letter. The notice number and date are taken down, the call is marked urgent, and he is offered the soonest appointment.
- 7:58 AM
You open the Calls page: a short summary of each call, José’s in red.
Choosing
AI receptionist, answering service or a front-desk hire?
Three ways to make sure a tax office’s phone gets answered, and where each one fits.
| Question | XyloDocs AI receptionist | Live answering service | Front-desk hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers after hours and on weekends | Yes:Yes, every call | Partly:Usually, depending on the plan | No:Only during their shift |
| Speaks English and Spanish | Yes:Yes, picked from the caller’s first words | Partly:Depends on the service | Partly:Only if you hire bilingual staff |
| Books into your calendar | Yes:Yes, real open slots, confirmation texted | Partly:Often takes a message for you to call back | Yes:Yes |
| Answers “where is my return?” | Yes:After a texted code and date of birth | No:Rarely, no access to your client files | Yes:Yes |
| Tells your team what happened | Yes:A summary of every call, urgent ones in red | Partly:Messages by email or text | Partly:Whatever gets written down |
| Cost model | Part of the XyloDocs platform; plans and call rates on the pricing page | Monthly plan plus per-minute or per-call fees | A salary, even in the quiet months |
Many offices combine them: the AI takes nights, weekends and overflow, and calls that need a person are transferred to your team during office hours.
For callers
What a caller can do without waiting for a person
Many calls to a tax office are the same few questions. The receptionist handles them whenever the phone rings, after hours included.
Ask a question
Hours, address, prices, what to bring. Answers come from your office’s own FAQ, so callers hear what you would tell them.
Book an appointment
The receptionist offers real open slots on your office calendar, books the one the caller picks and texts a confirmation.
Check, move or cancel an appointment
After an identity check, existing clients can confirm when they are coming, move to another open slot or cancel.
Ask where things stand
Return status, missing documents, payments received and documents waiting for signature, after the caller passes the identity check.
Get the right link by text
Upload link, payment link, signature link or booking link, texted to the caller while they are still on the phone.
Before it shares anything about a client, the receptionist texts a code to the number that is calling and asks for the client’s date of birth, with the same number of tries and the same lockout as our text assistant. It never reads a document aloud and never states a balance due.
When it needs your team
Calls that need a person still reach one
Some calls should land on a desk. The receptionist takes down what matters and gets it to the right person.
Messages
Who called, why, and who they want to reach. If the caller is upset, the message is marked urgent.
Transfers
To the office line or a named person from your staff directory, with hold music. If nobody picks up, the transfer becomes a message.
IRS letters
The notice number, the date and what the letter says are taken down, marked urgent, and the caller is offered the soonest appointment.
New clients
Intake by phone: name, what they need filed, ITIN or SSN, and which documents they have. The client is created in your portal.
WhatsApp
Callers who would rather type can continue the conversation on WhatsApp.
For your office
Every call on one page
Nobody has to listen to a recording to find out what happened. The Calls page shows each call in a few plain lines, and the ones that need someone stand out.
- A plain summary of every call: who called, what they wanted, what happened
- A follow-up badge on calls that still need someone
- Urgent items in red, such as IRS letters and priority messages
- Staff notified in the app and by web push
- A 30-day view of call outcomes
Wanted to move tomorrow’s appointment. Moved to the next open slot; confirmation texted.
Notice number, date and what the letter says taken down. Offered the soonest appointment.
English and Spanish
Callers speak the language they want
Three ways to choose
Press 1 or 2, say “English” or “español”, or just start talking. The language is detected from the first words and kept for the whole call.
Greets clients by name
When the calling number is already on file, the receptionist greets the client by name.
Reminder calls
The day before every appointment, the client gets a call in their language: “Press 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel, 3 to reschedule.” The answer is applied and your office sees it.
Serving Spanish-speaking clients across texts and WhatsApp too? See XyloDocs for bilingual tax firms.
The awkward calls
After hours, spam and callers who want a person
After hours
It knows your office hours and time zone. After hours it tells callers when you reopen, offers no transfer, and marks messages for the morning.
Robocalls and spam
Numbers on your blocked list are hung up on at once, and calls that sound like a recorded message are ended.
“Let me talk to a person”
When a caller is frustrated or asks for a person, the receptionist offers a transfer or a priority message instead of pushing on.
Your office decides what it does
Every feature on this page has its own on/off switch for your office, in Settings > Services > Phone receptionist. Only the office owner can change them, so booking, transfers, status answers or reminder calls run only if you want them to.
Set up in the same place
- Office hours and time zone
- Transfer number
- Staff directory for transfers by name
- Blocked numbers
Frequently asked questions
What can callers do without talking to a person?
They can ask common questions, book, move or cancel appointments, and check on their return, missing documents, payments received and documents waiting for signature. The receptionist also texts upload, payment, signature and booking links during the call.
Is an AI receptionist the same as a virtual receptionist or an answering service?
A virtual receptionist or answering service traditionally means live agents in a call center answering for many businesses. An AI receptionist is software that answers every call itself, around the clock, and can book appointments and check client details for you; a tax office can use either, and many offices start by sending only after-hours and overflow calls to the AI.
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a tax office?
The XyloDocs receptionist is part of the client communication platform: a monthly platform plan plus pay-as-you-go usage. Current plans and per-minute call rates are on our pricing page.
How does the receptionist choose English or Spanish?
Callers can press 1 or 2, say “English” or “español”, or simply start talking, and the language is detected from their first words. The receptionist keeps that language for the whole call.
How does it know it is talking to my client before sharing anything?
It texts a code to the number that is calling and asks for the client’s date of birth, with the same number of tries and the same lockout as our text assistant. It never reads a document aloud and never states a balance due.
What happens when someone calls after hours?
The receptionist knows your office hours and time zone, tells the caller when the office reopens, and does not try to transfer. Messages left after hours are marked for the morning.
Can a caller still reach a person?
Yes. Callers can ask for a person at any time and are transferred to the office line or a named staff member, and if nobody answers the transfer becomes a message.
Can we turn parts of the receptionist off?
Yes. Every feature has its own on/off switch for your office in Settings > Services > Phone receptionist, and only the office owner can change them.
Which AI answers the calls?
The receptionist runs on Claude, the AI model made by Anthropic, and uses third-party voice services for speech. The private AI we describe for document intake applies to documents, not to phone calls.
Talk to us about your phones
Tell us how your office handles the phone today. We will walk you through the receptionist and the Calls page, and show which switches fit your office.
Talk to us