Updated 7 August 2026
How the voice agent works, step by step.
When someone calls a restaurant that uses Iggyagent and nobody on the team can pick up, the call is diverted to an AI voice agent. The agent identifies itself as a virtual assistant — it never pretends to be a person — and asks what the caller needs. If it's a booking, it checks real availability in the restaurant's system before confirming anything: it never offers a slot that doesn't exist. If the caller wants to change or cancel a booking, it does the same. If it's asked something it can't resolve, or the conversation goes off script, it hands the call to a person at the restaurant instead of improvising. All of this happens over the phone line the restaurant already had: no new number, nothing to install on site. The outcome of the call — a booking, a message passed on, or a call left unresolved — is recorded in the restaurant's system. This page walks through that journey with the technical detail and the real limits, including what it doesn't do today.
From the incoming call to the booking noted down
The journey of a call
Conditional divert
If nobody at the restaurant answers within four rings, the operator diverts the call to Iggyagent's number. The caller doesn't notice the change: they're still dialling, and seeing, the restaurant's usual number.
The agent listens and introduces itself
A speech recognition engine converts what the caller says into text as they speak, without waiting for the sentence to finish. The agent identifies itself as a virtual assistant from the first second of the call.
It decides what to do and acts
A language model interprets the request and, when needed, uses a specific tool: checking the diary, noting a booking, transferring the call. The conversation moves through phases — identifying the request, checking availability, noting or changing the booking, resolving questions — and in each phase the agent only has that phase's tools to hand, not all of them at once.
It checks before confirming
Before treating any time as valid, the agent checks real availability in the restaurant's system. If the requested slot doesn't exist, it offers the closest one; it never invents one just to please someone.
It replies out loud
A speech synthesis engine generates the reply and plays it back sentence by sentence, so the first sentence starts sounding without waiting for the whole reply to be ready.
If something doesn't add up, it hands off
If the agent can't understand the request after a couple of tries, or the conversation goes beyond what it can resolve, it hands the call to a person at the restaurant or leaves a message — it never invents a booking without checking it.
The same journey, at a glance
Diagram of a call's flow
The edge cases are what matter
What happens when the call doesn't go as expected?
The caller asks for something the agent can't resolve
It hands the call to a person at the restaurant, or takes a message so someone can call back. It never improvises a reply or invents a solution.
There's background noise: kitchen, dining room, music
The speech recognition is built for the usual noise of a service. A stray cough or noise doesn't cut the agent off mid-sentence: it waits for something actually said before handing over the turn.
The caller speaks another language
Iggyagent speaks Spanish. If the conversation can't continue in Spanish, it's handed to a person at the restaurant, the same as with any request it can't resolve.
The caller gets angry
The agent doesn't argue or push back: it hands the call to a person instead of trying to defuse the situation on its own.
The caller wants to speak to the owner or manager
It hands the call over or takes the message, depending on how the restaurant is set up. It doesn't try to handle it on its own, and it doesn't delay the request.
From the first call to switching the divert on
How long does it take to get it running?
What we ask you for
- Your current booking system, whatever it is: no need to change it.
- Your opening hours and your closing day.
- The answers to the questions that come up most on the phone.
What we do, and when it starts
- We configure the agent with that information.
- You review some test calls together with us before anything real is switched on.
- Only then do you switch on the conditional divert with your operator — from that moment, the agent picks up the calls that today go unanswered.
With that clear, the process is measured in days, not weeks. The main thing that sets the pace is how quickly you give us your diary and your hours.
No small print
What happens with the data and the call recording?
At the start of the call, the agent identifies itself as a virtual assistant: the caller knows from the first second that they're not talking to a person.
Today, neither the text nor the full audio of the conversation is stored. What gets recorded is the outcome of the call — a booking, a message passed to a person, or a call left unresolved — in the restaurant's system.
Where that information is hosted and for how long it's kept is governed by each restaurant's service contract, not a single policy for everyone. If you're a customer of a restaurant that uses this and want to know how it handles your data, ask that business directly. If you run a restaurant and need the details for your own customers, write to us. More general context in Privacy.
The short list
What you need to have
- A phone with conditional call divert available from your operator (practically any line, landline or mobile, has it).
- Whatever system you use for bookings today: a platform, a shared spreadsheet, or a notepad by the phone.
- Half an hour to review the first test calls before switching on the real divert.
- Nothing else: no hardware to install, no new number to give your customers.
Technical questions
Frequently asked questions about how it works
What happens if the internet or the system goes down during a call?
It can happen, as with any system connected to the internet. It's something we review together with your restaurant as part of onboarding, so a call is never left with no response at all. If this worries you in particular, mention it in the form and we'll talk it through before switching anything on.
Who is responsible if the agent notes a booking incorrectly?
That's covered in the service contract with your restaurant, not on this page. The agent checks real availability before confirming anything and never invents a free slot, but like any system it can fail. If it happens, it gets corrected and we review why it happened.
How long does it take to have the agent genuinely up and running?
It depends on how quickly you give us your diary, your hours, and the answers to the most repeated questions. Once that's clear, setup is measured in days: we configure the agent, you review some test calls together with us, and only then is the real divert switched on.
What happens if I want to cancel?
There's no minimum term. You can stop using it whenever you want: just remove the call divert with your operator and your phone goes back to working exactly as before.
Is the call recorded, and who can listen to it?
At the start of the call, the agent identifies itself as a virtual assistant. Today, neither the text nor the full audio of the conversation is stored: what gets recorded is the outcome (a booking, a call passed on, or one left unresolved). Where each restaurant's data is hosted and for how long it's kept is governed by that restaurant's service contract, not a single blanket policy — you can ask the restaurant directly, or write to us if you're the one running it.
What language does the agent speak?
In Spanish. If a call can't continue in Spanish, the agent does the same thing it does with any request it can't resolve: it passes the call to a person at the restaurant.