RingCentral AI receptionist adds Shopify, Calendly, WhatsApp

RingCentral has expanded its AI Receptionist, AIR, with integrations for Shopify, Calendly and WhatsApp so the virtual attendant can handle order inquiries, book appointments and respond to inbound WhatsApp messages. AIR will also operate in shared SMS inboxes and join call queues to answer texts and step in when phone lines are busy or staff are not available.

The company said the update moves AIR beyond basic call answering toward routine customer service tasks for small and mid-sized businesses. RingCentral reported that more than 11,800 organizations now use AIR, with deployments in healthcare, financial services, legal, hospitality and construction.

AIR is available as a standalone product starting at $49 per month and includes 100 minutes. Existing RingEX customers can add AIR starting at $39 per month, also with 100 minutes included.

Keller Interiors, which performs installations for Lowe’s Home Improvement, deployed AIR across 33 locations to solve a complex call-routing problem without building a central call center. Beth Owens, chief of staff at Keller Interiors, credited the system with cutting average waiting times from 12 minutes to about 90 seconds and boosting customer satisfaction scores by three points over four months. “RingCentral AIR solved a problem we didn’t have a good human answer for, how do you route every inbound call correctly, 24/7, across 33 locations, without building a call centre?” Owens said.

Maple Federal Credit Union reported similar gains. Tara Breaux, the credit union’s vice president of operations, reported that branch hold times fell by 90%, allowing staff to focus on higher-value conversations and reducing strain on employees.

The Shopify integration is built to let AIR answer common order and support questions over the phone. The Calendly connection lets AIR schedule appointments directly using a customer’s Calendly availability. The WhatsApp integration enables the receptionist to reply to inbound messages in the messaging app. RingCentral also added automatic language detection so AIR can recognize a caller’s language and continue the interaction in that language; the system supports 10 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese.

Michelle Morgan, research manager for AI-enabled sales, customer service and contact center strategies at IDC, called the expansion an example of applied AI tied to specific operational needs. Joe Fahrner, RingCentral’s vice president of growth for AI products, described AIR as becoming a “digital employee” for small and mid-market businesses.

RingCentral said the update is aimed at organizations that handle frequent inbound inquiries and want to extend front-desk coverage and after-hours support without adding headcount or complex infrastructure.