Define a business outcome and an explicit boundary before selecting a tool. Use this original template:
Problem: Suitable new enquiries are not consistently captured when office staff cannot answer.
Pilot scope: One branch, one phone route and agreed service categories.
Permitted actions: Identify the business, explain the assistant’s role, collect necessary enquiry details, create a review task and offer an approved human route.
Not permitted: Diagnose faults, give repair instructions, change prices, promise engineer arrival or confirm an appointment without an authoritative successful booking result.
Owner and deputy: Named people with permission to disable the workflow.
Success measure: Additional completed-job contribution, plus separately reported administrative capacity released, after operating and supervision costs.
Stop conditions: Safety failure, personal-data disclosure, unsupported commitment, unexplained record changes or loss of reliable fallback.
Budget: Setup ceiling, monthly ceiling and escalation threshold.
Decision date: A fixed review date, with an extension only for a stated evidence gap.
Add the current process as the comparator. That might be voicemail plus callbacks, not a fully staffed reception desk.
Stage exit: The owner and office manager agree what the system may do, what counts as success and who can stop it.