AI Phone Agent in Your Restaurant's Brand Voice

TLDR: Yes. Otto is configured in each venue's own brand voice during onboarding. A casual neighbourhood takeaway and a fine dining restaurant will have very different-sounding Ottos. The configuration is based on how the venue already speaks to its customers, not a generic corporate template. You hear it before it goes live.

The generic robotic phone agent experience is real, and it is the reason the concern about AI sounding like a call centre is so common. The products that created that association were menu-based IVR systems: press 1 for orders, press 2 for bookings, hold while we process your request. These systems had nothing to do with the venue's character.

Otto is a different category of technology. It has a natural conversation with the caller in a voice and style that reflects your venue. This article explains what brand voice customisation actually means in practice.

What Does Brand Voice Mean for an AI Phone Agent?

Brand voice for an AI phone agent is the combination of tone, language style, greeting, and conversational character that the agent uses when talking to callers.

A warm and casual cafe in a Melbourne suburb might want Otto to sound like a friendly local, using informal language, a relaxed greeting, and a conversational style that feels like talking to someone who knows the neighbourhood. A higher-end restaurant might want something more measured, professional, and unhurried. A busy pizza shop might want Otto to be efficient and clear, matching the pace customers expect from a quick-service venue.

None of these is the default. All of them are the result of configuration. The key is that the configuration is based on how you already speak to your customers, which you already know, and which you communicate to the Otto team during onboarding.

How Does the Configuration Actually Work?

During onboarding, the Otto team asks you to describe how you want Otto to sound. This does not require any technical input. You describe your venue's character: how formal or casual it is, how you greet customers when they walk in, how your staff typically open a phone call, and what kind of personality your venue has.

You can share examples if that is easier. How does your best staff member open a phone call? What phrases feel right for your venue and which ones feel wrong? What does your venue's social media sound like? These reference points help the team understand your brand voice and build it into the agent.

The team then configures Otto based on that description and lets you call it to hear how it sounds before anything goes live. If it does not sound right, you tell them what needs to change and they adjust it. You do not go live until you are satisfied with how it sounds.

What Did Real Venues Say About This?

Marco at Itali.co Sorrento was specific about wanting Otto to feel like his venue, not a generic automated system:

"I was a little bit concerned with AI to start with, but once I flicked the switch, I was seriously taken back." - Marco, Owner, Itali.co Sorrento

The result at Itali.co was an Otto that handled the character of a 260-seat Italian restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula, not a generic call centre voice. That character is the difference between customers feeling looked after and customers feeling processed.

Read the full Itali.co case study at callotto.ai/case-study/italico.

You can also hear how Otto sounds on a real call at callotto.ai/hear-otto before starting the trial.

What Can Be Customised and What Cannot?

What can be customised: the greeting, the tone of the conversation, the language style, how the agent refers to the venue and its team, how it handles different types of interactions, and how it closes a call.

What is fixed: the underlying conversational AI model, the fact that it takes orders and handles calls competently, and the core functional behaviour. The brand voice sits on top of a well-functioning foundation. You are customising the character, not the capability.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an AI phone agent be configured to use a warm and casual tone rather than a corporate one?

Yes. Otto is configured in each venue's own brand voice during onboarding. The tone, language style, greeting, and conversational character are all shaped by how the venue describes itself and how it already speaks to customers. A warm and casual venue gets a warm and casual Otto.

What information does a venue need to provide for brand voice configuration?

You describe your venue's character during onboarding: how formal or casual it is, how staff typically greet callers, what phrases feel right for your brand, and what kind of personality you want the agent to have. The Otto team uses this to configure the voice and you test it before going live.

Can I hear what Otto sounds like before it goes live on my real phone number?

Yes. You receive a test number during the trial so you can call Otto and hear exactly how it sounds on your specific menu and in your configured voice before it is connected to your existing phone number. You can also hear a real call at callotto.ai/hear-otto.

Does every restaurant using Otto sound the same?

No. Each Otto is configured specifically for its venue. A pizza shop in Brisbane and a fine dining restaurant in Sydney using Otto will sound entirely different from each other because each is configured to match its own venue's character.

Can the brand voice configuration be updated after going live?

Yes. If your venue's character evolves or you want to adjust the tone after going live, contact the Otto team with what you want to change. They update the configuration and confirm the result.

Key Takeaways

Brand voice customisation is fully possible with Otto. The agent is configured during onboarding to sound like your specific venue, and you confirm it sounds right before it takes a single real call.

• Otto is configured in each venue's own brand voice: tone, language style, greeting, and conversational character
• The configuration is based on how the venue already speaks to customers, communicated to the Otto team in plain language
• You test the voice by calling the trial agent before going live
• Itali.co Sorrento's Otto sounds nothing like a pizza shop Otto because each is configured for its specific venue
• What is customised is the character. The underlying capability is consistent and well-functioning.
• Hear a real Otto call at callotto.ai/hear-otto and start the trial at callotto.ai/start-free-trial

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels