Custom Call-Handling Instructions for an AI Phone Assistant

Short answer: yes, you can tell an AI call screener what to say. OsmO calls these rules Instructions. You describe how the assistant should handle an incoming call in plain language: what it may tell the caller, what it should ask, or what message it should take.

What an instruction controls

An instruction changes how the assistant handles a conversation after it answers an incoming call. It can tell the assistant to:

• Say something: tell a caller you are unavailable, share an approved detail, or explain when you will call back.
• Ask something: request an order number, preferred appointment time, address, budget, or the reason for the call.
• Take a message: capture the details you need instead of leaving you with a vague missed-call notification.
• Handle a recurring situation: use one consistent response for sales calls, deliveries, clients, or family.

You do not write a phone-tree script. In the Instructions screen, you tell the assistant what you want in ordinary language. OsmO turns that into a saved rule, shows what the assistant will do, and lets you edit or delete it later.

All callers or one contact

A rule can be general or contact-specific. That distinction matters: “Ask every new lead what service they need” should apply widely; “Tell Maya I will call back after the property viewing” should not.

• All callers: use a general rule when the same behaviour is useful across incoming calls.
• One or more contacts: type @ and choose the person from your contacts. The saved rule is tied to the selected phone number.

OsmO checks contact-specific rules against the incoming number before passing them to the call assistant. A rule for one person is not sent as a matching rule for an unrelated caller. If someone calls from a number you did not tag, that contact-specific instruction may not apply.

Useful instructions for people who work for themselves

Instructions are most useful when they remove one small decision you make repeatedly. For the people OsmO is built around, that can look like:

• Consultants: “Ask a new prospect what outcome they need, their timeline, and how they heard about me.”
• Real-estate agents: “For a listing enquiry, ask which property they mean and when they want to view it.”
• Tradespeople: “Ask for the postcode, the type of repair, and whether it is urgent.”
• Creators: “For partnership calls, ask for the brand, campaign dates, deliverables, and budget range.”
• Owner-operators: “If it is a promotional loan or credit-card call, politely say I am not interested.”
• Family: “If my parent calls, say I saw the call and will ring back, then take a short message.”

These are examples, not fixed templates. The useful rule is the one that matches how you actually handle calls.

Temporary rules and expiry

Some call instructions should not live forever. You might be waiting for a contractor this afternoon, taking enquiries for an event this week, or unavailable until a trip ends. OsmO instructions can carry an expiry time so the rule stops being active after the relevant window.

Expired instructions remain visible in a separate list instead of silently continuing to affect calls. A rule without an expiry remains active until you delete it or replace it with a different rule.

Instructions versus Knowledge

Instructions and Knowledge solve different parts of the same call.

• Instructions say how to behave: ask this question, share this approved detail, or take this kind of message.
• Knowledge supplies facts: your hours, services, prices, policies, or other information the assistant may need to answer a caller.

A useful combination might be: the instruction says “Ask which service the caller needs and offer the next step,” while Knowledge contains the service descriptions and hours.

What instructions cannot do

Instructions guide a spoken incoming-call conversation. They do not give the assistant unlimited authority. In the current product, an instruction cannot itself block a number, reject a call at the network level, or forward the call somewhere else. It can tell a caller you are not interested, ask questions, share information you approved, and take a message.

Avoid putting passwords, payment-card details, government identifiers, medical records, or other sensitive secrets into a reusable call rule. If a conversation needs identity verification, money movement, legal judgment, or medical judgment, handle that part yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Can I tell an AI call screener what to say?

Yes. In OsmO, you create an Instruction in plain language. It can tell the assistant what to say, what questions to ask, what approved information to share, or what message to take.

Can a rule apply to just one person?

Yes. Tag the contact with @ while creating the rule. OsmO binds the instruction to the selected phone number so it does not become a general rule for unrelated callers.

Can a rule apply to everyone?

Yes. Choose a general instruction for behaviour that should apply to all incoming callers.

Can a call instruction expire?

Yes. A saved instruction can have an expiry time. Once it expires, it is excluded from the active incoming-call instructions and shown in the Expired list.

Does OsmO suggest instructions?

It can show suggestions in the Instructions screen. You choose whether to add or dismiss each one; a suggestion is not an active rule until you accept and save it.

Are Instructions the same as Knowledge?

No. Instructions tell the assistant how to handle a situation. Knowledge gives it factual information it can use when answering callers.

The bottom line

A generic call screener asks every caller the same thing. Instructions let your assistant handle your recurring situations your way — with a broad rule for everyone, a safely scoped rule for one contact, or a temporary rule that expires when the moment passes.