How VoIP works
The FCC describes VoIP as converting your voice into a digital signal that travels over the internet. A VoIP provider connects those calls to the regular phone network, so customers can reach your number from any phone. You can use an app, a VoIP desk phone, or a traditional phone with an adapter.
For businesses, the advantages are flexibility and features: the same number rings on a laptop at home and a phone in the shop, and routing rules are set in a web dashboard. The trade-offs are dependence on internet quality and power, and emergency calling details that you need to keep current with your provider.
Example: a contractor on a cloud phone system
A general contractor runs RingCentral on his crew leads’ phones. When everyone is on a site, the system’s answering rules send unanswered calls to his AI receptionist, which takes remodel inquiries and books site visits. No new hardware was needed; it’s one forwarding rule in the dashboard. This scenario is illustrative.
VoIP and InsertChat
InsertChat answers calls in the cloud, so you don’t need any phone hardware for the AI receptionist. If you already use a VoIP provider, forward calls from its dashboard; our RingCentral forwarding guide walks through those steps, and the other providers guide covers the rest.
You can also use an InsertChat number directly. Every call lands in the shared inbox with a transcript and summary, next to the customer’s chats and texts. See the contractor setup.
