Voice assistant

# Voice Personal Assistant / AI Receptionist — Developer Outline ## 1. Project Goal Build a high-quality voice-based personal assistant that the user can speak to by phone. The assistant should handle scheduling, rescheduling, cancellations, email drafting, task creation, and basic personal assistant workflows. The assistant should feel natural, professional, and conversational — not like a phone tree. Primary use case: The user calls or speaks to the assistant and says things like: * “Schedule a meeting with John next Tuesday afternoon.” * “Move my 2:00 appointment to Friday morning.” * “Cancel my dentist appointment.” * “Write an email to Sarah confirming our meeting.” * “Create a task to call the contractor tomorrow.” * “What’s on my calendar today?” ## 2. Recommended Technology Stack ### Voice / Conversational AI Preferred options: 1. ElevenLabs Conversational AI 2. OpenAI Realtime API 3. Vapi 4. Retell AI 5. Bland AI ElevenLabs is preferred for high-quality voice and phone-based conversational agents. ElevenLabs supports Twilio phone integration for inbound and outbound calls. ### Phone System Use Twilio for: * Inbound phone calls * Outbound calls * SMS confirmations * Call forwarding * Call recording, if enabled * Phone number management ### Calendar Integrations Support: * Google Calendar * Outlook / Microsoft 365 Calendar * Optional future calendars: Apple Calendar, Cal.com, Calendly Google Calendar API can create and modify calendar events through its events API. Microsoft Graph supports Outlook calendar, mail, and contact data in Microsoft 365 accounts. ### Email Integrations Support: * Gmail * Outlook / Microsoft 365 Mail Microsoft Graph supports Outlook mail access and sending mail through Microsoft 365 accounts. ### Task Integrations Support at least one at MVP: * Microsoft To Do * Google Tasks * Todoist * ClickUp * Asana * Notion * Internal task database ## 3. Core Features ### A. Voice Scheduling The assistant must be able to: * Check calendar availability * Suggest available times * Book appointments * Add attendees * Add title, location, description, meeting link, and reminders * Detect scheduling conflicts * Ask follow-up questions when information is missing * Confirm before creating the event Example: User: “Schedule a meeting with David next week.” Assistant: “What day works best, or would you like me to find the first available opening?” User: “Tuesday afternoon.” Assistant: “You are available Tuesday at 2:00 or 3:30. Which do you prefer?” User: “2:00.” Assistant: “I can schedule David for Tuesday at 2:00 PM. Should I send the calendar invite?” ### B. Rescheduling The assistant must be able to: * Search upcoming events * Identify the correct appointment * Check new availability * Move the appointment * Notify attendees if approved * Update the calendar record User confirmation should be required before final update. ### C. Cancellation The assistant must be able to: * Find the correct event * Confirm cancellation * Ask whether attendees should be notified * Remove or mark the event as canceled ### D. Email Drafting The assistant must be able to: * Draft emails from voice instructions * Read the draft back or summarize it * Ask for approval before sending * Allow edits before sending * Save as draft if user does not approve Important rule: The assistant should never send an email without clear user approval. Example: User: “Write an email to Chad thanking him for meeting and attach the renderings.” Assistant: “I drafted the email. Would you like me to read it back?” User: “Yes.” Assistant reads draft. User: “Send it.” Assistant sends email. ### E. Task Creation The assistant must be able to: * Create tasks from voice * Assign due dates * Add priority * Add notes * Add reminders * Place tasks into categories or projects Example: User: “Remind me to call the plumber tomorrow morning.” Assistant: “I’ll create a task to call the plumber tomorrow at 9:00 AM. Confirm?” ### F. Daily Briefing Optional but valuable: * “What is on my calendar today?” * “What are my open tasks?” * “Read me my top priorities.” * “Do I have any conflicts today?” * “What emails need follow-up?” ## 4. User Permission and Approval Rules The system should require approval for sensitive actions. ### Always require confirmation before: * Sending an email * Canceling an appointment * Rescheduling an appointment * Inviting attendees * Sending SMS messages * Deleting tasks * Making outbound calls * Sharing calendar availability externally ### Can be automatic after setup: * Creating personal-only reminders * Reading calendar availability * Creating draft emails * Creating draft tasks * Summarizing the day ## 5. Conversation Design The assistant should follow this pattern: 1. Understand user intent 2. Gather missing details 3. Check calendar/task/email system 4. Propose action 5. Ask for confirmation 6. Execute action 7. Provide final confirmation Tone: * Professional * Warm * Efficient * Natural * Not robotic * No long explanations unless asked ## 6. System Architecture ### Main Components 1. Phone Interface * Twilio phone number * Inbound and outbound call routing * SMS support 2. Voice Agent * ElevenLabs, OpenAI Realtime, Vapi, or Retell * Speech-to-text * Language understanding * Text-to-speech 3. Backend Server * Node.js, Python, or similar * Handles business logic * Manages calendar/email/task APIs * Stores user preferences * Handles authentication 4. Calendar Connector * Google Calendar API * Microsoft Graph Calendar API 5. Email Connector * Gmail API * Microsoft Graph Mail API 6. Task Connector * Microsoft To Do, Google Tasks, Todoist, or internal task system 7. Database * PostgreSQL, Supabase, Firebase, or similar * Stores users, preferences, permissions, logs, tokens, and task metadata 8. Admin Dashboard * User preferences * Connected accounts * Call logs * Draft approvals * Agent settings * Failed action review ## 7. Required Integrations ### Calendar The system should support: * OAuth login * Read calendar events * Create events * Update events * Delete/cancel events * Check availability * Add attendees * Send calendar invites * Support time zones ### Email The system should support: * OAuth login * Create draft email * Read draft back to user * Send email only after approval * Search contacts * Optional attachment support ### Tasks The system should support: * Create task * Update task * Complete task * Set due date * Set reminder * Add notes * Categorize by project ### Contacts The system should ideally support: * Search contacts by name * Match phone numbers and emails * Ask user to clarify duplicate names * Store frequently used contacts ## 8. Security Requirements Developer must implement: * OAuth 2.0 for Google and Microsoft * Encrypted token storage * User authentication * Role-based permissions * Activity logging * Approval logs for sent emails and canceled meetings * Secure webhook endpoints * No plain-text storage of passwords * Ability to disconnect accounts * Ability to delete user data ## 9. MVP Version The first version should focus on: 1. Phone call access through Twilio 2. High-quality voice agent 3. Google Calendar integration 4. Outlook Calendar integration 5. Schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments 6. Email drafting 7. User approval before sending emails 8. Basic task creation 9. SMS or verbal confirmations 10. Simple admin dashboard ## 10. Full Version Later versions can add: * Gmail and Outlook full email support * Contact lookup * CRM integration * Multiple users * Business receptionist mode * Client appointment intake * Payment reminders * Follow-up emails * Meeting summaries * Call recording and transcription * Daily briefings * Smart reminders * Multi-calendar conflict checking * Mobile app * Web dashboard * Voice authentication * Custom personality settings ## 11. Example User Workflows ### Workflow 1: Schedule Appointment User says: “Schedule a meeting with Mike next Wednesday afternoon.” Assistant: 1. Identifies intent as scheduling 2. Searches contacts for Mike 3. Checks calendar availability 4. Suggests available times 5. Confirms selected time 6. Creates calendar event 7. Sends invite if approved 8. Confirms completion ### Workflow 2: Reschedule Appointment User says: “Move my meeting with Sarah to Friday morning.” Assistant: 1. Finds current meeting with Sarah 2. Checks Friday morning availability 3. Offers available times 4. Confirms change 5. Updates calendar 6. Notifies Sarah if approved ### Workflow 3: Cancel Appointment User says: “Cancel my 3:00 appointment today.” Assistant: 1. Finds 3:00 appointment 2. Reads event title back 3. Asks for confirmation 4. Cancels event 5. Sends cancellation notice if approved ### Workflow 4: Draft Email User says: “Write an email to Darren asking if his team has had a chance to review the proposal.” Assistant: 1. Drafts professional email 2. Reads or summarizes draft 3. Asks if user wants edits 4. Sends only after user says yes ### Workflow 5: Create Task User says: “Create a task to follow up with Bill and Nancy on Friday.” Assistant: 1. Creates task title 2. Adds due date 3. Adds reminder if requested 4. Confirms task was created ## 12. Developer Notes The system should be designed around safe tool use. The voice agent should not directly perform calendar, email, or task actions without backend validation. Instead, the agent should call backend functions such as: * checkAvailability() * createCalendarEvent() * updateCalendarEvent() * cancelCalendarEvent() * draftEmail() * sendEmailAfterApproval() * createTask() * updateTask() * searchContacts() Each function should return structured results to the agent. ## 13. Suggested Backend Functions ### Calendar Functions * getCalendarEvents(dateRange) * checkAvailability(dateRange, duration) * createEvent(title, startTime, endTime, attendees, location, notes) * updateEvent(eventId, updatedFields) * cancelEvent(eventId, notifyAttendees) * findEventByPersonOrTime(person, dateRange) ### Email Functions * createEmailDraft(to, subject, body) * readEmailDraft(draftId) * reviseEmailDraft(draftId, instructions) * sendApprovedEmail(draftId) * findContactEmail(name) ### Task Functions * createTask(title, dueDate, priority, notes) * updateTask(taskId, fields) * completeTask(taskId) * listTasks(dateRange) * findTask(query) ### Contact Functions * searchContacts(name) * getContactDetails(contactId) * createContact(name, email, phone) ## 14. User Settings The user should be able to configure: * Preferred calendar * Work hours * Appointment buffer time * Default meeting length * Preferred meeting locations * Default email tone * Default task app * Time zone * Approval rules * Contacts * VIP contacts * Do-not-disturb hours ## 15. Error Handling The assistant should handle: * Duplicate contact names * Calendar conflicts * Missing email addresses * Ambiguous dates * API failures * Expired login tokens * Poor call audio * User changes mid-conversation * Time zone confusion Example: “I found two people named Mike. Do you mean Mike Johnson or Mike Reynolds?” ## 16. Privacy and Logging The system should keep logs of: * Calls * Transcripts * Calendar changes * Email drafts * Sent emails * Canceled meetings * Tasks created * User approvals The user should be able to delete logs. ## 17. Success Criteria The project is successful when the user can call the assistant and reliably: * Schedule calendar appointments * Reschedule calendar appointments * Cancel calendar appointments * Draft emails * Approve and send emails * Create tasks * Receive clear confirmation of completed actions ## 18. Recommended MVP Build Order 1. Set up Twilio phone number 2. Connect voice agent platform 3. Build backend API 4. Add Google Calendar integration 5. Add Outlook Calendar integration 6. Add scheduling workflow 7. Add rescheduling workflow 8. Add cancellation workflow 9. Add email draft workflow 10. Add approval-before-send workflow 11. Add task creation workflow 12. Add admin dashboard 13. Add logging and security 14. Test with real phone calls 15. Refine voice prompts and conversation flow ## 19. Final Product Description This product should function as a personal AI assistant reachable by phone. It should allow the user to manage their calendar, email, and tasks naturally through voice while protecting the user with confirmation steps before sensitive actions are taken. The goal is to create a premium, reliable, voice-first personal assistant that feels like speaking to a highly capable human receptionist.