Kestrel Vale Council Phone Agent
Kestrel Vale Council crest: a kestrel in flight over green hills Kestrel ValeCouncil

The council phone line, answered by AI

One number for residents. An AI front door works out what the caller needs, answers common questions from council documents, logs bin and repair reports straight into the case system, and puts people through to a person whenever that's the right call.

One numberEvery enquiry starts in the same place
Voice or keypadSpeak naturally or press keys
Real casesLogged with a reference number

Demo lab · fictional council · Microsoft Teams Phone

Example call, abridged Missed bin · 1 min 10 s
  1. Front doorHello, you're through to Kestrel Vale Council. I'm an AI assistant and calls are recorded. How can I help you today?
  2. CallerMy bin wasn't emptied this week.
  3. Handed to Council Services agent
  4. Council ServicesI can log that for you. What's your postcode?
  5. CallerKV three four RS.Heard as KV3 4RS and matched to the resident's record
  6. Council ServicesWhich bin was missed: general waste, recycling or garden waste?
  7. CallerRecycling.
  8. Council ServicesThat's logged. Your reference is KV-100025. I'll say that again: KV-100025.Case created in the council's case system
  9. Council ServicesIs there anything else I can help with?
  10. CallerNo, that's everything.
The route a call takes

From dialling to done

Residents ring a normal council number. The call arrives in Microsoft Teams and meets the AI front door first, which decides where it goes next.

Step 1

A resident rings

From any phone, to the council's published number.

Step 2

Teams Phone picks up

The call reaches Microsoft Teams through the council's existing phone lines (Direct Routing).

Step 3 · Teams Phone Agent

The AI front door

Greets the caller, understands the request in their own words, and applies the council's call rules.

AI disclosure Call recording Opening hours Call time limit Spam screening
Then one of three things happens
Answers

Answers straight away

  • Council tax questions
  • General council information

Answered only from Kestrel Vale's own documents, not the wider internet.

Council Services agent

Gets the job done

  • Report a missed bin
  • Report a housing repair
  • Report an emergency repair
  • Check on an existing case

A Copilot Studio voice agent that looks up the resident and creates real cases.

People

Puts the caller through

  • Customer Services
  • Housing Repairs
  • Adult Social Care duty desk
  • Operator: press 0 at the front door

Transfers go to Teams call queues, so staff answer in the Teams client they already use.

Council Services agent

What it can handle end to end

Each service finds the resident's record by postcode, asks only what it needs, and finishes with something the caller can use: a reference, a status or a person.

Report a missed bin

"My bin wasn't collected this week."

  1. Finds the resident's record from their postcode
  2. Asks which bin was missed
    General waste 1 Recycling 2 Garden 3
  3. Confirms, then logs a case
Caller gets a reference, read out twice: KV-100025

Report a housing repair

"The kitchen tap won't stop dripping."

  1. Checks for a smell of gas before anything else
  2. Confirms the address of the property
  3. Asks whether anyone is at risk; if so, it's treated as an emergency
Caller gets a reference and a 20 working day repair target
Urgent

Report an emergency repair

"Water's coming through the ceiling."

  1. Runs the gas safety check first
  2. Logs an emergency case with the caller's own words
  3. Transfers straight to the Housing Repairs team
Caller gets a person, with the case already open

Check on a case

"I'm ringing about a repair I reported."

  1. Asks for the 6-digit reference, spoken or keyed
    100025
  2. Looks the case up and describes it in plain words
  3. If it can't be found, offers Customer Services
Caller gets the case type, when it was logged and its status

Talk to a person

"Can I speak to someone, please?"

  1. Asks whether it's Housing Repairs or Customer Services
  2. Speak the team name, or press 1 or 2
  3. Transfers the call to that team's queue
Caller gets the right team, first time
Protected

Safeguarding concerns

"I'm worried about my elderly neighbour."

  1. Recognises a concern about a vulnerable adult
  2. Doesn't try to handle it with AI
  3. Transfers straight to the Adult Social Care duty desk
Caller gets a trained member of staff
Built-in safeguards

Designed for a public service

Callers know it's AI

A spoken disclosure at the start of every call, worded by the council.

Every call is recorded

Recordings go to a council SharePoint library for quality and audit.

Safety first

Gas and safeguarding are checked before any other step, and never left to AI alone.

A person is always an option

Ask for someone at any point, or press 0 at the front door for the operator.

Grounded answers

Information questions are answered from council documents only.

Calls end politely

A maximum call length, and a clear message if it's reached.

Under the hood

Built with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform

No separate contact centre platform. Data sits in the standard Contact and Case tables, so it can move to Dynamics 365 Customer Service later without a rebuild.

Teams PhoneThe council number, via Direct Routing on the council's own SBCs
Teams Phone AgentThe AI front door: greeting, understanding, Q&A and routing
Copilot StudioThe Council Services voice agent and its conversations
Power AutomateCreates cases and looks up case status
DataverseResident contacts and cases, using the standard tables
SharePointCall recordings and the council documents behind answers

Part of Building a council phone line with Teams Phone Agent on blog.kieranlloyd.uk