Migrating to an AI phone system is a project involving IT, business units (sales, customer service, HR) and telecom operators. Well-structured, this project takes 2 to 6 weeks. Poorly structured, it drags on. This checklist organises the critical steps for the IT Director.
Phase 0: Audit and qualification (D-14 to D-7)
Current infrastructure audit
Map inbound and outbound call flows (volumes, peak hours, reasons)
Inventory current equipment: PBX/IPBX, SIP trunks, DDI numbers, softphones
Identify current operator contracts and their end dates
List existing integrations: CRM, helpdesk, ERP
Document current routing rules (opening hours, transfers, overflows)
Assess network quality (latency, bandwidth, QoS)
Phase 1: AI use case design (D-7 to D0)
Before any configuration, decide which flows will be automated. Not all calls are equally suited to AI.
Flow prioritisation
Identify top 5 contact reasons by volume
Classify by complexity (simple = strong AI candidate)
Define escalation criteria to human (frustration, complexity, VIP)
Write conversation scripts for each automated flow
Define success KPIs: FCR, automation rate target, CSAT
For medical use cases, see medical voice AI. For real estate: real estate agents.
Phase 2: Configuration and integrations (D0 to D+7)
Technical configuration
Configure SIP trunks to the AI platform
Integrate CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho or custom)
Import validated conversation scripts from Phase 1
Configure routing rules (hours, queues, conditions)
Set up voice (language, tone, AI agent name)
Enable transcription and conversation storage (GDPR: retention period)
Phase 3: Testing and validation (D+7 to D+12)
Pre-switchover tests
Functional tests of all automated flows
Escalation tests (call correctly switches to human in planned cases)
Load test (10, 50, 100 simultaneous calls)
Verification of data recorded in CRM
Training of human agents on dashboard and escalation mode
Validation with business on minimum 20 test calls
Phase 4: Progressive switchover (D+12 to D+21)
Go-live
Week 1: 20% of traffic on AI, intensive monitoring
Week 2: 60% of traffic, script adjustment if necessary
Week 3: 100% traffic (or according to confidence threshold reached)
Weekly review of KPIs (FCR, CSAT, escalation rate)
Documented rollback plan (return to IPBX in under 2 hours if necessary)
Common mistakes to avoid: Automating 100% of calls from day 1 (start with 40-60%), no rollback plan, neglecting agent training, ignoring network quality (QoS mandatory for voice).
For full context: AI phone system. For ROI: AI call center: ROI 2026. For comparison: AI phone system vs classic PBX. For the autonomous voice AI agent.