Not every business is the same. Some have no phone system at all — just a mobile. Others have a PBX they've spent years configuring. And some want AI on specific calls only, while their team handles the rest. That's why dareena.ai offers three deployment models: AI Answer, AI Director, and AI Connector. Each one fits a different starting point — and you can move between them as your needs change.
Here's how each model works, who it's for, and what the call flow looks like.
1. AI Answer — no phone system needed
This is the simplest way to get started. You sign up, get a NZ phone number, and your AI agent starts answering calls immediately. There's no PBX, no hardware, no IT involvement. The AI picks up, has a natural conversation with the caller, books appointments, logs data to your connected tools, scores urgency, and sends you a summary.
You can forward your existing mobile or landline to the new number, or use it directly. Either way, calls that would have gone to voicemail now get a proper response.
Setup takes about 60 seconds. There's nothing to install and no configuration beyond telling the AI about your business. Most customers start here — and many never need to move beyond it.
2. AI Director — AI as your front door
Some businesses want AI doing the heavy lifting on every call — not just the ones nobody picks up. AI Director puts the AI agent front and centre. It answers every call, handles routine queries from your knowledge base at lightning speed, books appointments, and triages. When a caller genuinely needs a human, the agent connects them to the right person on your PBX immediately.
Think of it as a receptionist who never takes a break, knows every answer in your FAQ, and only puts calls through when they actually need a person. The difference is that your team stops wasting time on questions the AI can handle in seconds.
The key difference from AI Answer is that the AI isn't just a safety net — it's the primary point of contact. Your team only talks to callers who actually need them. Everything else is handled, logged, and summarised automatically.
3. AI Connector — your PBX, your rules
If you've got an established phone system — a 3CX deployment, a FreeSWITCH box, something your telco set up — AI Connector lets you keep it. Your PBX stays in control of all routing. You decide exactly when and how calls go to the AI agent: overflow when things are busy, after-hours when the office is empty, a dedicated number for a specific promotion, or a particular DID for general enquiries.
From your PBX's perspective, the AI agent is just another SIP destination. It registers like any other extension or trunk endpoint. There's no rip-and-replace — you're adding a capability, not swapping out infrastructure.
Common patterns include: routing unanswered calls to AI after a 20-second timeout, sending all after-hours calls to the agent on a time-of-day rule, or pointing a dedicated DID at the AI for specific enquiry types. Your PBX handles the logic — the AI handles the conversation.
Which model is right for you?
The honest answer: it depends on where you're starting from.
- No phone system? Start with AI Answer. You'll have a working number in 60 seconds.
- Got a PBX but want AI handling the frontline? AI Director puts the agent in front, so your team only handles calls that genuinely need a person.
- Want to keep your PBX in control and add AI selectively? AI Connector lets you route specific calls to the AI without changing anything else.
The important thing is that none of these are permanent decisions. You can start with AI Answer today and move to AI Director or AI Connector later as your business grows. There's no rip-and-replace — each model works independently, and you can shift between them without starting over.
Getting started
Every model starts the same way: a 7-day free trial, no credit card required. You tell the AI about your business, configure your agent, and start taking calls. Plans start from $50/month plus GST.
The chatbot below can walk you through the setup — or answer any questions about which model fits your situation.