Hi there! So imagine this:
It's Friday night. Someone in a hurry dials your taxi company, hoping to get picked up quickly. The phone rings and rings. No one answers. Or worse, the caller is put on hold for three, four, maybe even five minutes. The customer, frustrated, hangs up and calls another taxi company instead.
And just like that, you've lost a ride—and probably a loyal customer.
Now picture this instead: every time someone calls your business, they are instantly greeted by a friendly voice that helps them book a ride, check where their driver is, or get quick answers to their questions. That's what we're going to build today. You'll create your very own AI-powered taxi call answering service, powered by your virtual taxi assistant.
You won't need to write a single line of code. We'll use Voiceflow, a user-friendly tool that lets you build conversational AI agents with a simple drag-and-drop interface. With it, you'll be able to handle real calls, automate bookings, update customers on their ETAs, and answer frequently asked questions, all available to your customers 24/7.
Let's get started and build something great.
Your virtual taxi assistant will be able to:
- Greet callers with a warm, branded message
- Understand what the caller is asking for, like booking a ride or getting an ETA
- Collect ride details and confirm bookings
- Connect directly to your dispatch software using an API
- Answer common questions about pricing, service hours, and coverage areas
- Transfer the call to a human when needed
- Stay available at all hours without needing breaks or time off
Everything is powered through Voiceflow and connected with Twilio, which provides a phone number that routes directly to your assistant.
Let's map out the caller experience. Want a head start? Download the template I built!
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Before you start building in Voiceflow, take a moment to outline what typically happens when someone calls your taxi company.
Most people call because they want to:
- Book a new ride
- Check the status of a ride they already booked
- Ask a question (for example, about rates or availability)
To get your virtual taxi assistant's conversation right, think of it as a helpful front-desk dispatcher. Here's a simple example of what the call might sound like:
"Hi! You've reached Valchy Taxi Services. My name is Lily. Are you calling to book a ride or check on an existing one?"
Depending on what the caller says, your virtual taxi assistant will take the appropriate path—whether that's booking a new ride, providing an ETA, or answering a quick question.
Not every caller will be crystal clear, so your conversation design should also plan for times when your virtual taxi assistant needs to ask follow-up questions or clarify what the person meant.
Once you've got your call scenarios mapped out, it's time to jump into Voiceflow and start building.
Go to Voiceflow.com, sign up for an account, and create a new project. You can call it something like "My Taxi Assistant."
Begin by adding an Agent step. This is the first thing the caller will interact with when the call connects:
"Hello and welcome to Valchy Taxi Services. I'm your virtual taxi assistant. How can I help you today?"
The Agent step allows you to define goals like booking a ride or checking status. It will automatically figure out what the caller wants based on what they say next.
Forget traditional intent lists—now, everything is handled by the Agent step.
In your Agent step configuration, define Goals, which represent what your user wants to do. For example:
- Book a ride
- Check on an existing ride
- Ask a general question (pricing, hours, etc.)
For each goal, add a description like:
"Help the user book a ride by collecting pickup location, destination, and time. Then confirm and call the booking API."
Then, provide a few sample user messages and Agent replies for each goal. This helps the model understand how to handle different conversation paths. Example:
User says: "Can I get a taxi to the airport around 6 AM tomorrow?"
Assistant replies: "Sure, I can help with that. Can I get your pickup address?"
Voiceflow's Agent will use this structure to recognize freeform input and extract the right information automatically.
You can also define entities to capture data like pickup address, drop-off, time, or special requests. The Agent will ask for missing details and remember them during the conversation.
The "Book a Ride" goal in the Agent step is where this entire experience is handled.
Your Agent should:
- Ask for the pickup address: "Where should I pick you up?"
- Ask for the destination: "Where are you going?"
- Ask for the pickup time: "When do you need the ride?"
- (Optional) Ask for passenger count or requests: "Do you have any special needs?"
These values can be extracted using entities and saved into variables. The Agent will automatically prompt for any missing ones.
Once the details are filled, use a Speak step after the Agent to confirm:
"Just to confirm, I'll send a driver to 25 Vitosha Boulevard to take you to Sofia Airport. Is that correct?"
Then use an API step to send the booking information to your dispatch system.
Your virtual taxi assistant can follow up with:
"Your ride is confirmed. The driver will arrive in about 8 minutes. Your booking number is 9841."
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You no longer need a separate intent for each question. Add a goal like "Answer General Questions" in your Agent step.
Give it examples like:
- "What are your rates?"
- "Do you accept cards?"
- "Are you open 24 hours?"
And write guidance like:
"If the user asks about pricing, operating hours, or service coverage, provide clear answers based on the following info: Rates start at 3 EUR, we're open 24/7, and we serve Sofia and the surrounding area."
The Agent will detect the user's question and respond appropriately—all from the same central step.
To have your virtual taxi assistant answer actual phone calls, you need a phone number. Twilio makes this simple.
Here's how:
- Create an account on and buy a number
- In Voiceflow, go to and connect your Twilio account
- Assign the number to your project
Now when someone calls that number, they'll hear your virtual taxi assistant.
Try it yourself. Call from your mobile phone and test out the experience—it's a pretty amazing moment the first time you hear your bot respond.
Even though your virtual taxi assistant is smart, things won't always go perfectly.
Make sure it can recover gracefully if something goes wrong.
- If a caller says something it doesn't understand: "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
- If the caller still isn't clear: "Let me transfer you to a dispatcher who can help."
You can allow callers to press 0 or say "operator" at any time to reach a real person.
Before you roll this out to your customers, test every path in your flow.
Try booking a ride, asking for an ETA, asking about hours or prices, and saying something confusing just to see how your virtual taxi assistant handles it.
You want to find any awkward phrasing or broken logic before your customers do.
Ask a friend or team member to call in and give honest feedback too.
Once you've built the basics, here are a few upgrades you can try:
- Multi-language support (Bulgarian and English)
- Confirmation SMS messages via Twilio
- Scheduled rides for later dates and times
- Outbound calls for booking reminders or arrival alerts
These are all very doable using the same tools and process.
By now, you've built a fully functional voice assistant that can answer calls, book rides, provide updates, and answer questions—all on autopilot.
Here's what you now have:
- A professional greeting for your callers
- A flow that understands what people want and responds appropriately
- Direct integration with your dispatch system
- 24/7 availability with no missed calls or long waits
This isn't just a tech demo. It's a real-world solution that saves time, improves customer experience, and helps your business run smoother.
Your virtual taxi assistant is now part of your team. And the more you test, tweak, and improve it, the more helpful it will become.
Good luck building—and welcome to the future of taxi services.
Want to explore how Voiceflow can be a valuable resource for you? Let's talk.
