What is an AI receptionist for schools?
It is a virtual receptionist for schools: an AI that answers a school system's front office the way a trained receptionist would, on every channel at once. For a school district office or a board of education, Zanus AI answers parent calls, the website chat, the enrollment inbox and the web forms from your approved guides, books registration appointments, follows up on unfinished applications and hands any decision about a student to your staff.
Can one AI answer for the district office and each of our schools?
Yes. Set up each school office and each district department, such as enrollment, transportation or the board clerk, with its own hours, people and rules, and choose AI only, AI first or a person first for each. A caller is transferred to the right desk with a short note of who is calling and why, and every desk sees only its own messages.
How does it help parents finish an enrollment application?
By answering the question that stopped them, at the hour they ask it. The AI explains each step and document from your own guides, sends the link to your application and books a document check on the registrar's calendar. When an application pauses, a follow-up goes to the parent and stops as soon as they reply, and an e-mail campaign can reach every family who started but has not booked.
Will the AI decide residency, transfers or school placement?
No. Those decisions belong to your staff and your board's policies. The AI tells families what the process is, which documents to bring and when the windows open, from the information your district approved. Every request that needs a decision is written down in the family's own words and passed to the coordinator you named.
Does the AI talk about a student's grades, attendance or special education?
No. It does not discuss a student's grades, attendance, discipline, health or special education services with anyone. Parents asking about those are transferred to the right office, or their request is written down in full with the callback number read back, so a staff member can respond personally.
Can families reach the district in their own language?
Yes. The phone answers each caller in the language they speak, the website chat works in 40 languages by text or by voice, and a call can also be passed to a staff member who speaks that language. Families new to the country hear the enrollment steps in words they understand, which is often what gets an application finished.
Does it replace our student information system or enrollment platform?
No. Zanus AI is the front office around the systems you already use. It answers, books, follows up and keeps a front-office record of every conversation with a family, and it sends parents to your own online application. Student records and enrollment decisions stay in the systems where they live today.
Can the board of education use it for meeting and public comment questions?
Yes, within the facts you approve. The AI answers questions about meeting dates, agendas, locations and how to sign up for public comment from the pages and documents the board clerk publishes. It does not speak for board members or comment on a pending decision; those calls and messages go to the clerk.
How much does an AI receptionist for school districts cost?
There is one price for the whole organization, not one for each seat, so every registrar, clerk and coordinator in the district office works under a single subscription. You pick the modules your office needs, and the plans are listed on the pricing page.
Can we keep our number, and how long does set-up take?
You keep the number printed on your letters and website and forward it to the AI, with no porting and nothing installed. Set-up takes 2 minutes: tell Lisa your schools, departments, registration windows and office hours, and she reads the district website for the rest. Every change is shown to you first and goes live only when you approve it.
How is student and family information looked after?
Your district sets the rules. Call recording is off as shipped, each department receives only its own transcripts, and staff see only the departments they are given. The AI says nothing outside what you approved. Whether your set-up meets your student privacy obligations is decided by your district and its counsel.
What is the difference between the 7-day free trial and the demo?
The free trial builds a private sandbox from your district's website for 7 days, with no card: a phone line that answers as your office, your site with Lisa on it and a dashboard. The demo needs nothing from you; it shows the AI front office ready-made and arrives by e-mail in about 2 minutes.
