What Week One of an AI Calling Install Looks Like for a Lender

Week one of an AI calling install doesn't involve a single call to a borrower. It's setup.

The list gets cleaned. The branch gets a local number, caller ID and a voice agent that knows your offer. Your part is short: a list, a branch, its hours and transfer number, the offer, and a compliance review.

In week two, the branch starts calling. On day 14, you see the numbers.

That's the answer. The rest of this article is what each piece looks like, so there are no surprises.

Why "implementation" makes lenders nervous

You've probably been through one of these before.

A new loan system. A new phone system. A CRM migration that was supposed to take a quarter.

It went something like this. A kickoff call with half the company on it. A long list of requirements. Then weeks of your own staff pulling reports, answering questions, and sitting in training while the branch was short-handed. By the time it went live, everyone was tired of it.

So when someone says "install," that's what you picture.

It's a fair fear. It's also the main reason good ideas sit on a COO's desk for months. Not because the idea is bad. Because the project around it looks like a second job.

An AI calling install shouldn't look like that. Here's why.

What you'll be asked for

The whole install rests on five things. Most of them you already have. None of them requires a project team.

1. An export of your customer list. Past customers, paid-off borrowers, or the applications you want called. Names, phone numbers, and which branch each customer belongs to. A spreadsheet export from your system is usually enough. It doesn't need to be clean. Cleaning it is part of the job.

2. The branch you want to start with. One branch, not the network. Pick one where the manager will pick up a transfer and tell you honestly how it went. If you're not sure which one, pick the branch with the biggest idle list.

3. That branch's hours, and the number transfers should ring. Calls only go out while the branch is open, because a live transfer only works if someone is there to answer. So you'll be asked for the real hours, and for the phone number where an interested borrower should land.

4. The offer you want borrowers to hear. One clear reason to talk. At Sunset Finance it was a pre-approved loan of up to $1,000. Yours might be a renewal, a new rate, or simply "we'd like to have you back." The simpler it is, the better the call goes.

5. A compliance review of the script. Your own compliance team should read what the agent will say before anyone is called. They'll want to look at consent, calling hours and Do-Not-Call handling too.

That's it. A list, a branch, a phone number, an offer, and a sign-off.

What happens in week one

Here's the week, the way the offer on our consumer finance page describes it.

First, the list is cleaned. Duplicates come out. Numbers are phone-verified, so the calling doesn't burn time on disconnected lines. Each customer is tied to the right branch. Anyone who shouldn't be called is taken off.

Then, the branch gets its phone identity. A local number for that branch. Caller ID set up so the borrower sees something they'd recognize. Carrier registration so the calls are delivered properly instead of getting flagged.

Then, the agent gets ready. The voice agent learns your offer, your branch and its hours. It learns which branch each borrower belongs to and where to send the transfer. The calling window is set to the branch's hours.

Finally, the results have a place to land. Every call outcome is set to go into your CRM the same day, and the branch board is ready for the numbers to show up.

While this is happening, it's a good week to have your branch manager hear what a borrower will hear. The first live transfer shouldn't be the first time they learn the program exists.

What you don't have to do

This is the part that usually surprises people.

You don't change your CRM. Outcomes go into the one you already have. Nobody learns a new system.

You don't dial. Not in week one, not ever. The agent makes every call, including the repeat tries on the no-answers. Branch staff pick up only when an interested borrower is on the line.

You don't hire. No new callers, no call center seats, no temp staff to work the list.

You don't build the reporting. The numbers by branch come to you.

The branch keeps doing what it does. Counter, payments, walk-ins, phones. The only new thing is that some of those phone calls are now past customers who already said yes.

Week two and day 14

Week two: the branch starts calling. The agent calls every reachable customer on the list during branch hours. Interested borrowers are transferred live to their own branch. No-answers get called again. That's also when the first live transfers ring on the branch's phone.

For a sense of the pace, Sunset's pilot placed 13,159 calls in its first 14 days and produced about 100 live transfers across 10 branches. That's one lender's list and offer, not a forecast for yours. If you want the full picture of how a two-week test should be judged, read how to run an AI calling pilot for a lender in 14 days.

Day 14: the numbers, by branch. How many customers were called. How many were reached. How many were transferred. Plain numbers you can check yourself.

The terms, plainly

Here's the offer, exactly as it's published.

• No upfront fee. PTS AI charges per result: a booked meeting or a reactivated customer. The amount per result is quoted on the call.
• You start with one branch.
• Week 1: the list is cleaned; local number, caller ID and agent ready.
• Week 2: the branch starts calling; first live transfers.
• Day 14: the numbers, called, reached and transferred, by branch.
• The risk: you only pay for results. No booked meetings and no reactivated customers means nothing to pay.

Included: list cleaning and phone verification; local number, caller ID and carrier registration per branch; calling only during branch hours; routing each interested borrower to their own branch; calling no-answers again; outcomes in the CRM the same day; and a board by branch.

We explain why we only charge for results, and not for calls or minutes, in how pay-per-result works.

The compliance piece, briefly

This part is educational, not legal advice. Your own counsel makes the call.

Three rules usually come up in the review:

• The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. That puts consent questions front and center.
• Federal rules bar telephone solicitations to homes before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time for the person called. Branch hours usually sit inside that window, but it's the borrower's time zone that counts, not the branch's.
• The FTC's Do Not Call FAQ notes that companies can call people they've recently done business with. The same federal rule above also requires callers to keep their own do-not-call list and honor requests.

Our full walkthrough is in AI calling compliance for consumer lenders. Hand it to your compliance team with the script.

The cost of another planning meeting

The install is short. What usually takes longer is deciding to start.

Meanwhile the list doesn't wait. The borrower who paid off last month remembers your branch well. In six months, less. In a year, they may be borrowing somewhere else, from a lender who called first.

Your part of week one is a list, a branch, a phone number, an offer and a review. Everything else is ours. And you only pay for results.

If you want to hear what your borrowers would hear, the AI will call you within minutes. Leave your number.