FAQ
Questions property teams ask us.
Can’t find your answer? Email josh@connectiris.com or ask the IRIS assistant in the corner.
General
What is IRIS AI?
IRIS AI is an AI receptionist built for apartment communities. It answers every call to your leasing office as your property, day and night, resolves common requests on the spot, texts callers the next step, and passes everything else to your team with a clear summary.
Will callers know they’re talking to an AI?
IRIS greets callers as your property’s receptionist and focuses on being genuinely helpful. It is always honest: if a caller asks whether they’re speaking with an AI, it tells them.
Can I hear it before talking to anyone?
Yes. Enter your property’s website and your mobile number in the live demo. IRIS reads your site and calls you in about a minute as your property’s receptionist, so you can try it like a prospect or a resident would.
How it works
What kinds of calls can IRIS handle?
Leasing inquiries, maintenance requests, emergencies, rent and resident portal questions, amenities and office hours, vendors, messages for the manager, and callers who ask for a person. Anything sensitive, like legal threats or lease disputes, goes straight to your manager.
Can it schedule tours?
Yes. Depending on how your property runs tours, IRIS books them on your tour calendar or takes the tour request and passes it to your leasing team, then texts the caller a confirmation.
Can it text residents links like work orders or applications?
Yes, when the caller agrees during the call. IRIS can text an application link, the resident portal or work order link, a rent payment link, photos, floor plans, a tour link, or a confirmation that their request was passed along.
Can my team answer first, with IRIS as backup?
Yes. With Ring my team first, your office phones ring for the number of seconds you choose. If nobody picks up, IRIS answers. Staff can mark themselves away, and you can see whether your team or IRIS answered each call.
Does it work outside business hours?
Yes. IRIS answers 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays. After hours it handles emergencies right away and lets other callers know when to expect a follow-up.
Does it speak other languages?
Yes. IRIS speaks multiple languages, including Spanish. It starts in English and switches to the caller’s language when they speak it. Tell us which languages your residents use and we’ll set them up for your property.
Emergencies
What happens if there’s a real emergency?
IRIS is built to recognize true maintenance emergencies like flooding, gas smells, fire, or no heat or AC in dangerous weather. It texts your on-call maintenance contact with the details and transfers the caller. Anyone in immediate danger is told to call 911.
Your portal
Will I see what happened on each call?
Yes. Every call appears in your IRIS client portal with a plain-English summary, the recording and the full transcript. Emergencies and callback requests are flagged so your team can follow up.
Can I change what IRIS knows?
Yes. You can update office hours, holiday closures, links and on-call contacts in the portal yourself, and send us any other change. IRIS is configured for your property, from policies and pricing to how specific situations are escalated.
Pricing & agreements
How much does IRIS cost?
Pricing is one monthly figure based on your unit count and what you need covered. There’s no setup fee and no per-call or per-minute charges. Request a quote and we’ll put the full number in writing.
Is there a contract?
Yes, a simple service agreement that you sign online. The length and any trial period are part of your quote, and we’ll walk through every term before you sign.
When does billing start?
Billing starts when you go live, meaning when your first forwarded call reaches IRIS, not when you sign.
Getting started
How long does setup take?
Usually days, not weeks. Once we have your property details, we build IRIS, test it on a real call, and send you simple instructions to forward your line. You’re live as soon as the first forwarded call comes in.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. Your existing number stays exactly as it is. Calls are forwarded to IRIS behind the scenes, so there’s nothing new for residents to learn.
What information do you need from me?
The basics about your property: office hours, floor plans and pricing, pet and parking policies, your links, and who should get emergencies and messages. A short online questionnaire captures it, and we fill in much of it from your website for you.
Privacy
Is resident information kept private?
Yes. We never sell resident information or share it for marketing. Data is used only to deliver the service to your property. See our Privacy Policy.
Are calls recorded, and why?
Yes. Calls are recorded and transcribed so your team can see exactly what was said and what IRIS did, and so we can keep improving accuracy.
Leasing
Will it accurately quote pricing and availability?
IRIS shares the starting prices, specials and floor plan details you give it. Because availability changes quickly, it doesn’t promise specific units; it texts the application, books or requests a tour, and passes hot leads to your leasing team.
The fastest answer is to hear it.
Try IRIS on your own property in about a minute.