Yes, an AI agent can phone a customer about an overdue invoice, as long as the call has firm limits and you stay in control. In Adfin, the call is made by an AI agent that says it's an AI, talks only about the overdue invoices and can send a secure payment link if the customer agrees. It doesn't take card or bank details, change amounts, offer discounts or agree terms, and you can switch it off for any customer.
In this article
The short version
- An AI agent can phone a customer about an overdue invoice as one step in escalation.
- It says it's an AI and talks only about the escalated invoices.
- It can send a secure payment link if the customer agrees.
- It never takes card or bank details, changes amounts, offers discounts or agrees terms.
- You can switch the call off for any customer or leave it out entirely.
Where a phone call fits in chasing
Email and text reminders get many late payments settled. A smaller group of customers ignores them, sometimes because the messages are going to the wrong inbox, sometimes because the person who could pay has never seen them. Some of those customers may well answer a phone when they won't open an email.
Chasing calls are also easy to put off. They take time, they can be awkward, and they tend to get pushed to the end of the week. An AI call takes the routine version of that call off your list: a polite check that the customer knows the invoice is overdue, and an easy way to pay while they're on the line.
In Adfin, the call isn't the first thing a customer hears from you. It's one stage in a wider escalation sequence that kicks in after your normal reminders go unanswered, usually at least two weeks after the due date. An invoice is late from the day after it's due, or, for a business customer with no agreed terms, 30 days after they received the invoice or the work was done, whichever is later, so by then it's been outstanding for some time. By the time the phone rings, the customer will usually have had an escalated notice and, if you've chosen it, an offer to pay in instalments.
What the AI call does
The call is placed by an AI agent on behalf of your business, and it tells the customer it's an AI at the start. It's never presented as a person from your team.
During the call, the agent:
- reminds the customer about the overdue invoice, or invoices
- stays on the invoices being escalated and nothing else
- keeps the conversation fair and polite
- sends a secure payment link to the phone number on the customer's Adfin record, if they agree to pay
The customer pays through that link, so nobody has to take payment details over the phone.
You can add your own general instructions for the call. The agent works within a fixed set of rules, and Adfin won't accept an instruction that breaks one of them.
What it won't do
Within the call, the AI agent:
- never takes card or bank details over the phone
- won't change the amount owed, offer a discount or agree new payment terms
- never mentions legal action, debt collection or fees
- never discusses other customers or other invoices
- never pressures the customer
Anything that needs a decision stays with you. If a customer asks for more time or a different plan, that's a conversation for your team. The final notice is a separate written step, and what happens after it is your decision, so the call stays a reminder and a way to pay.
How you stay in control
You decide whether the call happens at all. The phone call is one optional stage in your escalation settings, so you can leave it out entirely, or keep it for most customers and switch it off for the ones you'd rather speak to yourself.
You also control when it happens. Escalation starts on the day you choose, at least 14 days after the due date, and each stage follows the last after 3, 5 or 7 days. You're notified as soon as a customer's invoices are escalated, and if they get in touch to dispute an invoice, you can pause everything for them while you sort it out.
The AI call handles the routine reminder on schedule, while Adfin's collection agents run the rest of the chasing within rules you approve. Conversations that need judgement are left to the people who know the customer.
Common questions
Will my customer know they're talking to an AI? Yes. The agent says at the start of the call that it's an AI calling on behalf of your business, and it's never presented as a person.
Can the AI take a payment over the phone? No. It never asks for card or bank details. If the customer agrees to pay, it sends a secure payment link to the number on their customer record.
Can the AI agree a payment plan or a discount? No. It can't change the amount owed, offer discounts or agree terms. A payment plan offer is a separate email step in the escalation sequence.
Will the AI threaten legal action? No. It never mentions legal action, debt collection or fees. The final notice is a separate written step, and any decision about legal action stays with you.
Can I stop the AI from calling certain customers? Yes. You can switch the call off for any customer, leave the call stage out of your escalation settings, or pause escalations for a customer at any time.
Does an AI call replace a credit controller? No. It covers one routine call. Agreeing new terms or resolving a dispute is still a job for you and your team.
Sources
- Adfin - Credit control (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/credit-control
- Adfin Help Centre - How to pause reminders and collection in Adfin (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/13870679-how-to-pause-reminders-and-collection-in-adfin
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: when a payment becomes late (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/when-a-payment-becomes-late
