1. Start with the Ann Arbor service area, not a population forecast
Ann Arbor is a municipality in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The 2020–2024 ACS five-year population estimate is 122,036, with a margin of error of 55. That is useful geographic context when you define the calls your firm intends to serve, but it does not establish how many people will call, which practice areas they need, or whether callers will reach you after hours. A sound AI Answering decision therefore begins with your own phone records and service boundaries. Review whether your answering rules apply only to Ann Arbor, throughout Washtenaw County, elsewhere in Michigan, or to a wider client base. Then identify which callers should be treated as prospective clients, current clients or other callers.
Recommended approach
Write the geographic and client-eligibility rules that the answering experience must follow. Use the Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County relationship to make those rules precise, not to predict demand. Compare the rules with recent call records before deciding what the system should ask or escalate.
