AI Receptionist
Every call answered, even when your hands are full.
An AI receptionist picks up when your team cannot, answers common questions, books visits and passes anything important to a person, with a clear summary of each call.
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is a virtual assistant that answers your business phone calls. It greets callers, answers common questions from information you approve, books appointments, takes messages and transfers urgent calls to a person, then sends your team a summary. It is the phone equivalent of a website chatbot.
- Who it is for
- Service businesses that miss calls while on jobs, with clients or after hours, such as home services, salons, studios, professional offices and real estate teams.
- A typical first project
- Overflow and after-hours answering for one phone line, booking for one service type, and a daily summary of every call.
What AI receptionist includes
Call answering and after-hours cover
Calls are answered during busy times, lunch breaks and after hours, with a clear introduction that the caller is speaking to a virtual assistant.
Answers from your own information
Hours, services, service areas and approved prices come from information you provide and sign off.
Appointment booking
Open slots are offered and booked into your calendar, with a text or email confirmation where your tools allow it.
Urgent call transfers
Rules you set decide which calls go straight to a person, such as emergencies, existing jobs or VIP clients.
Messages and call summaries
Each call ends with a short written summary sent to the right person, so nothing depends on memory.
CRM and lead follow-up
New callers can be added to your CRM or spreadsheet and passed into your follow-up workflows.
Listen in on a simulated call.
Pick a caller and watch how an AI receptionist could handle it. This is a scripted text simulation for a fictional plumbing company. There is no audio, no real phone line and nothing is saved.
Incoming call · simulated
AI receptionistThanks for calling Brightline Plumbing. I am the virtual assistant and this call may be recorded. How can I help?
CallerHi, my kitchen sink is draining really slowly. Can someone come out this week?
AI receptionistI can help with that. Is the water backing up, or just slow?
CallerJust slow. No leak.
How AI receptionist works
- 1
Map your calls
We list the reasons people call, what each needs, and which calls must always reach a person.
- 2
Write the knowledge and rules
Hours, services, prices, booking rules and transfer rules are written down and approved by you.
- 3
Connect and test
We connect the phone line, calendar and messaging, then test with realistic calls before going live.
- 4
Go live and review
You start with limited hours or overflow calls, review the summaries, and widen coverage when you are comfortable.
What this depends on
We would rather be clear now than surprise you later. Results and scope vary with:
- Your phone provider and whether calls can be forwarded or routed
- Calendar and CRM integrations available in your tools
- Call recording and disclosure rules in your state
- Per-minute phone and AI usage costs, which vary with call volume
We do not guarantee specific business results.
AI receptionist: common questions
Yes. We recommend the assistant introduces itself as a virtual assistant at the start of every call, and callers can always ask for a person.
Usually yes. Most setups forward calls from your current number, either all the time, after a set number of rings, or after hours. It depends on your phone provider.
It asks a clarifying question, and if it still cannot help it takes a message or transfers the call based on your rules.
There is usually a one-time setup for planning, configuration and testing, plus ongoing usage costs from the phone and AI platforms that grow with call minutes. We list each cost separately in a written estimate. See what affects the cost of AI projects.
Generally yes, but call recording consent rules vary by state, and some require every party to agree. We recommend announcing the virtual assistant and any recording at the start of each call. This is not legal advice, so check your state’s rules or ask a lawyer.
It should not try to. It can recognize urgent situations you define and transfer the caller to a person, or tell them to contact emergency services. It does not replace 911 or on-call staff.
A traditional answering service uses people to take messages. An AI receptionist can also answer questions and book appointments directly, at any hour, and hands calls to people when needed. Read what an AI receptionist can and cannot do.
Related services
Scale Your Business. Think Beyond.
Talk through your ai receptionist project.
Tell us about your business and what you would like to improve. We will reply with honest next steps, including when AI is not the right answer.