An AI receptionist that stops at the transcript has done the easy half
Answering a call in a natural voice stopped being difficult about two years ago, which is why there are now dozens of these. What almost none of them do is the part a receptionist is actually for: knowing what your business charges, what it will not do, and what is left in the diary on Thursday.
From $99 a month · Robocalls are never billed
Incoming callPeter Lindqvist“Can you actually book me in, or are you just taking a message?”
Booked into the calendar on the call · Confirmation texted
- Books
- Into Google, Outlook, Apple or CalDAV: the calendar you already keep, not a request form
- Refuses
- It will not diagnose, will not price what it has not seen, and says so in your words
- Flat
- No per-minute billing. Plans are sized on unique customers, not on how long people talk
Three things separate one AI receptionist from another
Everything else on the category's feature lists is now table stakes. These are the differences that show up on a real call.
Whether it can book
The common shape is answer, capture, email you a transcript. That is a nicer voicemail. This reads the capacity remaining in each window of the calendar you already keep, creates the appointment, and texts the caller a confirmation before they hang up.
Whether it knows your business
Your hours, the services you actually offer, the prices you have set and how far you travel. That is what separates a receptionist from a voice: only something configured can tell a caller you do not do commercial work, or that they are outside your radius, before either of you wastes a visit.
Whether it refuses
It does not diagnose, does not price what nobody has seen, and does not give professional advice. Each refusal has a sentence it actually says, set per trade. An AI receptionist with no floor under it is a liability wearing your business's name.
When it can't wait
Urgent calls where the price cannot be known until someone has looked. The agent triages, states your service call fee and books the visit — it never quotes a repair.
HVAC
The first cold night is ninety calls in two hours, and four of them matterAI receptionist for HVAC contractors
Plumbing
Any AI can book the 2am call. The question is whether it should haveAI receptionist for plumbers
Electrical
The caller who says they can smell burning needs a sentence, not a slotAI receptionist for electricians
Garage door
The car is behind the door, and the caller wants to know when, not how muchAI receptionist for garage door companies
Auto repair
Your hands are under a car and the phone has rung four timesAI receptionist for auto repair shops
Towing
Before the where and the what, there is one question: are you out of trafficAI receptionist for towing companies
Appliance repair
The model number is the whole call, and most agents never ask for itAI receptionist for appliance repair companies
Locksmith
Every lockout sounds the same until you ask who else is in the carAI receptionist for locksmiths
Property management
Three different callers, one number, and only one of them is an emergencyAI receptionist for property managers
Funeral homes
The first call is not a booking, and it should not be treated as oneAI receptionist for funeral homesEvery other Tuesday
Where the recurring book is the business. Rates are quotable from a few facts, and most of the call volume is schedule churn the agent absorbs without calling you.
Pest control
The pest decides the visit, and nobody asks which pestAI receptionist for pest control companies
Landscaping
It rained on Tuesday, and now forty people want to know when you are comingAI receptionist for landscapers
Cleaning
The 7am cancellation is the call that actually costs you moneyAI receptionist for cleaning companies
Fuel delivery
Out of gas in a cold snap is not a delivery requestAI receptionist for propane and heating oil dealers
Home health care
At six in the morning the call is not a client. It is a caregiver calling outAI receptionist for home care agenciesCome and look at it
Where the quote is the sale and a site visit costs half a day. The agent qualifies hard enough that the visit is worth making, and prices nothing it has not seen.
Roofing
Booking every estimate that asks for one is how you lose a weekAI receptionist for roofers
Moving
Six answers decide the price, and every one of them is a phone questionAI receptionist for moving companies
Remodeling
The enquiry that will not say a budget is not an enquiry yetAI receptionist for contractors
Insurance agencies
“Am I covered for this?” is the one question it must refuse to answerAI receptionist for insurance agentsHave you got anything Thursday?
Where the calendar is the product and the people who could answer the phone are all with someone else. The agent books, reschedules and fills cancellations — and gives no professional advice.
Dealership service
One number, three departments, and the caller does not know which they wantAI receptionist for dealership service departments
Dental
Two thirds of the calls your front desk misses are people trying to give you moneyAI receptionist for dental practices
Medical practice
The safest thing an AI medical receptionist can say is that it is not qualified to answerAI receptionist for medical practices
Chiropractic
Most of the calls are visit nine of twelve, and a booking bot makes a tenthAI receptionist for chiropractic clinics
Veterinary
“He's eaten chocolate” is a clock, not an appointment requestAI receptionist for veterinary practices
Salon & spa
The service decides the length, the stylist and the price, and the slotAI receptionist for salons and spas
Law firm
An intake call that gives advice is worse than the call you missedAI receptionist for law firms
Real estate
A sign call is worth about four minutes, and you are in a showingAI receptionist for real estate agents
Restaurants
Every call at seven on a Friday costs you somebody on the floorAI receptionist for restaurants
Accounting
In March the phone is not an interruption. It is the whole problemAI receptionist for accountants
Therapy practices
The first thing it has to know is when to stop being a receptionistAI receptionist for therapists
Hotels
At two in the morning one person is the desk, the phone and the doorAI receptionist for hotelsYour trade is not on the list
Then it is a configuration rather than a wait. The agent's goal, its questions, its call types, its urgency rules and its guardrails are all data. Tell it what to ask and what never to say, and it answers your phone.
What it will never do, in any trade
The questions change per trade. These do not. They are the rules every agent runs under, whatever it is answering for.
It never invents a price
It states the call-out fee and the rates you configured, and nothing else. Where it does not know, it says so and brings it to you rather than guessing — a number said on the phone is a number you are held to at the door.
What it actually says
“I'm not going to guess at the repair before someone's seen it — you'd only be annoyed if I got it wrong.”
It never promises an hour it cannot keep
Work in the field is booked in windows, because a specific time is a promise the traffic breaks. It offers the window that actually has capacity left, and it will not invent one to end the call politely.
What it actually says
“I can do Tuesday morning, between eight and twelve — I won't give you an exact hour and have you waiting in all day.”
It never sends anyone to voicemail
If the transfer ladder runs out and nobody accepts, it takes the details, commits to a specific callback window and flags it. A beep is the one outcome worse than not answering at all.
What it actually says
“I can't reach anyone this minute, so let me take the details and someone will call you back before nine tomorrow.”
…and a lot more besides
- Warm transfersWarm transfersAnnounced — who is calling and why, before you take the line.
- Spam never billedSpam never billedRobocalls are spotted, zero-rated, and never become a customer.
- A number per sourceA number per sourceVan, yard sign, Google listing — see which line brings the work.
- Team & on-callTeam & on-callTries you, then a second number, then whoever is on call.
- Run it by textRun it by textReply to a text to move a job, block a morning, clear a day.
- Clear a day, everyone toldClear a day, everyone toldCall off a wet Tuesday; every customer is told and re-offered.
- Never invents an answerNever invents an answerNo price or slot it was not given. It takes a message instead.
- Any trade, no codeAny trade, no codeGoal, questions and guardrails are settings, not a rebuild.
The booking lands where you already work
Google, Outlook, Apple, Exchange, CalDAV, then your payments, your CRM and whatever you automate with. Nobody has to check a second system to find out what the phone did.
AI receptionists, answered
What the category is, what this one does, and what it refuses to do in every trade.
What is an AI receptionist?
Software that answers your business phone, holds a conversation with the caller, and completes the thing they rang for. The part that varies enormously between products is that last clause. Most of them answer, capture a name and email you a transcript, which is a better voicemail. The useful test is whether it can see your calendar and create an appointment in it.
How is an AI receptionist different from an answering service?
An answering service is people taking messages, usually billed per call or per minute. An AI receptionist is software. That distinction matters less than it sounds, because the question that decides whether either was worth it is the same for both: can it book, and does it know your prices. Most of both categories cannot and does not.
Will callers know it is not a person?
Some will, and it never claims to be one. The comparison that matters is not with you answering; it is with what the call reaches today, which for most of these calls is voicemail or a fourth ring. That comparison is not close in any measurement anyone has published.
What happens on a call it cannot handle?
It says so, takes the details, commits to a specific callback window and notifies you. The thing it will not do is improvise. A confident wrong answer costs more than an admitted gap, and most of the failures people describe with AI receptionists are a model being helpful about something it did not know.
Can it transfer to me?
It tries you first by default. Each leg of the escalation ladder rings about fifteen seconds and has to be accepted by pressing 1, so a phone that is off, or set to send unknown numbers to voicemail, does not silently absorb the call. Whoever accepts hears a one line brief before being connected.
Which calendars does it work with?
Google, Outlook, Apple and any CalDAV calendar. It reads your working hours and the capacity left in each window, which is what lets it offer a real slot rather than a request, and it texts the caller a confirmation before they hang up.
Does it speak Spanish?
English and Spanish on the same number, switching mid call when the caller does, with the confirmation text going out in the language they spoke. There is no Spanish hours rota and no surcharge.
What does an AI receptionist cost?
From $99 a month, flat, with unlimited call flows and a monthly talk time allowance; the rungs differ only in how many unique customers you answer for. Robocalls are identified and never billed. There is also a free tier for building the agent and talking to it in the browser before any number points at it.
Still deciding what to buy
The pages written for somebody comparing rather than browsing: what the category costs, how it differs from an answering service, and who else sells one.