Part of Business operations
AI receptionist for small business
An AI receptionist for small business answers your line at any hour, sorts each call by type, and gets the caller's details onto your customer record.
The AI receptionist and phone answering service is one part of the business operations platform. It answers, sorts and records the call to your customer record. Our own main line, 850-400-2828, is answered the same way at any hour.
What the AI receptionist does for your business.
What it is
An AI receptionist for small business is a voice system that answers your phone line and holds a real conversation with the caller. It is an AI voice agent that answers and sorts business calls. It answers in your business's name, knows your hours, today's date and your holidays, and speaks English only.
How it differs from an answering service or voicemail
A traditional answering service for small business uses a person in a call center who reads from a script and takes a message. Voicemail records the message and nothing else happens until someone listens to it. Our AI answering service for small business holds the conversation, sorts the call into the group you decide, and can book the caller onto your calendar before the call ends.
What it captures
During the call, it takes the caller's name, callback number, address and the reason for calling, and reads the details back to confirm before the call ends. It then sorts the call into a group you decide: a complaint or emergency for you, a routine office matter, a new customer, or junk such as a sales pitch or a wrong number.
When it answers
The AI receptionist can be set to answer every call, or only the calls that arrive after hours or when the office is closed.
What you get each day
A complaint or emergency call texts and emails you as soon as it ends, and a new customer's call opens a deal in your pipeline with a lead email. Texting from your number starts once it is registered with the carriers, handled as part of setup. Every weekday morning, one report covers every call since the last one, including the desk phones' voicemails and hang-ups, with the recording, transcript and a summary on the caller's record.
What it does not do
It does not transfer a live call to a person today: it takes the caller's details, and the right person on your team calls back. It speaks English only and does not answer questions in a website chat window or by text message.
What the AI receptionist handles
Answers the line
Answers your business line in your own name, using your hours, the date and your holidays to know what to say.
Sorts the call
Sorts every call into the group you set, including a complaint or an emergency that goes straight to the owner.
Captures the details
Takes the caller's name, callback number, address and reason for calling, and reads it back to confirm before the call ends.
Books on the calendar
Can book a meeting onto your calendar during the call and send the caller an email invite.
Alerts the owner
Texts and emails you as soon as a complaint or emergency call ends, and opens a deal in your pipeline when a new customer calls.
Setting up the AI receptionist software
- 01
Review the calls today
We start by listening to how your calls run today: who answers, what callers need, and where calls go unanswered. If you use our CRM implementation services, we match the call groups to what your team already tracks.
- 02
Write the call flow
We write the questions it asks, the groups it sorts calls into, and the alerts you want, then test the flow before a customer reaches it. If calls from your website or texts also go unanswered, we can add missed call text back to the same build.
- 03
Test before launch
We run through the call flow ourselves and check every branch, including the emergency path, before a real caller reaches it.
- 04
Launch and adjust
Once the flow is proven, we switch it onto your business line and keep adjusting the call groups and alert rules as your business changes.
Frequently asked questions
What does an AI receptionist do?
It answers your business line, holds a conversation with the caller, and sorts the call into a group you decide, then saves the recording, transcript and a summary to the caller's record.
Is an AI receptionist worth it for a small business?
It pays off when calls already go unanswered. Calls that used to reach voicemail after hours are answered, sorted and reported in the next morning's report.
How is this different from a live answering service for small business?
A live answering service for small business hires people who read from a script and take a message. This system holds the conversation, sorts the call, and books the caller onto your calendar before the call ends. It runs at any hour without shifts to staff.
What is an after hours answering service?
It is a way to answer the phone when your office is closed, so a caller reaches a voice. Ours can be set to answer only after hours, or all day.
Do callers know they're talking to an AI?
That is your decision. It is a voice system rather than a person, it can open the call with a recording notice if you set that up, and you choose how it introduces itself in your business's name.
How long does it take to set up an AI receptionist?
That depends on how your calls run today: a single line with a simple set of call types takes less work than several lines with different rules. We set the timeline at the discovery meeting.
What does an AI receptionist cost?
It is quoted after a discovery meeting, once we know how many lines you run, how calls should be sorted, and what you want the alerts and the morning report to cover.
Is there an AI receptionist for law firms?
Yes. An AI receptionist for law firms handles intake calls the same way, and it does not replace a lawyer's judgment; it captures the details so the right person can call back.
Is there an AI receptionist for a medical office?
Yes. It answers in your practice's name and takes the caller's details, and it does not diagnose or decide what counts as an emergency; a staff member calls back for anything that needs clinical judgment.
What happens on an emergency call?
It is sorted into the group you set up for a complaint or an emergency, and you get a text and an email as soon as the call ends. The recording, transcript and a summary are saved to the caller's record, and the call still appears in the next morning's report.
Business operations
Tell us how your calls run today.
Send us a few details about your call volume and hours, and we will set up a discovery meeting.
Or call 850-400-2828Discuss the AI receptionist for your business.
Book a consultation, online or by phone.