Answers

Straight answers, including the ones that do not suit us.

What these things are, what they cost, what they cannot do, and when a human is the better answer. If you only need your phone answered, we will tell you that too.

• What is an AI receptionist?

  An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone in your company's name. It speaks to the caller, answers questions about your services, prices, hours and areas, takes their details, and - if it is connected to your diary - books the appointment before they hang up.

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• How much does an AI receptionist cost in the UK?

  In the UK, an AI receptionist typically costs between £30 and £150 a month. The price turns on one thing: whether it only takes messages, or whether it books appointments into your real diary. Callso is £39 a month to answer and take details, £79 to book the diary, and £149 for a team of up to five.

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• Can an AI receptionist book appointments?

  Some can, and most cannot. The ones that can read your real availability - your working hours, your holidays, your existing bookings, your Google or Outlook calendar, and the gap you need between jobs - then offer slots that genuinely exist and write the appointment in before the caller hangs up.

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• AI receptionist or answering service - which is better?

  An answering service is a person who takes a message and passes it to you - you still ring back and still do the admin. An AI receptionist can finish the job on the call, including booking the appointment. The answering service wins on judgement and empathy; the AI wins on cost, on never being busy, and on actually filling your diary.

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• What is the best AI receptionist for a UK small business?

  The right one depends on whether your business lives by its diary. If a missed call means a missed appointment, choose one that reads your real calendar and books the job on the call. If you only need the phone answered, a message-taker is enough - and cheaper.

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• Who answers your calls when you are on a job?

  You have four realistic options: let it ring out to voicemail, pay a person to answer, ring everyone back in the evening, or have an AI receptionist answer and book the job for you. Voicemail is the most expensive of the four, because most callers do not leave one - they ring the next business on the list.

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