How to choose an AI receptionist.
There are dozens out there now, and the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best. What matters is what happens to the calls you can’t take. Eight questions to ask any provider, and five calls to make before you decide.
Eight questions to ask.
| Ask | Why it matters | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What happens to an urgent call? | A burst pipe or a new client who’s ready today can’t wait for you to check an inbox tonight. This is the call that pays for the service. | Call as an urgent customer. Time how long it takes to reach you, and whether your phone actually gets your attention. |
| 2. Does it tell you which calls matter? | Twenty transcripts a day is more reading, not less work. You want the urgent ones on top and the routine ones already closed. | After a few test calls, open the app. Can you tell in five seconds what needs you? |
| 3. How does it learn your business? | Some tools have you script calls or draw call flows block by block; others learn from your website and your answers. Ask what it says when it doesn’t know, so it never makes up a price or a promise. | Ask a question your website doesn’t answer. Note what it tells the caller and what it tells you afterwards. |
| 4. What does the price actually buy? | Providers charge per minute, per call, per unique caller or a flat fee, and features like transfers or extra users often sit on a higher plan. The cheapest headline price isn’t necessarily the cheapest month, or the best choice. | Count last month’s calls and their average length. Price that volume on each plan you’re considering, including what going over costs. |
| 5. Can you run it from your phone? | Most owners are on a job, in a meeting or driving when the phone rings. A web dashboard you check at night isn’t the same as a notification now. | Look for the app in the App Store and Google Play, install it, and see what arrives after a test call. |
| 6. Who else can see the calls? | If a partner, office manager or technician needs the calls too, seat limits and per-user fees add up quickly. | Check the seat limit and per-user price on the plan you’d actually buy. |
| 7. Is it straight with your callers? | Callers trust a business more when it’s clear they’re talking to an AI, and when nobody is transferred without being asked. | Listen to the greeting, then ask to speak to a person. Does it offer, ask, and respect your hours? |
| 8. Can you try it without changing your number? | Porting a number is slow and hard to undo. Forwarding lets you test with real calls and switch back anytime. | Check for a free plan or trial, whether a card is needed, the contract length, and whether you keep your number. |
Make five test calls.
Most providers have a free plan, a trial or a demo line. Call it from your own phone as five different customers, then look at what reached you and how fast.
- 1
The urgent call
Something that needs you today. How fast does it reach you, and how?
- 2
The routine question
Hours, prices, service area. Does it answer and close the call itself?
- 3
The question it can’t know
Something not on your website. Does it admit it and tell you afterwards?
- 4
The new customer
Does it collect the details you’d need to call back and quote?
- 5
The “can I talk to someone?”
Does it offer a transfer, ask first, and stick to your hours?
Cheapest isn’t necessarily best.
A single missed urgent job can cost more than the difference between plans. Price the service on your real call volume, then weigh it against what it does with the calls that matter. Here’s how the providers we compare charge.
| Billed by | What to watch | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Per minute | You pay for talk time. Long calls cost more; a quick question costs little. | Rosie, Dialzara, My AI Front Desk, Phonely, Phoneman |
| Per call | Every call counts the same, including spam and hang-ups, so check how those are handled. | Smith.ai, Upfirst, Beside, SkipCalls |
| Per unique caller | Repeat callers are free; many one-off callers add up. | Goodcall |
| Flat fee | Same price however busy you are; check what the entry plan leaves out. | Clara |
| Receptionist minutes | Live people, billed by their time on your calls. | Ruby |
How we’d answer.
We make Phoneman, so check our answers the same way: make the five calls.
| Urgent calls | Ring your phone, with every call written up and sorted Urgent, Important, Normal or Low. |
|---|---|
| Learning | Reads your website, lists questions it couldn’t answer, drafts answers, and only uses what you approve. |
| Price | Free plan to start, then monthly plans by AI minutes. Estimate yours on the pricing page. |
| Phone | iPhone and Android apps with a notification for every call, plus any web browser. |
| Team | Unlimited team members on every plan, free included. |
| Callers | Says it’s an AI on every call; transfers during hours you set, only after the caller agrees. |
| Trying it | Live in about 3 minutes, no card, no porting. Forward your number when you’re ready. |
Is the cheapest AI receptionist good enough?
Not necessarily. A plan that’s a few dollars cheaper but lets an urgent job sit in an inbox costs more than it saves. Choose on how it handles your important calls first, then compare the price for your real volume.
How long should setup take?
Some AI receptionists are self-serve and running in minutes; others need an onboarding call or days of setup. If it takes longer than an afternoon, ask why.
Will my callers know it’s an AI?
They should. A good AI receptionist says so up front, then gets on with helping, so no caller feels misled.
Should I choose AI or a live answering service?
AI answers every call at once, around the clock, at a lower cost per call. Live receptionists may suit calls that need judgment or a personal touch. Some businesses use both: AI on every call, and a person for the ones that need judgment.
Start with the five calls.
Free to start, no card needed. Forward your calls only when you’re happy.