An AI receptionist is a service that answers your business phone using conversational AI. It picks up in your business's name, works out what the caller needs, answers common questions, books the job into your diary, and passes anything complex to a human, 24 hours a day, without you hiring anyone. Think of it as a receptionist who never sleeps, never takes a lunch break, and costs a fraction of a person.
If you have heard the term "AI receptionist" and are not quite sure what it actually means, here is the plain version.
The one-line answer
An AI receptionist answers your phone for you, using conversational AI that can hold a natural back-and-forth. It is not a menu ("press 1 for sales") and not a voicemail. It is closer to having a receptionist: it greets the caller, finds out what they want, deals with the routine stuff, and books the job or takes a message, all in a normal conversation.
What it actually does on a call
What it is not
It is not a phone menu, and it is not just a fancy voicemail. It also is not a full replacement for you on the complicated calls; the good ones are honest about that and hand those to a human. If you want the mechanics of exactly how it works under the bonnet, see how does an AI receptionist work.
Frequently asked questions
A service that answers your business phone with conversational AI: it greets callers, qualifies them, answers routine questions, books jobs and escalates the rest, 24/7.
No. A menu makes you press buttons; an AI receptionist has a natural conversation and actually books the job.
UK prices range from around £99 a month for basic answering up to a few hundred for booking and reporting. See how much an AI receptionist costs in the UK.
Want to hear one for yourself? Talk to Daisy and try to catch her out. The version for your trade, like AI receptionist for plumbers, goes deeper.
Hear Daisy answer a call.
The AI front desk that answers every call, qualifies the job and books it while you stay on the tools. Try to catch her out.
