AI agent, voice and text
AI receptionist for small business.
Answers the call. Books the job. Knows when to hand over.
An AI receptionist answers your calls and messages when your team cannot, at any hour. It handles the common questions, books appointments into your calendar, takes the details of new inquiries and passes anything urgent or unusual to a person. We build one around your business, on the tools you already use.
- Setup
- From $900
- Timeline
- Set up in hours
- Answers by
- Voice and text
- Starts with
- A free audit
Built by Claude Certified AI System Architects
How it works
One agent, by voice and by text.
Calls and messages are answered from the same information, with the same rules.
Example flow
- A callAnswered by the voice agent.
- A messageA text, WhatsApp or the form on your site, answered by the text agent.
AI receptionist
- Voice
- Text
Works in your tools
- Calendar
- Inquiries
One decision, four ways out
- A questionHours, service area, a published price: answered from your own information.
- A bookingThe next open slots are offered and the appointment is written back.
- A new inquiryName, need and address are taken and land where your team works.
- Urgent or unclearA personPassed to a person at once, with what was said so far.
- 01A call or a message arrives. Your number forwards the call when you choose.
- 02It listens. On a call, the caller's words are turned into text as they speak.
- 03It decides. It works out what the caller wants and checks it against your answers and rules.
- 04It acts in your tools. It reads your calendar, writes the booking back and saves new inquiries where your team works.
- 05It answers, by voice or by text, and hands over to a person when your rules say so.
- 06It leaves a record. Every conversation is summarised for your team.
How the setup goes
Set up in hours, not weeks.
- Step 01Start here
Free audit
A few questions about how your business runs: who calls, what they ask, what you book and where it goes wrong. The written assessment is yours either way.
You getA written assessment
- Step 02
What it has to know
We collect your hours, services and areas, the prices you publish and the questions you answer every week. You send what you have. We ask for the rest.
You getNothing invented: it only says what you gave it
- Step 03
Train
We write its instructions in your wording and set its rules: what it may answer, what it may book and what it must hand to a person.
You getAn agent that sounds like your business
- Step 04
Set up, with you
We connect your number, your calendar and the place your inquiries go. Then we call it together, and you hear it answer your own questions before any customer does.
You getA test you approve
- Step 05
Live, then tuned
It starts on the calls you choose: after hours, or only the ones nobody answered. In the first week we read the conversations with you and correct what it missed.
You getA first-week review
It goes live when you have heard the test calls and said yes.
Start my receptionist setupTwo offers
A simple setup, or a custom build.
From $900, set up in hours
Simple agent setup
- One agent for your business, answering calls, messages, or both.
- It answers from the information you gave it.
- It books into one calendar.
- It sends each new inquiry to one place: your inbox, a sheet, or your CRM's standard connection.
- It follows your handover rules.
- It is tested with you and reviewed in its first week.
From $2k, scoped at 2 to 6 weeks
Custom AI system
- The agent has to work inside your other systems: field service software, quoting, billing, a CRM with its own steps.
- The rules branch: several teams, several locations, different answers for different customers.
- The agent is one part of a larger process, such as estimate follow-up or invoicing.
The free audit tells you which one you need, before you pay anything.
Before you start
What you bring, and what to expect.
What you bring
- Your hours, services and service area.
- The prices you are happy to state on the phone.
- The questions you answer every week.
- Access to the calendar it books into.
- The person who takes a handover, and how to reach them.
- Time to listen to the test calls with us.
What to expect
- It answers what you taught it. When it is not sure, it hands over instead of guessing.
- No agent is right about everything on day one. The first week is for finding what it missed and fixing it.
- It does not take over prices you have not published, complaints, emergencies or advice. Those go to a person.
- Running it costs extra: you pay the phone and voice provider directly for the minutes used.
- It stays yours to change. Your team learns to run it, fix it and improve it.
What we build
What is in the setup.
A voice agent
It answers the phone in a natural voice. Your number forwards to it when you choose: always, after hours, or only when nobody picks up.
A text agent
It answers texts, WhatsApp and the messages from your site, with the same answers and the same rules.
Your answers
Hours, services, areas, the prices you publish, the questions you get every week.
Booking
It reads your real calendar and writes the appointment back.
Inquiry capture
Every new lead lands where your team already works, with a summary of the call.
Missed call text back
When nobody picks up, the caller gets a text at once asking what they need. Their reply is handled the same way as any other message.
The handover
Your rules for what goes to a person, to whom, and how fast.
A weekly summary
How many calls, what they were about, what it could not answer.
A product or a build
Buy one, or have one set up?
There are AI receptionist products you can switch on today for a monthly fee. Some come with a phone system, such as RingCentral or GoTo. Some are receptionist services, such as Smith.ai. If you need calls answered and messages taken, one of them does it, and the audit tells you when that is the better deal.
Have one set up for you when it has to do the work and not only take the message: check your real calendar, state the prices you publish, send the inquiry where your team works, follow your own rules for emergencies, and sound like your business.
| The option | What you pay | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A feature of your phone system | A monthly fee | Takes messages |
| A ready-made receptionist service | A monthly fee | Answers and takes messages |
| An agent set up for you | From $900 to set up, then the minutes used | Does the next step in your tools |
Fit, and not fit
Who it is for.
A fit
You miss calls while you are on a job or with a customer. Most calls are bookings and the same ten questions. You already keep a calendar.
Not a fit
You take a handful of calls a week: a text back on missed calls is enough. Or the call itself needs a professional's judgement. A receptionist books and routes. It does not give legal, medical or financial advice.
By trade
What changes with the work.
HVAC and the trades. A gas smell or a carbon monoxide alarm goes to a person and the emergency number, never to the system. AI automation for HVAC companies
Dental practices. It books and reminds. Anything about a patient's health stays with your staff and inside your practice software. AI automation for dental practices
Law firms. It takes the inquiry and books the consultation. It does not answer a legal question, and conflict checks stay with your people.
Real estate agents. It answers the inquiry and books the showing, within what your state lets an unlicensed assistant do. AI automation for real estate agents
Contractors. It takes the job details and books the site visit. Estimates stay with you. AI automation for contractors
The rules
What stays with your people.
- 01
Callers are told they are speaking with an AI assistant.
- 02
Recording. Rules on recording calls differ by state, and some require every party's consent. We set the announcement with you before it goes live.
- 03
Outbound calls. An AI voice calling a customer needs that customer's consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (FCC ruling, February 2024). Answering a call the customer placed is where a receptionist starts. FCC: the TCPA applies to AI voices (opens in a new tab)
- 04
Emergencies and complaints go to a person.
This is how we set it up, not legal advice.
Pricing
What it costs.
From $900
A simple agent, set up in hours.
A custom AI system costs from $2k and is scoped at 2 to 6 weeks.
You pay the phone and voice provider directly for the minutes used.
The audit that tells you which one you need is free.
Our support is optional.
PricingAI consulting for small businessesAI automation services
FAQ
Questions about an AI receptionist.
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a small business?
A simple setup costs from $900. After that, you pay the phone and voice provider directly for the minutes used. If it has to work inside your other systems, it is a custom build, from $2k. A ready-made product is a monthly fee instead. The free audit tells you which suits your calls.
How long does it take to set up an AI receptionist?
Hours, not weeks. After the free audit we collect what it has to know, train it and set it up with you. It goes live when you have heard the test calls and approved them.
How does an AI receptionist work?
It answers the call or the message, works out what the caller wants, and checks that against the answers and rules you gave it. Then it acts in your tools: it books the appointment, saves the inquiry, or hands the conversation to a person.
How do you train an AI receptionist?
On your business, not on scripts. The free audit tells us how you operate. Then we gather your hours, services, published prices and the questions your callers ask, write its instructions in your wording, set what it may answer and what it must hand over, and test it with you before any customer hears it.
What do I need to get started with an AI receptionist?
Your hours and services, the prices you are happy to state, the questions you answer every week, access to the calendar it books into, and a person who takes the handovers.
What is the difference between an agent setup and a custom build?
A setup is one agent that answers from your information, books into one calendar and sends inquiries to one place. A custom build is for when it has to work inside your other systems or follow rules that branch across teams and locations. The audit tells you which one you need.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments into my calendar?
Yes. It offers the open slots from your real calendar and writes the booking back, so nobody types it twice.
Does it answer texts as well as calls?
Yes. A voice agent answers the phone and a text agent answers texts, WhatsApp and the messages from your site. Both use the same answers and the same rules.
What happens when the AI receptionist does not know the answer?
It says so, takes the caller's details and passes the call or the message to the person you chose, with what was said so far.
Can I keep my business phone number?
Yes. Your number forwards to the receptionist when you choose: always, after hours, or only when nobody answers.
Is it legal for an AI to answer my business phone?
Answering calls your customers place is allowed. Callers are told they are speaking with an AI assistant, and recording rules differ by state, so the announcement is set with you. Calling customers with an AI voice needs their consent first.
AI receptionist or answering service: which do I need?
An answering service or a ready-made product takes messages. An agent set up for your business does the next step too: it books the job, saves the inquiry and follows your rules. If messages are all you need, the product is enough.
What eats your week?
Tell us in one sentence. The audit is free.