# AI Receptionist — AI phone answering for small businesses: 24/7 calls, 55+ languages, from $14 a month.

> Source: Receptionist Index — https://receptionistindex.com/ai-receptionist-com (structured, researched, re-verified)
> Facts last verified: 2026-10-14

AI Receptionist is a 24/7 AI phone answering service for small businesses and solo operators. It greets callers, answers their questions from your own business information, books appointments, screens spam and sends you a summary of every call.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Website | https://ai-receptionist.com/ |
| Price | from $14/month billed monthly, $11.67/month billed annually |
| Free trial | Partly |

7-day free trial of whichever plan you pick, with 30 minutes of live calls, a temporary number or forwarding of your existing one, and no credit card; nothing is charged unless you add a card, and the trial simply ends on day 8.

## What it costs at your call volume

**Cost at 100 calls a month** · Yes — $57.75 a month on Essential for 100 calls of 2.5 minutes (250 billed minutes). Billing increment not stated: computed per second (2.5 min a call). If they round each call up to the minute (3 min), it is $70.25.

> The cheapest way to get an AI receptionist is our Essential plan at $14/month, which includes 75 minutes of calls
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Plan cards as rendered with the MONTHLY/YEARLY control set to MONTHLY, Essential card; price also stated in the pricing FAQ

**Cost at 500 calls a month** · Yes — $261.50 a month on Business for 500 calls of 2.5 minutes (1250 billed minutes). Billing increment not stated: computed per second (2.5 min a call). If they round each call up to the minute (3 min), it is $324.

> Business $199 /month 1,000 voice minutes / month
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Plan cards as rendered with the MONTHLY/YEARLY control set to MONTHLY, Business card

**What it bills by** · Yes — Metered per voice minute: each plan buys a monthly minute pool and extra minutes are sold at a flat per-minute rate, not per call or per caller.

> Extra minutes are $0.25 each with a Booster Pack, and they never expire
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Generous minutes, low overage panel, second bullet

**Past your allowance** · Partly — Calls are not auto-upgraded or billed down: once the monthly minutes run out the receptionist stops answering unless you have pre-bought Booster Pack minutes at $0.25 each, with an 80% warning by email and text.

> Once they are used up, your receptionist stops answering new calls until your next billing cycle, unless you have Booster Pack minutes.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'What happens if I exceed my minutes?'

**Spam calls not billed** · Yes — AI call screening is listed on every plan including the $14 Essential tier, and the vendor says spam calls are logged rather than passed through; it does not state whether screened calls still draw down plan minutes.

> Spam Filtering AI-powered call screening to block unwanted calls
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Spam Filtering row

## What it does on the call

**Books appointments** · Partly — It books into the caller’s slot during the call, but only through a connected Google Calendar; the vendor says other calendar platforms are still to come for higher plans.

> Once connected, your AI can check real-time availability and schedule appointments directly during phone calls without manual intervention.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Dashboard Overview, My Calendar Page section

**Transfers to a person** · Yes — Transfers are warm by default: it texts you who is calling and why, shows the live transcript, and only connects the caller if you accept. Essential to Solopreneur transfer to a single number, Business to multiple.

> Get caller context via SMS, see the live transcript, and choose whether to accept or decline—while the AI keeps them engaged professionally.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/features/warm-transfer/ · Warm Transfer page, hero paragraph

**After-hours rules** · Partly — Answering is 24/7 on every plan including weekends and holidays, and out-of-hours behaviour is shaped by your written AI instructions and timezone rather than by a dedicated business-hours scheduler the vendor documents.

> Yes — it answers every call any time of day, including weekends and holidays. No missed calls, ever.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Frequently Asked Questions, 'Does it work 24/7?'

**Urgent calls escalated** · Yes — Emergency recognition is a documented behaviour: the vendor says it triages urgent calls and routes them straight to the on-call technician or vet, with protocols you customise in the AI instructions.

> Routes critical calls to on-call technicians instantly
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/industries/ai-receptionist-for-plumbers/ · Built for Plumbing Businesses, Emergency Triage System card

**Human receptionists as backup** · No — No human agents sit behind the AI. The vendor positions itself against live answering services precisely because every call is handled by the AI itself; the only people you reach are its founders, for support rather than call overflow.

> A live answering service uses remote human agents and bills per call or per minute. An AI receptionist answers every call itself on a monthly plan with included minutes
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/ · Homepage FAQ, 'How is an AI receptionist different from a live answering service?'

**Asks your questions** · Yes — You write the intake in plain language: which questions to ask, what to collect and when to escalate, and on trade pages it also qualifies and prices leads before booking.

> Define call handling preferences including when to transfer calls, how to handle emergencies, and what information to collect from callers.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Dashboard Overview, AI Instructions page description

**Answers about your business** · Partly — It answers prices, hours and services from your own material, but the cheapest plan is limited to typed FAQ and text; files and website URLs as sources start on the $39 Starter plan.

> Knowledge Base Train your AI with custom business information FAQ & Text FAQ, File, URL & Text
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Knowledge Base row

**Texts your callers** · Yes — Callers can text the same number and hold a full SMS conversation answered from the same knowledge base, on every plan; each tier includes an SMS quota (40 outbound on Essential up to 500 on Business).

> Yes! SMS communication is enabled by default on all plans. You can enable or disable it anytime from your main dashboard.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/features/sms-communication-channel/ · SMS Communication Channel FAQ, 'Is SMS communication included in all plans?'

## What you get after the call

**Call summary by text** · Yes — You can get per-call alerts by SMS as well as email, with a daily SMS and email digest as the alternative; both rows are ticked on every plan including Essential.

> Real-time Notifications Instant notifications for important calls via SMS and email
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Real-time Notifications row

**Recordings and transcripts** · Yes — Every plan carries text and audio transcripts plus a live transcript during the call; downloading the recording as a file starts on Starter, and retention runs 3 months on Essential to 2 years on Business.

> Downloadable Audio Transcripts Download full audio recordings of your calls for offline use
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Downloadable Audio Transcripts row

## What it connects to

**Google Calendar** · Yes — Google Calendar is the only calendar it books into, included from the $14 plan up

> Support for additional calendar platforms is coming soon for Solopreneur and Business plan subscribers.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Dashboard Overview, My Calendar Page section

**Outlook** · Yes — the vendor says support for other calendar platforms is still to come, and names no Outlook, Microsoft 365 or Calendly integration anywhere on its site.

> Support for additional calendar platforms is coming soon for Solopreneur and Business plan subscribers.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Dashboard Overview, My Calendar Page section

**Calendly** · Yes — the vendor says support for other calendar platforms is still to come, and names no Outlook, Microsoft 365 or Calendly integration anywhere on its site.

> Support for additional calendar platforms is coming soon for Solopreneur and Business plan subscribers.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Dashboard Overview, My Calendar Page section

**CRM, Zapier and webhooks** · No — No CRM is written into today: the vendor’s own third-party integration list covers only Google Calendar and Google Voice forwarding, and HubSpot and Salesforce appear under features it is still building. No Zapier or webhook is documented.

> Advanced CRM Integration Connect your AI Receptionist directly with popular CRM platforms for seamless data flow.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/features/ · Coming Soon section, Advanced CRM Integration card

## Trying it, starting and leaving

**Free trial or free plan** · Partly — A 7-day trial lets it answer your real line: you get 30 minutes of live calls and can forward your existing number to it, but there is no standing free plan afterwards.

> 30 minutes of live calls to test it
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · 'What you get during the trial' panel, second bullet

**Card required to start** · No — No card is taken to start the trial and nothing is billed until you add one; the vendor repeats this on the hero, the trial panel and the FAQ.

> We never ask for a card to start, and nothing is charged until you add one.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · 'Try It Free for 7 Days. No Credit Card.' section intro

**Sign up without a sales call** · Yes — You sign up, pick a plan and configure it yourself in the dashboard in about five minutes; no demo booking or sales call is required, and only the custom enterprise plan goes through contact us.

> Pick a plan, sign up, and your receptionist is answering calls in about 5 minutes.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · 'Try It Free for 7 Days' section, opening line

**Setup fee** · No — The vendor states flatly that there is no setup or onboarding fee on any plan, and on Starter and above it does the AI instruction and knowledge-base build for you at no charge.

> No, there are no setup fees or hidden charges. The price you see is the price you pay
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'Is there a setup fee?'

**Contract and cancelling** · Yes — Month-to-month with no contract, and you cancel yourself in the app without phoning anyone; annual billing exists as a cheaper option rather than a requirement.

> we make it easy for you to cancel your account directly in all of our apps — no phone calls required, no questions asked
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/legal/cancellation-policy/ · Cancellation Policy, opening paragraph

## Which languages it speaks, and how it sounds

**Languages** · Yes — It auto-detects and replies in the caller’s language on every plan including the $14 tier, and the help centre prints the full list of roughly 57 languages from Afrikaans to Mandarin Chinese.

> Supported languages include: Afrikaans, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Catalan, Czech, Welsh, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Estonian, Persian, Finnish, French
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/help/ · Help Centre, multilingual support answer

**Choose or clone the voice** · Partly — You pick from ten stock voices with American, Canadian or British accents and tune five personality sliders, but nothing on the site offers cloning your own voice; personality tuning needs Starter or above.

> Custom Voice Selection Choose from 10 different AI voices
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Custom Voice Selection row

**Hear it before you buy** · Yes — Three live demo receptionists are published with their phone numbers and suggested questions, plus recorded sample calls, and the vendor will build a demo for your own business on request.

> Use your phone to call these numbers and experience AI Receptionist firsthand.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/demo/ · 'Talk to AI Receptionists Live!' section

## Your phone number and where it works

**Keep your number** · Yes — You keep your existing line and forward it with carrier star codes, documented per carrier, and can switch forwarding off again at any time; VoIP lines need your provider to set it up.

> Yes, all plans support forwarding from your existing phone number. We provide detailed instructions for setting up call forwarding with major carriers.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'Can I keep my existing phone number?'

**United States** · Yes — Currently, we provide phone numbers and service in the United States and Canada.

> Currently, we provide phone numbers and service in the United States and Canada. However, we're working on expanding to other countries, starting with EU.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'Can I use AI Receptionist internationally?'

**Canada** · Yes — Sold in the US and Canada only: the vendor states it provides numbers and service in those two countries, lists EU as expansion work, and although it publishes a GBP price page the same page repeats the US-and-Canada limit.

> Currently, we provide phone numbers and service in the United States and Canada. However, we're working on expanding to other countries, starting with EU.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'Can I use AI Receptionist internationally?'

**Australia** · Yes — No Australian presence is mentioned.

> Currently, we provide phone numbers and service in the United States and Canada. However, we're working on expanding to other countries, starting with EU.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'Can I use AI Receptionist internationally?'

## Who it is built for

**Industries it is set up for** · Yes — It ships tailored pages and configurations for seven trades — plumbing, veterinary, pet grooming, catering, CPA firms, schools and nonprofits — each with its own scripts, emergency protocols and intake fields.

> Below are examples of industries we've tailored AI Receptionist for. Whatever your business, we'll customize it to handle your calls perfectly.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/industries/ · Industries index, intro paragraph

**HIPAA, with a signed BAA** · No — No BAA today on any plan: the vendor lists HIPAA compliance and Business Associate Agreements among features it is still building, so patient calls are not covered at present.

> We're working toward full HIPAA compliance so medical, dental, and therapy practices can use their AI receptionist with confidence that patient information is protected.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/features/ · Coming Soon section, HIPAA Compliance for Healthcare card

**Several locations or numbers** · Partly — Multi-location answering is claimed on the veterinary page and the Business plan adds transfers to multiple numbers, 20 transfer contacts and five linked team accounts, but the vendor publishes no per-location or per-number price.

> After-Hours Support Never leave pet owners without help 24/7 availability for emergencies Weekend and holiday coverage Lunch hour and busy time overflow Multi-location support
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/industries/ai-receptionist-for-vets/ · Built for Veterinary Practices, After-Hours Support card

## Getting set up and getting help

**Setup help** · Yes — Self-setup takes about five minutes, and from the $39 Starter plan the vendor’s own team writes your AI instructions and knowledge base from your website and returns it within a day.

> Our team personally sets up your AI Instructions and Knowledge Base for you, based on your website and business description. Delivered within 24 hours.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Compare Plan Features table, Free AI + KB Setup row

**Support** · Partly — Email support, a 24/7 AI phone line and direct contact with the founders on every plan, with faster responses on Business; the vendor publishes no human support hours or live chat.

> All plans include email support, 24-7 AI phone support, and direct founder support. Business plan includes priority support with faster response times.
> — https://ai-receptionist.com/pricing/ · Pricing FAQ, 'What kind of support do you offer?'

## What changed

- 2026-10-14 — Capabilities · Free tier · Plan limits · Price · Terms

## Corrections

If you represent AI Receptionist, or anything here is wrong or out of date, send a correction with a source. The operations this site accepts from an agent are listed at https://receptionistindex.com/.well-known/agents.json — that catalogue needs no key to read, and each entry states its own auth.