Answer AI vs AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)
The short answer
- Answer AI costs least at both 100 and 500 calls a month.
- Only AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup) transfers calls on every plan.
 Answer AIUK sole traders and SMEs that miss calls out of hours, from locksmiths to law firmsVisit site |  AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)small businesses wanting cheap AI answering with a human receptionist still on the callVisit site | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| At 100 calls a month | Answer AI72.50 GBP via salesLowest | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$90 via sales |
| At 500 calls a month | Answer AI300 GBP via salesLowest | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$450 via sales |
| Advertised from | Answer AI$10 a month | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$10 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | Answer AIThe 10 GBP plan covers 0 of 100 calls. Growth costs less for all 100. | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not counted |
| Bills | Answer AIper call | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)per call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | Answer AIYesEach plan bundles a call allowance and extra calls simply continue at £0.85 each… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesCalls past the plan allowance keep being answered and are billed as overage at $1.10… |
| Free trial or plan | Answer AINoThere is no free plan or free trial on your own line: the cheapest plan is a paid monthly… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyA seven-day AI call answering free trial runs on your real diverted line… |
| Month to month, cancel online | Answer AIYesPlans are monthly with no long-term commitment… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesBilling is a rolling monthly subscription with no lock-in and no cancellation fee… |
| On the call | ||
| Books appointments | Answer AIPartlyThe vendor says appointment scheduling is a core capability but only on the two upper… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyThe AI product is described as message-taking and transferring only |
| Transfers to a person | Answer AIPartlyLive transfer is excluded from the cheapest Lite plan… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesThe AI can transfer a caller through to you, and the vendor states its human… |
| Human receptionists as backup | Answer AIYesCalls can be routed to the company's own human answering operators rather than only to… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesA live receptionist takes over whenever the AI is stuck or a caller asks for a person… |
| After-hours rules | Answer AIPartlyRound-the-clock answering is stated plainly for every plan… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyThe AI answers around the clock, so there is no out-of-hours gap… |
| Urgent calls escalated | Answer AIPartlyUrgency recognition is claimed for emergency trades… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not stated |
| Texts your callers | Answer AINot stated | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)NoOutbound SMS exists only to deliver messages to your own listed staff mobiles and is… |
| Call summary by text | Answer AIYesMessage delivery is by email and the online portal as standard… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesA full call summary with caller name, contact details and reason for calling is sent by… |
| Language, privacy and trying it | ||
| Languages | Answer AIPartlyThe vendor claims 32 supported languages but publishes no list and gates multilingual… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyEnglish and Spanish |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | Answer AINot stated | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not stated |
| Hear it before you buy | Answer AIYesA public number is published to call the AI receptionist… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesA dedicated live demo number lets you talk to the Ginger AI agent about the service… |
| What it connects to | ||
| Google Calendar | Answer AINot stated | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)NoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Outlook | Answer AIYesBooking into a calendar is possible where an integration is configured… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)NoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Calendly | Answer AIYesBooking into a calendar is possible where an integration is configured… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesCalendly, Acuity Scheduling, Setmore and Square Appointments are supported… |
| Your trade’s software | Answer AINot stated | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyTrade tools named are Clio for law firms and ResDiary for hospitality |
| Keep your number | Answer AIYesYou keep your existing line and divert to the dedicated number supplied at no extra cost… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesYou keep your advertised business number and divert it to the receptionist number issued… |
| In short | ||
| What it is | Answer AIAnswer AI is a UK AI virtual receptionist from Answer.co.uk that answers calls around the clock, handles FAQs from your website or documents, captures caller details and sends messages by email or SMS. It is sold on four monthly plans with per-call charging.All answers for Answer AI | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)AnsweringService.com SmartMessage is an AI phone receptionist that answers calls 24/7 in English or Spanish, takes messages and transfers callers. A live receptionist takes over any call the AI cannot handle.All answers for AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup) |
| Checked | Answer AIOctober 14, 2026 | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)October 14, 2026 |
Costs are for 100 or 500 calls a month of 2½ minutes each, on the cheapest public plan. How we price