My AI Front Desk vs AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)
The short answer
- AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup) costs least at 100 calls a month ($90 via sales), My AI Front Desk at 500 ($359).
- Only AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup) has receptionists of its own to take over a call on every plan.
- Only My AI Front Desk holds a two-way text conversation with callers from the Business-in-a-Box plan.
 My AI Front DeskVisit 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 | My AI Front Desk$109 | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$90 via salesLowest |
| At 500 calls a month | My AI Front Desk$359Lowest | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$450 via sales |
| Advertised from | My AI Front Desk$99 a month | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)$10 a month |
| The advertised plan covers | My AI Front DeskThe $99 plan covers 96 of 100 calls.4 cost extra. | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not counted |
| Bills | My AI Front Deskper minute | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)per call |
| Keeps answering past your allowance | My AI Front DeskYesCalls keep being answered past the allowance | 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 | My AI Front DeskPartlyBusiness-in-a-Box comes with a 7-day free trial, so you can try it before paying | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesBilling is month to month with no contract, and you cancel from the dashboard without a… | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesIt books into your calendar during the call | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesWarm transfer is supported. 'Hot' transfers can play a whisper summary to your staff… | 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 | My AI Front DeskNoThere are no vendor-staffed human receptionists | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesIt answers 24/7 | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesUrgent calls are escalated through transfer scenarios you describe… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not stated |
| Texts your callers | My AI Front DeskYesIt can text callers during and after a call (links, menus, confirmations)… | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesCall notifications can go by SMS or email and can include the AI call summary and… | 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 | My AI Front DeskPartly20+ languages | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)PartlyEnglish and Spanish |
| HIPAA, with a signed BAA | My AI Front DeskYesThe HIPAA landing page says a Business Associate Agreement comes with every plan and is… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)Not stated |
| Hear it before you buy | My AI Front DeskYesThere is a public demo phone line to call before buying… | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesGoogle Calendar has a native two-way sync with a setup guide | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)NoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Outlook | My AI Front DeskYesOutlook / Microsoft 365 calendar sync is listed on the integrations page | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)NoGoogle Calendar and Outlook are not named anywhere |
| Calendly | My AI Front DeskYesCalendly is named in the booking FAQ and in the help centre's scheduling category… | AnsweringService.com SmartMessage (AI Call Answering with Live Receptionist Backup)YesCalendly, Acuity Scheduling, Setmore and Square Appointments are supported… |
| Your trade’s software | My AI Front DeskYesThere are documented connectors for Housecall Pro… | 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 | My AI Front DeskYesYou can keep your existing number and forward calls to your Frontdesk number… | 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 | My AI Front DeskMy AI Front Desk (branded Frontdesk) is an AI receptionist that answers a business's phone calls and also handles web chat, two-way SMS, email and a built-in CRM. Small businesses buy it self-serve; agencies can resell it under their own brand.All answers for My AI Front Desk | 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 | My AI Front DeskOctober 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