Answering service alternatives
A traditional answering service takes a message for you to act on later; every option on this list answers the call itself, with software, with a person, or with both.
The classic answering service, a shared operator, a script, a message in your inbox, solved one problem: the phone got picked up. It did not answer the caller’s question, book anything, or work from your calendar. The options below all do at least some of that. They are ordered from the one we think fits most small businesses to the ones for specific situations, and we have put our own entry first because this is the category we were built for; the rest of the list is there so you can check that judgement.
Example call
Incoming call
New caller
(757) 555-0134
Outerbanks HVAC line
Sent to voicemail. That is the call you lose.
- Thank you for calling Outerbanks HVAC. This is Eryn, an AI receptionist.
- I can help with scheduling service, questions about your heating or cooling system, or an existing appointment.
- How can I help you today?
- Hi. My AC stopped cooling this morning. Can someone come out today?
- I can help with that. Are you a new or an existing customer?
- New. I found you online.
- Welcome. May I have your name and the best number to reach you?
- Dana Reyes. 757-555-0134.
- Thanks, Dana. What is the address for the visit?
- 412 Bay Street, Chesapeake.
- Got it. Is this urgent, or is later this week fine?
- Urgent. It is 88 degrees in the house. Any time after 2 today works.
- Understood. The diagnostic visit is $89. I will send your details to the service team now, and they will confirm the window with you.
- Can I talk to a person before I hang up?
- Of course. Transferring you to the team now.
- Transferred to a person. The human desk is the backup on every call.
- Message sent to your inbox
- Transcript and recording saved
Answered by aiReceptionist. It says it is an AI at the start of every call.
The shortlist
An AI receptionist that answers every call itself, in your words, at any hour, and transfers the calls that need a person to one you name. Plans from $99/month with 200 minutes, additional minutes from $0.60, no long-term contract, and a free trial that includes everything in the plan you choose.
Best for: Businesses whose calls are mostly routine, hours, bookings, quotes, messages, and who want a flat, published price with a person as the backup.
Human virtual receptionists, an AI receptionist, and a hybrid of the two. Virtual receptionist plans are priced per call: Starter $300/month for 30 calls, Basic $810/month for 90, Pro $2,100/month for 300, month-to-month with no setup fees and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The AI receptionist is free for 25 calls a month and $3.00 per call after that, or $2.00 per call on Pro.
Best for: Firms that want to choose call by call between a North American live agent and an AI, on one account.
- 3
Ruby
Ruby is our escalation partner, and in our view the most human and empathetic receptionist option available. Live virtual receptionists with 24/7 phone and website coverage, including after-hours, weekends and holidays, plus managed live chat and a mobile app. Receptionist plans from $250/month for 50 minutes to $1,725/month for 500 minutes.
Best for: Businesses where the impression on the call matters most and every caller should reach a person.
A US-based receptionist team with human and AI answering on the same plan. Plans from $165/month for 50 Abby Minutes to $1,380/month for 500; an AI-answered minute counts as half an Abby Minute. Month-to-month, no setup fee, free trial included with every plan, 24/7 available with custom hours.
Best for: Businesses that want people on some calls and AI on the rest without running two services.
An AI phone agent for small businesses, priced per agent rather than per minute: Starter $79/month, Growth $129/month, Scale $249/month, with unlimited minutes on every tier and an allowance of customers per month ($0.50 per customer beyond it).
Best for: Owners who want to build and run an AI agent themselves and never think about minutes.
A self-serve AI receptionist with a single Business-in-a-Box plan: $99/month ($79/month billed annually) for 200 voice minutes, 100 chatbot conversations and 400 SMS messages, a 7-day free trial, no contracts, and overage at $0.25 per voice minute.
Best for: Solo operators who want to set up an AI receptionist in minutes and pay one small monthly fee.
A platform to build, test and deploy voice AI agents yourself. Free plan with 100 minutes a month, Starter $50/month for 250 minutes ($0.25 per additional minute), Pro $150/month for 750 minutes ($0.30 per additional minute), and enterprise rates as low as 5 cents a minute.
Best for: Technical teams that want to design their own call flows and integrations on a per-minute platform.
When Answering service is still the right choice
A traditional answering service is still the right choice when the call itself needs a person and the message is the whole job: a distressed caller, a complaint that needs to be heard before it is resolved, sensitive intake where the caller may not want to talk to software, or a regulator or insurer that requires a human to take the call. It is also the right choice for a caller base that will hang up on anything automated.
We say that plainly because it is true, and because it is why aiReceptionist is built to hand calls to a person rather than replace one. If most of your calls are of that kind, keep the human desk and add software in front of it later, not the other way round.
Questions people ask
- What is the difference between an answering service and these alternatives?
- An answering service takes a message and passes it on. The services here answer the call: they give the caller information, book appointments, capture details in your systems, and transfer to a person when needed, some with software, some with people, some with both.
- Is an AI receptionist a replacement for an answering service?
- For routine calls, hours, bookings, quotes, messages, yes. For calls that need human judgement or empathy, no, and a good AI receptionist hands those to a person rather than guessing.
- Which of these use people?
- Ruby puts a person on every call. Smith.ai and Abby Connect offer people and AI on one plan. aiReceptionist, Goodcall, My AI Front Desk and Phonely answer with AI.
- What do they cost?
- Published entry prices range from free tiers (Phonely, 100 minutes a month) and $50 to $99 a month for AI-first options, to $165 a month for Abby Connect’s first human-and-AI plan, $250 for Ruby’s 50-minute plan and $300 for Smith.ai’s 30-call plan. Each figure is quoted from the vendor’s site and dated below.
- Can I keep my answering service as the backup?
- Yes. Many businesses put an AI receptionist in front of the desk they already have, so the desk only takes the calls that need a person. That is how aiReceptionist is designed to work.
Try aiReceptionist on your own calls
The free trial includes everything in the plan you choose. Run it alongside what you have today.