Virtual receptionist
A virtual receptionist is a receptionist who answers a business’s calls from somewhere other than the business’s own premises. Usually they work for a receptionist service shared across several client businesses.
Also called: remote receptionist, virtual front desk
The word "virtual" refers to where the receptionist sits, not to whether they are human. A virtual receptionist is typically a trained person working from a service provider’s office or from home, answering calls in the client’s name using a script and instructions that client has provided.
Services in this category usually go beyond message-taking: they greet callers, answer common questions, screen and transfer calls, and book appointments into the client’s calendar. Pricing is most often by minutes or by number of calls handled.
The term is sometimes used loosely for AI receptionists as well, because both replace an in-house front desk. When precision matters, "virtual receptionist" means a remote human and "AI receptionist" means software.