AI Receptionist for UK Businesses
AI Answerphone picks up your business calls in a natural British voice, finds out what each caller needs, takes their details and answers the questions you've prepared it for. A few seconds after the call ends, you have the name, number, reason for calling and a full transcript on your phone.
From £47/month · Keep your existing number · No set-up fee · No contract
Our own number is answered by AI Answerphone: call it to hear what your callers would.
Example notification
- Caller
- Sarah Hughes
- Number
- 07700 900123
- Department
- Quotes
"Wants a quote to replace a leaking kitchen tap. Free weekday mornings. Postcode IP4."
View full transcript →What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist answers your phone the way a receptionist would: it greets the caller, listens, asks sensible follow-up questions and makes sure the right person gets the message. The difference is that it is software, so it can answer at 3am on a Sunday, pick up several calls at once and never has a day off.
It is not the same as an automated menu that asks callers to press 1 or 2. Callers simply say what they need in their own words, and the AI replies in natural speech. It is also not voicemail: the caller has a conversation, and you get a clear written enquiry instead of a recording to listen back to.
With AI Answerphone, you set it up for your business in an online portal. You write your greeting, pick a voice, describe what you do (you can draft the description from your website in one click), set your opening hours and choose what information to collect. Each call follows that set-up.
On every call, it will
- Greet the caller with your own greeting, word for word
- Ask why they're calling
- Take their name and confirm their number
- Ask your extra questions, one at a time
- Answer questions from the information you've given it
- Tell the caller the details are being passed on
- Send you the enquiry as soon as the call ends
How AI Answerphone handles a call
From the first ring to the message in your hand. For set-up steps, see how it works.
A customer rings your number
Your existing line diverts to your AI Answerphone number: every call, only the ones you miss, or only when you're closed. The caller hears a normal UK ring tone.
The AI answers in your words
It reads out your greeting, or your out-of-hours greeting if you're closed, in the British voice you picked, then asks how it can help.
It gathers the details
Reason for calling, name, and a check that the number is right. Then anything else you need for that type of enquiry, such as a postcode, company name, reference number or how urgent it is.
You get the enquiry
An alert goes to the contacts for that department by email, WhatsApp or SMS, with a summary and a link to the full transcript.
What the AI receptionist does for you
Everything below is part of the service today. The full list is on the features page.
24/7 call answering
It answers whenever your divert is on, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, and it can take more than one call at the same time, so callers don't hit an engaged tone.
Answers common questions
Opening hours, the areas you cover, what you do and don't offer: it answers from the business description and instructions you give it, quotes your hours exactly, and never guesses.
Message taking and enquiry capture
Every call becomes a written enquiry: who called, their number, why, and the answers to your questions, with a summary at the top.
Sends each enquiry to the right team
On Growth and Pro you can set up departments such as Sales, Service or Accounts. The AI works out which one each call is for and alerts that team's contacts.
Email, WhatsApp and SMS alerts
Choose who hears about each call and how. Email and WhatsApp contacts are included in every plan; SMS alerts use prepaid credits.
Recognises your clients
Add your existing customers to the client database (Growth and Pro) and the AI will recognise them by their phone number.
Knows when you're open
Set your hours for each day. Outside them, callers hear your out-of-hours greeting, and the AI can tell them when you'll be back.
Learns from corrections
If it ever gives a wrong answer, mark it on the transcript and type the right one. It uses your correction on every call after that.
What it doesn't do
It's better to know before you sign up. AI Answerphone doesn't book appointments directly into a calendar: it takes the booking request and sends it to you to confirm. It doesn't transfer live calls to you or your staff: it takes the call and alerts you straight away. It keeps a written transcript of every call, not an audio recording.
Keep your existing number
You don't change your number, your handset or your phone provider. When you activate, we give you a UK number for your AI receptionist. You then set a call divert on your existing line, the same way you would divert to a mobile.
Most UK lines let you divert all calls, calls you don't answer, calls when you're engaged, or calls when your phone is off. That lets you pick how much the AI handles. Our step-by-step guides cover BT landlines, iPhone and Android.
Missed calls only
Your phone rings first. If you don't pick up, the AI does.
Out of hours only
Divert when you close; the AI covers evenings and weekends. Out-of-hours answering
Every call
The AI answers everything straight away, around the clock.
How it compares
An AI receptionist sits between voicemail and a person on your front desk. Here's where each one fits.
AI receptionist vs voicemail
| Voicemail | AI Answerphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Caller experience | A beep and a recording | A conversation with answers |
| What you get | Audio, if they leave a message | A written enquiry and transcript |
| Details | Whatever the caller remembers to say | The questions you've chosen, asked every time |
| Questions answered | None | Hours, services, areas and more |
| Alerts | Depends on your phone | Email, WhatsApp or SMS within seconds |
Plenty of callers hang up at the beep and ring the next business on the list. A conversation gives them a reason to stay on the line.
AI receptionist vs a traditional receptionist
| Receptionist | AI Answerphone | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | Working hours, plus cover for holidays and sickness | 24/7 while your divert is on |
| Calls at once | One | Several |
| Cost | A salary | A monthly plan from £47 |
| Judgement | Can handle anything unusual | Follows your set-up and passes the rest on |
| Transfers and diary | Can put calls through and book directly | Takes the details for you to action |
If your calls need someone to make decisions on the spot, a person is the better fit. If most calls are enquiries, messages and the same handful of questions, an AI receptionist covers them at any hour. Many businesses use both: staff answer during the day and the AI takes overflow and out-of-hours calls.
Comparing staffed answering services instead? See AI vs a traditional telephone answering service.
Which businesses use an AI receptionist?
It suits any business where calls arrive when nobody can answer them, and most calls are enquiries that someone follows up later. Typical examples:
See examples by industryTrades
Plumbers, electricians and builders taking quote requests while on a job.
Garages
MOT, service and repair enquiries while everyone is in the workshop.
Salons and clinics
Booking requests and common questions while you're with a client.
Estate and letting agents
Viewing requests and tenant calls that come in after the office closes.
Professional services
New-client enquiries passed to the right team with the details you need.
Cleaners and local services
Enquiries captured while you're mid-shift, day or night.
AI receptionist pricing
Every plan answers calls 24/7 and includes email and WhatsApp alerts. Higher plans add departments, more voices and more notification contacts.
Starter
Perfect for sole traders and small businesses
£47/month
350 call minutes included
- AI answers every call 24/7
- 1 department
- 2 voice choices (1 male, 1 female)
- Professional greeting
Growth
For growing businesses with multiple departments
£77/month
750 call minutes included
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Up to 3 departments with auto-detection
- 6 voice choices (3 male, 3 female)
- Per-department data collection
Pro
Maximum flexibility for larger businesses
£97/month
1,250 call minutes included
- Everything in Growth, plus:
- Up to 10 departments
- All 8 voice choices
- 10 email notification contacts
No set-up fee, no contract, cancel any time. Compare every plan feature or see how the cost compares with a staffed answering service.
AI receptionist questions
Related services
The same AI Answerphone service, from a different angle.
Put an AI receptionist on your phone line
Set it up online, divert your number and every call is answered from then on. No contract, cancel any time.
Our own line is answered by AI Answerphone, so calling it is the quickest demo. Prefer to talk it through? Get in touch.