Never Miss an Out-of-Hours Customer Call
People don't stop needing you at half past five. When you're closed, AI Answerphone answers with your out-of-hours greeting, takes the caller's details and what they need, and has it waiting for you when you're back.
From £47/month · No night or weekend rates · Keep your number · No contract
Our own number is answered by AI Answerphone: call it to hear what your callers would.
Example out-of-hours greeting
"Thank you for calling Hartley Plumbing. We're closed at the moment, but I can take your details and someone will call you back."
Used automatically outside the hours you set
When you close, the phone keeps ringing
Plenty of customers only get round to calling once their own working day is over. If nobody answers, many won't wait for the morning; they'll ring whoever picks up.
Evenings
Calls after work, when customers finally have time to sort things out.
Overnight
Leaks, lock-outs, breakdowns and anything else that won't wait until 9am to be reported.
Weekends
Saturday and Sunday enquiries, taken properly instead of piling up in voicemail.
Bank holidays
Closed for the day, still answering the phone.
How out-of-hours answering works
Your hours, your greeting
In your portal you set opening hours for each day of the week, for example Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:30 with weekends closed. Then write an out-of-hours greeting and switch it on. Whenever a call arrives outside those hours, the AI opens with that greeting instead of your daytime one.
A proper enquiry, not a voicemail
After the greeting, the call runs the same way as in the day. The AI asks what the caller needs, takes their name, checks their number and asks any questions you've set, such as a postcode or how urgent it is. If they ask when you open, it gives your hours exactly as you've set them.
Waiting for you in the morning
Each enquiry is sent to your notification contacts by email, WhatsApp or SMS as soon as the call ends, and kept in your call log. You start the day knowing who called, what they wanted and who to ring first.
Two ways to set it up
Divert only when you close
Turn your divert on at the end of the day and off when you open. Many VoIP phone systems can do this on a timetable, so you don't have to remember.
Divert every call, all the time
AI Answerphone answers around the clock and switches between your daytime and out-of-hours greetings using the hours you've set.
Diverting guides: BT · iPhone · Android · VoIP and landlines. Full set-up steps are on how it works.
Urgent calls after hours
For businesses that offer emergency call-outs, the AI can ask each caller how urgent their problem is, and that answer goes into the notification.
It doesn't put calls through or phone anyone. If you run an on-call rota, add the on-call person's WhatsApp number or email as a notification contact so urgent enquiries reach them as soon as the call ends.
Weekends and bank holidays
Weekend cover works from your weekly hours: mark Saturday and Sunday as closed, or set shorter Saturday hours, and the right greeting plays automatically.
Business hours are set per day of the week, so for a bank holiday Monday, mark Monday as closed for that week and switch it back afterwards. Callers then hear your out-of-hours greeting on the day.
Be the business that answered
When someone rings three local firms on a Sunday evening, the one that answers and takes their details is the one they're expecting to hear back from. The others are a missed call they may never return.
Out-of-hours answering means your business is the one that answered. You still choose when to ring back, but the enquiry is yours rather than the next firm's.
Want the AI to answer during the day as well? Everything on this page also works as a full 24/7 telephone answering service or as an AI receptionist for every call.
Useful for
- Plumbers, electricians and heating engineers
- Locksmiths and property maintenance
- Letting agents and property managers
- Garages and breakdown services
- Any business with 9-to-5 staff and 24/7 customers
Out-of-hours answering pricing
Out-of-hours calls are included in every plan at no extra charge. The business hours and out-of-hours greeting settings come with Starter.
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.
Out-of-hours answering questions
Related services
The same AI Answerphone service, from a different angle.
Answer the calls that come after closing time
Set your hours, write your out-of-hours greeting and divert your line. Evening and weekend enquiries will be waiting for you.
Our own line is answered by AI Answerphone, so calling it is the quickest demo. Prefer to talk it through? Get in touch.