AI receptionist, Buyer guide · 9 min read
Best AI receptionist software: how the main options compare
By the CallRoute team · · Updated
AI receptionists went from novelty to normal quickly. Most business phone providers now offer one, answering services have added AI options, and a wave of standalone apps promise to pick up every call. They are not all the same thing. This guide explains the three main types, the criteria that actually matter, and a fair look at the names you will come across, so you can choose the one that fits how your business handles calls.
Three types of AI receptionist
| Type | How it works | Strengths | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built into your phone system | Your phone provider answers with AI when you choose, such as after hours or when nobody picks up | Messages land next to your calls and texts, no forwarding to set up | Often an add-on or a higher plan, and tied to that provider |
| Answering service with AI and people | A service answers your forwarded calls with AI, people or both | Human backup for calls the AI should not handle | Costs more when people are involved, messages arrive in a separate portal |
| Standalone AI answering app | You forward your existing number to the app | Works with any phone provider | Another bill and another place to check, and forwarding to get right |
What to look for
- When it answers. After hours only, when nobody picks up, every call, or overflow when lines are busy. You want control, not all or nothing.
- What it knows. How you give it your hours, services and common answers, and whether it sticks to them. The best ones say "I do not know, the team will follow up" instead of guessing.
- Message quality. Name, a callback number it confirmed, what the caller needs and how urgent it is, captured the same way every time.
- Where messages land. In the same inbox as your calls and texts, by email, in a separate portal, or in your CRM. The faster a message reaches the person who owns it, the more it is worth.
- Booking and transfers. If you need the AI to book into a calendar or put callers through to a person, check that it does both, and how.
- Languages. Whether it can answer callers in their own language.
- Honesty. It should say it is a virtual assistant when asked, and never invent prices or promises.
- Pricing model. Per minute, per call, or a monthly allowance with overage. Estimate your real call volume and price each option on it.
- Recording and transcripts. A transcript of every AI call lets you check what was said and improve the information you gave it.
The names you will come across
These notes are deliberately conservative. AI products change fast, so check each provider's current plans before you decide.
Built into business phone systems
- RingCentral sells its AI Receptionist as an add-on from $39 a month with 100 minutes, then $0.50 a minute, or $49 a month standalone for other phone systems, as listed in November 2026. It routes callers by name or reason, books into Google or Outlook calendars and speaks six languages. See RingCentral AI Receptionist pricing and CallRoute vs RingCentral.
- Dialpad sells AI agents that answer calls under the name Resolve, at $1.99 per voice conversation and $0.99 per digital conversation from a prepaid credit pool set up through sales, as of November 2026. You are billed when the agent looks something up or takes an action. See CallRoute vs Dialpad.
- Quo (formerly OpenPhone) includes its Sona AI agent on every plan, with about 10 free calls and then credit packs, from $25 for about 40 calls. Sona can answer in English, Spanish and French. See CallRoute vs Quo.
- Zoom sells a virtual agent product separately from Zoom Phone. See CallRoute vs Zoom Phone.
- Aircall, JustCall and CloudTalk sell AI answering on top of their call center tools. When we checked in November 2026, Aircall listed 50 AI Voice Agent minutes a month, then $0.29 a minute, JustCall listed its AI Voice Agent from $0.15 a minute, and CloudTalk its AI Receptionist at EUR 99 a month. See vs Aircall, vs JustCall and vs CloudTalk.
- Nextiva and Vonage offer AI answering as an add-on or a separate AI product. Nextiva listed its XBert AI at $99 a month for 100 conversations, or $1.50 per conversation, in November 2026. See vs Nextiva and vs Vonage.
- KrispCall sells an AI Voice Agent at custom pricing through its sales team, with calls and texts billed on top, and lists it as coming soon in its product menu as of November 2026. It promises calendar booking and hand off to a person. AI call summaries on KrispCall phone plans are a separate add-on. See CallRoute vs KrispCall.
- Grasshopper and Google Voice are simpler phone tools where AI answering is not a core feature. See vs Grasshopper and vs Google Voice.
Answering services with AI and people
Services such as Smith.ai offer AI answering alongside live human receptionists, and Ruby is best known for live receptionists who answer in your business name. These suit businesses where a person must be available for some calls, such as legal intake or urgent service lines. You forward calls to them and messages usually arrive by email, app or their own portal.
Standalone AI answering apps
A growing group of apps answer calls you forward from any phone provider. They are quick to try and work with whatever number you have today. The trade-off is another subscription and another place to read messages, and if forwarding is set up wrong, calls can loop or go unanswered. Test carefully.
CallRoute
The AI receptionist is built into CallRoute's business phone. It answers when you are closed, when nobody picks up, or both, per number. It answers simple questions using only what you write about your business plus your hours, replies in the caller's language, says it is a virtual assistant if asked, and takes a message with the caller's name, what they need and a confirmed callback number, flagging urgent calls. Messages land in the caller's inbox thread with a transcript, and the number's owner gets an email. It cannot book appointments, transfer or connect calls, so it is a fit for businesses that want every caller heard and called back, not for those that need the AI to complete bookings.
Which type fits which business
| If you... | Consider |
|---|---|
| Want messages next to your calls and texts with no forwarding | An AI receptionist built into your phone system |
| Need a person available for some calls at any hour | An answering service with live agents |
| Want to keep your current phone provider | A standalone app, or your provider's own AI add-on |
| Need the AI to book into a calendar | A product with a calendar integration, tested on your real booking rules |
| Mostly miss calls after hours | Any type, set to answer only when you are closed |
How to test an AI receptionist before you rely on it
- Write the facts first. Hours, services, service area, prices you are happy to share, and how to book. Short sentences beat long paragraphs.
- Call it as five different callers. Someone asking your hours, a new customer, an urgent problem, an angry caller, and a question you never covered.
- Check the messages. Are the name, number and reason right? Was the urgent call marked urgent?
- Read the transcripts. Did it guess anywhere? Tighten the information where it did.
- Repeat after every change to your hours or services.
For a broader comparison with voicemail and human services, read AI receptionist vs voicemail vs answering service, and for every way to stop losing callers, how to never miss a business call.
CallRoute pricing and setup
Turn it on under Numbers, then Call handling, and fill in About your business. Business Plus includes 30 AI receptionist minutes per user each month, pooled across the team. Beyond that, and on the Business plan, it costs $0.25 a minute from your wallet. If the wallet is empty, callers get your normal voicemail, so no call goes unanswered. Setup steps are in the AI receptionist help article. See the AI receptionist, pricing, or start a free trial.