| Live answering service | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | A trained person, usually at a call center | An AI voice trained on your business |
| Pricing | Usually per minute or per call | Usually a flat monthly price |
| Hours | Depends on the plan; 24/7 often costs more | Answers any time, including nights and weekends |
| Busy periods | Can mean hold times when many calls arrive at once | Answers calls at the same time without a queue |
| Knowledge of your business | A script they read from | Your services, hours and service area, learned up front |
| Complex or emotional calls | A person handles nuance well | Should hand off to you when a caller needs a person |
When a live answering service makes sense
- Your calls often need judgment a script can't cover
- Your callers strongly expect to talk to a person every time
- Your call volume is low and steady, so per-minute pricing stays small
When an AI receptionist makes sense
- Most calls are the same handful of requests: quotes, appointments, emergencies, questions about hours or service area
- Calls spike with weather or seasons and per-minute bills get unpredictable
- You want every call answered, including after hours, for one predictable price
What to ask any provider
- What happens when a caller asks for a real person?
- Will it ever promise a time or price I haven't approved?
- Do I keep my existing business number?
- How do I see what each caller wanted?
- What exactly is included in the price: the phone number, the minutes, the AI?
How Riley answers those questions
When a caller asks for a person, Riley tries to reach you. If you can't pick up, she takes their name, number and reason, tells them you'll call back, and ends the call; she never promises a callback time. Appointment times are always requests that you confirm. You keep your number by forwarding it, and you get a summary of every call. $149 a month includes your Riley number, the call minutes and the AI, and you can hear her first on the demo line.
