# What Is an AI Receptionist? Definition & Uses Source: https://insertchat.com/glossary/ai-receptionist > An AI receptionist answers business calls with a natural voice, day or night. Learn how it works, what it can handle, and where a person still steps in. An AI receptionist is software that answers a business’s phone calls with a natural, conversational voice. It greets callers, answers questions from the business’s own information, collects names and reasons for calling, books appointments when allowed, and passes the call details to staff when a person is needed. It works around the clock without hold queues. ## How an AI receptionist works Calls reach the AI receptionist in one of two ways: customers dial a number the provider gives you, or your existing line forwards calls to it. A speech model turns the caller’s words into text, a language model decides what to say from your knowledge and instructions, and a voice model speaks the reply, all fast enough to hold a normal conversation. What separates a useful AI receptionist from a talking FAQ is what happens around the answer. It needs your services, prices, hours, and service area; rules for when to bring in a person; and a place where your team reads every call afterward. Connected to a calendar, it can offer real open times instead of promising a callback. Read the full [AI receptionist guide](https://insertchat.com/blog/what-is-an-ai-receptionist) for setup and costs. ## Example: a plumber’s 2 a.m. call A two-truck plumbing company gets a call at 2 a.m. from a homeowner whose water heater is leaking. The AI receptionist reads the shut-off steps the owner wrote, takes the address and a callback number, books the first morning slot, and flags the call as urgent. At 7 a.m. the owner opens one summary instead of a voicemail. This scenario is illustrative. ## InsertChat’s AI receptionist InsertChat is built to answer every call a small business gets. Its [AI receptionist](https://insertchat.com/product/phone) answers from your website pages, documents, and written answers, in one of 10 voices with a greeting you write. It asks for the caller’s name, number, and reason for calling, books on the calendar you connect, and saves each call with a transcript and an AI summary in the shared inbox. In the US and Canada you keep your business number and forward it; elsewhere you use a local or toll-free InsertChat number. Paid plans start at $98 per month with one number included, and new customers can test it free for 7 days with 500 credits. See [industry examples for plumbers](https://insertchat.com/industries/plumbing) and other trades. ## Is an AI receptionist the same as a chatbot? They use similar language technology, but an AI receptionist works on the phone, so it has to listen, speak, and handle interruptions in real time. Many products, InsertChat included, run the same assistant on calls and website chat from one knowledge base. ## Can an AI receptionist transfer a call to me? Some can. InsertChat does not transfer during a call. Instead your phone can ring first for 5 to 60 seconds, and when a caller needs a person the assistant takes the details, marks the conversation for your team, and emails them. ## What should an AI receptionist never do? It should not guess prices or policies it was not given, make promises outside your rules, or give advice that needs a licensed professional. Good setups hand those calls to a person and say plainly when information is missing. ## Related terms - [Virtual receptionist](https://insertchat.com/glossary/virtual-receptionist): A virtual receptionist is a receptionist who answers your business calls remotely instead of sitting at your front desk. - [AI answering service](https://insertchat.com/glossary/ai-answering-service): An AI answering service answers a business’s phone calls with voice AI instead of call center staff. - [Voice AI agent](https://insertchat.com/glossary/voice-ai-agent): A voice AI agent is software that holds a spoken conversation and takes actions on someone’s behalf. - [Call forwarding](https://insertchat.com/glossary/call-forwarding): Call forwarding is a phone feature that sends incoming calls from one number to another. - [Human handoff](https://insertchat.com/glossary/human-handoff): Human handoff is the point where an AI assistant passes a customer conversation to a person, along with everything said so far. - [After-hours answering service](https://insertchat.com/glossary/after-hours-answering-service): An after-hours answering service answers a business’s calls outside its opening hours, such as evenings, weekends, and holidays. ## Related InsertChat pages - [AI receptionist for small business](https://insertchat.com/product/phone) - [What is an AI receptionist? Full guide](https://insertchat.com/blog/what-is-an-ai-receptionist) - [AI receptionist cost guide](https://insertchat.com/blog/ai-receptionist-cost) - [AI receptionist for plumbers](https://insertchat.com/industries/plumbing)