# AI Answering Service & AI Receptionist, 24/7

Source: https://insertchat.com/product/phone

> InsertChat answers your business calls from your own services, hours, and prices. It books appointments on your calendar and brings in your team, full transcript attached, when a person should follow up.

An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone calls with a natural voice, at any hour. InsertChat’s AI receptionist answers from your services, hours, and FAQs, captures each caller’s name, number, and request, books appointments within the rules you set, and brings in your team, transcript and summary attached, when a person is needed.

## Same call, two endings: voicemail vs an AI receptionist

A dramatized call to a fictional plumbing company, first to voicemail and then to an AI receptionist that books the visit. [Watch the video](https://cdn.insertchat.com/website/calls/v06-two-endings.mp4). Dramatization with a fictional business. The voices are narration voices; your assistant uses one of the 10 voices in InsertChat.

### Transcript

- **Voicemail:** Hey, it’s Dave’s Plumbing. Leave a message.
- **Caller:** Ugh. Never mind.
- **AI receptionist:** Dave’s Plumbing, how can I help?
- **Caller:** Hi, my kitchen sink is backing up. Can someone come today?
- **AI receptionist:** Yes, there’s a two o’clock opening today. Want it?
- **Caller:** Perfect.
- **AI receptionist:** You’re booked for two. I’m sending your confirmation now.

## Answers from your business

Services, prices, hours, service area, and policies from your website, documents, and written answers. Update a source once and every call uses it.

## Books while the caller is on the line

Offers open times from your calendar, books the one the caller picks, and can confirm it by text or email.

## Rings your team first, if you want

Let the AI answer every call, only after hours, or only when nobody picks up within 5 to 60 seconds.

## Keeps your number

Forward your US or Canadian number, or use a local or toll-free InsertChat number. Every paid plan includes one.

## Speaks your callers’ language

Ten voices to choose from. It answers in the language each caller speaks and switches when asked.

## Hands over the whole story

Every call lands in the shared inbox with a transcript, an AI summary, and the caller’s contact record.

## What your AI receptionist handles, and what it hands to you

Draw the line once. The receptionist resolves the routine calls and passes everything else to your team with the caller’s details already collected.

### Handled on the call

- Questions about services, prices, opening hours, and service area
- New inquiries, saved with the caller’s name, number, and request
- Booking, rescheduling, and canceling appointments it booked
- Callback requests, confirmed by text or email after the call
- Directions, policies, and what to bring or prepare
- Callers who speak Spanish or another language

### Passed to your team

- A caller who asks for a person
- A question your knowledge base doesn’t answer
- An upset caller or a complaint
- Emergencies and safety risks, flagged urgent after the caller hears your safety steps
- Actions you set to wait for approval
- Booking requests outside your appointment rules

## How to set up your AI receptionist

1. **Teach it your business.** Add your website, documents, and written answers about your services, prices, hours, and service area. Test the questions callers ask most.
2. **Choose the voice and when it answers.** Pick one of 10 voices and a greeting, then decide when it answers: always, after hours, or when your team doesn’t pick up.
3. **Test, then route your calls.** Place a test call. In the US and Canada, forward your existing number; elsewhere, use a local or toll-free InsertChat number.

## How does an AI receptionist answer calls?

Calls to your InsertChat number, or calls you forward to it, are answered in the voice and greeting you picked. The assistant answers from your knowledge base and instructions, asks for the caller’s name, number, and reason for calling when a follow-up needs them, and saves the call to the shared inbox so your team sees exactly what happened.

## Is an AI answering service the same as an AI receptionist?

For most businesses, yes: both names describe software that answers your business line with a natural voice instead of voicemail or a call center. InsertChat does more than take messages. It answers questions, books appointments, and the same assistant also covers website chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp in one shared inbox.

## What can an AI receptionist do on a call?

Answer questions about your services, prices, hours, and service area. Take the caller’s details and reason for calling. Offer open times, then book, move, or cancel appointments it booked. Confirm a booking or callback by text or email. Use connected apps such as HubSpot, Zoho, or Zendesk when you allow it. Flag urgent calls for your team.

## Which callers does the AI receptionist answer?

You choose per number: everyone, only numbers that aren’t saved in your contacts, or only saved contacts. Calls outside your selection ring the number you set for your team; with no number set, they end without an AI answer. Answering only unknown numbers keeps regular customers with your staff while every new caller still gets a reply.

## Can I keep my existing business number?

In the US and Canada, yes. Keep publishing your number and forward calls to InsertChat; setup gives you a private routing number and confirms forwarding with a verification call. Elsewhere, use a local or toll-free InsertChat number where one is available. Number porting is not offered. Step-by-step forwarding guides cover AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, RingCentral, Rogers, Bell, and Telus.

## Can an AI receptionist book appointments?

Yes, once you connect a calendar and allow it: InsertChat’s built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com. Choose which steps run on their own: offering times, booking, rescheduling, canceling, confirming details, and sending a confirmation. Appointment length (15 to 120 minutes), buffers, minimum notice, and how far ahead callers can book all follow your rules.

## When does a call go to a person?

Handoff rules route the conversation to your team when a customer asks for a person, the assistant is unsure of an answer, it cannot resolve the request after repeated attempts, the customer is upset, or the request involves a sensitive action. Your team continues with the full conversation in the shared inbox.

## Can it transfer callers to my phone?

Not during a call. Your phone can ring first instead: with the “AI when unanswered” setting, calls ring your number for 5 to 60 seconds before the AI receptionist answers. When a caller needs a person, the assistant takes the details, marks the conversation needs-you, emails your team, and tells the caller your team will follow up.

## Which voices and languages does it speak?

Choose one of 10 voices: four North American English voices, British-, Irish-, and Australian-influenced English voices, and two Brazilian Portuguese-influenced voices. Write a greeting of up to 200 characters. The receptionist answers in the language each caller speaks, switches when a caller asks, and lets you set your business language from 58 options.

## What happens after each call?

The call lands in the shared inbox with a transcript, an AI summary, and the caller’s contact record, including the number they dialed. Bookings appear on your calendar. If the caller needs a person, the conversation is marked needs-you and the teammates you chose get an email. A caller who asked for a callback gets a confirmation by text or email.

## How much does an AI receptionist cost?

Paid plans start at $98 per month with one phone number and 5,000 monthly credits; additional numbers are $10 per month. Calls use credits, round up to whole minutes, and have a one-minute minimum. At the usage estimator’s example rate of 12 credits per billable minute, Pro’s 5,000 monthly credits cover about 416 call minutes, roughly 138 three-minute calls, if you spend them only on calls. New customers can try Pro free for 7 days with 500 credits.

## Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a receptionist?

For call answering, by a wide margin. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median receptionist wage at $18.27 an hour (May 2025), about $3,168 a month for a full-time hire before benefits. InsertChat Pro is $98 a month and answers at 2 AM, on weekends, and several calls at once. Keep people for the conversations that need judgment.

Sources: [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Receptionists (May 2025 data)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/receptionists.htm).

## What won’t the AI receptionist do?

It doesn’t transfer live calls, take voicemail, record calls, or place outbound calls, and numbers can’t be ported in. It won’t announce a price, booking, or cancellation it hasn’t confirmed in your knowledge or calendar. When a request falls outside what it knows or may do, it collects the details and hands the conversation to your team.

## Four ways to route calls to your AI receptionist

Routing decides who picks up first. Set it for each phone number, change it any time, and add weekly opening hours, including overnight shifts, in your own time zone.

| Routing mode | Who answers first | When the AI takes the call | Good fit when |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AI always | The AI receptionist | Every call, day and night | Nobody can pick up during the workday, or every caller should get the same fast answer |
| AI after hours | Your team, during opening hours | Outside the weekly hours you set | Someone covers the phone while you’re open |
| AI when unanswered | Your team’s phone, for 5 to 60 seconds | When nobody picks up in time, or the call reaches a staff voicemail box | You want a person first and no missed calls |
| Team only | Your team | Never; calls ring the number you set | You want to pause the AI without changing your forwarding |

## AI receptionist vs voicemail vs a live answering service

| Compared | InsertChat AI receptionist | Voicemail | Live answering service |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Answers questions | Yes, from your knowledge base | No; callers leave a message | From the script you give the operators |
| Books appointments | Into the built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com | No | Depends on the provider and your calendar access |
| When it answers | Always, after hours, or when your team doesn’t pick up | When nobody answers | During the hours your plan covers |
| Record of each call | Transcript and AI summary in the shared inbox | A recorded message | Message notes from the operator |
| Urgent calls | Flagged and emailed to your team, with the safety steps you wrote; no live transfer | Heard when someone checks messages | Handled with the escalation instructions you give |
| Other channels | Website chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp from the same knowledge | Phone only | Varies by provider |
| Pricing | From $98 per month with monthly credits; calls billed in whole minutes | Usually included with your phone service | Varies by provider; often per minute or per call |

Voicemail and answering service details vary by provider. Check the terms of any service you compare.

## AI receptionist by industry

- [Plumbing](https://insertchat.com/industries/plumbing): Answer emergency and routine plumbing calls while your crew is on a job.
- [HVAC](https://insertchat.com/industries/hvac): Take no-heat, no-cooling, and tune-up calls when every technician is already booked.
- [Electrical](https://insertchat.com/industries/electrician): Book EV charger and panel upgrade visits, and flag burning smells and sparking right away.
- [Roofing](https://insertchat.com/industries/roofing): Separate active leaks from estimate requests and book roof inspections after a storm.
- [Locksmiths](https://insertchat.com/industries/locksmith): Capture lockout, rekey, and smart lock calls while you’re working at another door.
- [Cleaning](https://insertchat.com/industries/cleaning): Explain what each clean includes, collect home sizes, and book walkthroughs by phone or chat.
- [Dental](https://insertchat.com/industries/dental): Book cleanings and new-patient exams, and tell callers which insurance plans you accept.
- [Veterinary](https://insertchat.com/industries/veterinary): Answer pet owners’ calls about vaccines, refills, and sick pets during a full clinic day.
- [Law firms](https://insertchat.com/industries/legal): Take new client intake calls and book consultations while your attorneys are in court.
- [Property management](https://insertchat.com/industries/property-management): Take maintenance requests from residents and showing requests from renters, day or night.
- [Salons & spas](https://insertchat.com/industries/salon): Book cuts, color, nails, and massages for the right length while every chair is busy.
- [Auto repair](https://insertchat.com/industries/auto-repair): Book oil changes, brake jobs, and diagnostics while your service advisor is at the counter.

## Which phone numbers can I use?

Choose a local or toll-free InsertChat number where available; each paid plan includes one, and additional numbers are $10 per month. US and Canadian businesses can instead forward an existing number. Check the phone setup in your workspace and place a test call before routing customer calls.

## What do I need to set up an AI receptionist?

Your website or a few documents that describe your services, prices, hours, and service area, plus a calendar if you want bookings. Add that knowledge, pick a voice, set your routing, and place a test call. To keep a US or Canadian number, you also need your carrier’s call-forwarding settings.

## Does the AI receptionist answer after hours?

Yes. It answers whenever calls reach your InsertChat number, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Choose “AI after hours” to have your team answer while you’re open and the receptionist take over outside your weekly hours, or “AI always” to have it answer every call.

## Can it answer more than one call at a time?

Yes. Each assistant can be on several calls at once, so a second caller isn’t sent to a busy signal while the first one is booking. Every call gets its own transcript and summary in the shared inbox.

## Will callers know they’re talking to an AI?

If a caller asks whether they’re speaking with a person, the assistant says it is an AI assistant. Write your greeting the way you want callers to meet it, and set handoff rules so anyone who wants a person is passed to your team.

## Can I choose the receptionist’s voice and language?

Yes. Pick one of 10 voices and write a custom greeting of up to 200 characters. The AI receptionist answers in the language the caller speaks. Place a test call to hear how it introduces your business before going live.

## Does InsertChat record calls?

No. Calls aren’t recorded. Each call is saved as a written transcript with an AI summary in the shared inbox, next to the caller’s contact record, so your team can read what was said before calling back.

## Is the AI receptionist HIPAA compliant?

Enterprise plans can sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for healthcare organizations that handle protected health information. On other plans, do not add patient health information to the assistant’s knowledge or workflows.

## Related features

- [After-hours answering](https://insertchat.com/product/after-hours)
- [Scheduling](https://insertchat.com/product/scheduling)
- [Bilingual answering](https://insertchat.com/product/bilingual)
- [Virtual receptionist](https://insertchat.com/product/virtual-receptionist)
- [AI voice agent](https://insertchat.com/product/voice-agent)
- [Shared inbox](https://insertchat.com/product/inbox)