# AI Virtual Receptionist Service, From $98/mo

Source: https://insertchat.com/product/virtual-receptionist

> Human virtual receptionist services bill by the minute or the call and cover the phone. InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist answers calls, website chat, texts, email, and WhatsApp from your knowledge, books appointments, and hands your team the rest.

A virtual receptionist answers your business calls from somewhere other than your office. Traditional virtual receptionist services use live agents in a call center; an AI virtual receptionist uses software. InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist answers calls, website chat, and texts from your own knowledge, books appointments, and passes anything that needs a person to your team.

## Greets every caller by name

Your business name in a greeting of up to 200 characters, in one of 10 voices, at any hour.

## Answers the everyday questions

Prices, hours, service area, and policies from your website, documents, and written answers.

## Takes complete details

Name, number, and reason for calling, saved to a contact with a transcript and a summary.

## Books and reschedules

Appointments go straight onto your calendar under your booking rules.

## Screens who it answers

Answer everyone, only unknown numbers, or only your saved contacts.

## Covers more than the phone

Website chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp share the same knowledge and inbox.

## A human service or an AI virtual receptionist?

Both answer your phone. They differ in who picks up, how you pay, and what happens to the customers who never call.

### Choose InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist when

- Most calls are questions, bookings, and new inquiries
- You want nights, weekends, and holidays covered by the same plan
- Customers also reach you by website chat, text, email, or WhatsApp
- You want one set of answers, updated in one place
- Your callers speak more than one language
- You want calls and messages on one monthly plan

### Choose a human answering service when

- Every caller must speak with a person
- Calls need a live transfer to your staff
- Callers must be able to leave voicemail, or calls must be recorded
- Your workflow depends on outbound calls, such as reminder calls
- Most calls are long conversations that need human judgment

## Switch from a human service to an AI virtual receptionist

1. **Hand over your call script.** Add the script, FAQs, and intake questions your current service uses to the assistant’s knowledge and instructions.
2. **Set the voice, greeting, and routing.** Pick a voice, write the greeting your callers know, and choose when the AI answers: always, after hours, or when your team doesn’t pick up.
3. **Test, then move your forwarding.** Place test calls first. In the US and Canada, point your carrier’s forwarding at InsertChat instead of your old service; elsewhere, use an InsertChat number.

## What does a virtual receptionist do?

Greets callers by your business name, answers routine questions, takes the caller’s details, books appointments, and makes sure calls that need you reach your team. InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist does each of these on calls, and also answers website chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp from the same knowledge, in one shared inbox.

## Is a virtual receptionist a real person?

With a traditional virtual receptionist service, yes: live agents answer from a call center or from home, following a script you approve. With an AI virtual receptionist such as InsertChat, software answers in a natural voice. If a caller asks whether they are speaking with a person, InsertChat’s assistant says it is an AI assistant.

## How much does a virtual receptionist cost?

Human services sell bundles of minutes or calls. On October 13, 2026, Ruby listed 50 minutes for $250 a month, PATLive 50 minutes for $99, and Smith.ai’s smallest human-first plan 30 calls for $300. InsertChat Pro is $98 a month with 5,000 credits: about 416 call minutes at the estimator’s example rate, with chat, email, and texts on the same plan.

Sources: [Ruby pricing](https://www.ruby.com/pricing/); [PATLive pricing](https://www.patlive.com/pricing/); [Smith.ai (human-first) pricing](https://smith.ai/pricing).

## Virtual receptionist vs answering service: what’s the difference?

An answering service traditionally takes messages; a virtual receptionist acts like a front desk, answering questions, booking appointments, and routing calls. Most providers now sell both. InsertChat works like a virtual receptionist: it answers from your knowledge and books on your calendar instead of only taking a message.

## Can an AI virtual receptionist transfer calls?

InsertChat doesn’t transfer live calls. Your phone can ring first instead: with “AI when unanswered”, calls ring your number for 5 to 60 seconds before the AI answers. When a caller needs a person, the assistant collects the details, marks the conversation needs-you, and emails your team so someone calls back with the transcript in hand.

## Can it handle more calls than a human receptionist?

A person answers one call at a time during set hours. InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist can be on several calls at once and answers at any hour, so a lunchtime rush or a 10 PM call gets the same answer as a quiet Tuesday morning.

## What should a virtual receptionist script include?

Your greeting, the questions callers ask most with your answers, the details to collect from every caller (name, number, reason for calling, and address if you visit customers), your booking rules, and what counts as urgent. In InsertChat the script becomes knowledge and instructions, so one update changes every call that follows.

## Will my callers notice the switch?

They’ll hear a different voice. Keep the greeting your callers know, add the answers your current service gives, and test with real questions before you move your forwarding. The receptionist asks for the same details your intake script asks for, so your team’s follow-up stays the same.

## Does an AI virtual receptionist work for law firms and medical offices?

Yes for intake, scheduling, and routine questions. For a law firm, set intake questions and a handoff rule for anything that needs legal advice. Practices that handle protected health information need Enterprise with a signed Business Associate Agreement; on other plans, keep patient health information out of the assistant.

## Human virtual receptionist service vs InsertChat’s AI virtual receptionist

Human services price by the minute or by the call. InsertChat prices by plan, answers on more channels, and keeps a written record of every conversation.

| Compared | Human virtual receptionist service | InsertChat AI virtual receptionist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Who answers | Live receptionists working from a script you approve | An AI assistant in one of 10 voices, answering from your knowledge |
| How you pay | Ruby: $250 a month for 50 minutes; PATLive: $99 a month for 50 minutes; Smith.ai (human-first): $300 a month for 30 calls | From $98 a month with 5,000 credits shared by calls and messages; calls round up to whole minutes |
| Calls at the same time | As many as there are free receptionists | Several at once for each assistant |
| Hours | Depends on the plan | Every hour, including nights, weekends, and holidays |
| Live call transfer | Check the provider’s plan | Not offered; your phone can ring first, then the AI answers |
| Appointment booking | Depends on the provider and your calendar access | Built-in calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Calendly, or Cal.com |
| Other channels | Phone, and live chat with some providers | Website chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp in the same inbox |
| Record of each call | Messages or notes from the receptionist | Transcript, AI summary, and contact record in the shared inbox |
| Languages | Depends on the provider | Answers in the caller’s language; 58 business-language options |

Human-service prices are each vendor’s smallest listed plan, checked on October 13, 2026. Other human-service details vary by provider; confirm them before you decide.

Sources: [Ruby pricing](https://www.ruby.com/pricing/); [PATLive pricing](https://www.patlive.com/pricing/); [Smith.ai (human-first) pricing](https://smith.ai/pricing).

## Virtual receptionist by industry

- [Law firms](https://insertchat.com/industries/legal): Take new client intake calls and book consultations while your attorneys are in court.
- [Accounting](https://insertchat.com/industries/accounting): Book tax appointments and answer document questions while your accountants work on returns.
- [Insurance](https://insertchat.com/industries/insurance): Collect quote details and answer policy FAQs while your licensed agents are on other calls.
- [Dental](https://insertchat.com/industries/dental): Book cleanings and new-patient exams, and tell callers which insurance plans you accept.
- [Chiropractic](https://insertchat.com/industries/chiropractic): Schedule first visits and adjustments while your hands are busy with a patient.
- [Therapy practices](https://insertchat.com/industries/therapy): Answer new-client inquiries and book consultations while your therapists are in session.
- [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.
- [Contractors](https://insertchat.com/industries/contractors): Book site visits for new remodels and take messages from clients and subs while you build.

## Does InsertChat provide human receptionists?

No. InsertChat is an AI virtual receptionist: software answers your calls and messages, and your own team takes over in the shared inbox. If every call must reach a person, a human service such as Ruby, PATLive, or Smith.ai’s human-first plans is the better fit.

## Can I keep my number when I switch from another service?

In the US and Canada, yes: change your carrier’s call forwarding from your current service to the private routing number InsertChat gives you, and confirm it with the verification call. Elsewhere, use a local or toll-free InsertChat number where one is available. Number porting is not offered.

## Does the AI virtual receptionist take messages?

It takes the caller’s name, number, and reason for calling, saves them to a contact with a transcript and an AI summary, and confirms a requested callback by text or email. It doesn’t record voicemail; your team reads the request in the shared inbox instead.

## Can I test it before canceling my current service?

Yes. Set it up on an InsertChat number while your current service keeps answering, call it with real questions, then move your forwarding when you’re ready. New customers can try Pro free for 7 days with 500 credits.

## Does it work outside the US?

Yes. Outside the US and Canada, use a local or toll-free InsertChat number where one is available; UK numbers are voice-only, so texting needs another number. Callers are answered in the language they speak.

## Related features

- [AI receptionist](https://insertchat.com/product/phone)
- [After-hours answering](https://insertchat.com/product/after-hours)
- [AI voice agent](https://insertchat.com/product/voice-agent)