AI Phone Assistant for Your Business Number

What does an AI phone assistant do?

An AI phone assistant answers the calls you can't take, in your business name, and Ringzel does it for every forwarded call on every plan from $99 a month, with no per-call charges.

• It answers in your business name. It tells callers it's automated and never pretends to be you.
• It asks your questions. You set what it needs to find out, and it gets those details before the call ends.
• It takes messages and follows your escalation rules. In an emergency it gives the caller your emergency instruction and texts you right away.
• It reports on every call. You get the recording, the transcript and a summary, plus a check report from a separate review of the call within three minutes.
• It books, transfers and routes on Professional and Premium. Bookings go into your Google Calendar, and calls can go to the right person on your team.

It works on the phone too. Email alerts arrive after each conversation, and the Android app on Google Play shows your calls, summaries and messages. If you'd also like an assistant answering chats on your website, that's the AI website chatbot on Professional.

Is an AI phone assistant the same as an AI phone system?

No. An AI phone system is a full business phone service with AI built in, such as RingCentral's RingEX from $30 a user a month, while Ringzel is not a phone system: it gives you no phone lines, extensions, desk phones or IVR menus. It works with the number and phone service you already have, and answers the calls you forward to it.

When a cloud phone system with an AI add-on makes sense

• You need the phone system itself. Several people on their own lines, extensions, desk phones and a "press 1 for sales" menu. RingCentral's RingEX Core plan is $30 a user a month, or $20 billed annually, for 1 to 5 users.
• You're switching phone providers anyway. RingCentral's AI Receptionist add-on for RingEX starts at $39 a month, on top of the RingEX plan. Dialpad Standard starts at $15 a user a month billed annually, and GoTo Connect sells a Phone System plus AI Receptionist bundle through its sales team.

When an AI phone assistant on your existing number makes sense

• You're happy with your number and phone service. Your carrier, your cell or your office line stays as it is.
• You just need the missed calls answered. The calls you can't take while you're on a job, with a customer or closed.
• You want one price for the business, not per user. Ringzel is $99, $179 or $299 a month for the whole business, with unlimited calls.

If you don't have a business number yet, our guide to a virtual phone number for business explains the options.

Can AI do phone calls?

Yes. AI can answer inbound calls 24/7, and Ringzel answers every call forwarded to it, including evenings, weekends and holidays, for $99 a month with unlimited calls.

Ringzel answers calls. It doesn't make outbound sales calls or cold calls for you, so it suits businesses whose customers call them: trades, salons, agencies and offices.

Some callers would rather talk to a person, and that's fine. Ringzel tells them it's automated, takes the message if they don't want to go on, and on Professional can transfer the call. There's more on how callers react in will customers hang up on an AI receptionist?

AI call assistant apps vs an AI phone assistant for business

"AI call assistant" covers two different things: call screening on your own phone, which Pixel phones do automatically in 5 countries including the US, and a business AI phone assistant like Ringzel that answers your business number for $99 a month.

Call screening on your own phone

Call Screen on Pixel phones finds out who's calling and why before you pick up, and can screen spam and first-time callers automatically. On iPhone, Ask Reason for Calling asks callers from unsaved numbers why they're calling before your phone rings. Both help you decide whether to answer. You still take the call yourself.

A business AI phone assistant

A business assistant takes the call for you when you can't. Ringzel holds the conversation, asks your questions, takes the message and sends you a summary, so the caller gets an answer even when you're on a job.

Ringzel is the business kind. It only handles calls forwarded to it, so it doesn't block or screen calls on your cell before they ring.

AI front desk: what it does on the phone

An AI front desk answers the calls your front desk would take, 24/7: it greets callers, takes messages and, on Ringzel Professional at $179 a month, books appointments and transfers calls.

Ringzel works like a front desk for calls only. It doesn't check in visitors, run a lobby screen or greet people at the door.

If you're weighing a person against software, our page on the virtual receptionist compares live and AI options.

Is there an app to answer phone calls?

Yes. Pixel phones and iPhones have call screening built in, and business assistants like Ringzel answer the call for you from $99 a month.

The difference is who talks to the caller. Call screening asks the caller a question and leaves the decision to you. A business AI phone assistant has the whole conversation and sends you the result.

Ringzel's answering doesn't run on your phone, so it works whichever phone or carrier you forward calls from. The Ringzel app for Android is on Google Play and shows your calls, summaries and messages; the iPhone app is coming soon.

Is there a free AI phone answering app?

Call screening on Pixel and iPhone comes with the phone at no extra charge, but it screens calls rather than answering them for your business. Quo includes 10 Sona AI calls with its paid plans, and Goodcall lets you test a demo agent free until you connect a number.

For a business that gets calls every day, you'll usually pay. Ringzel's 14-day trial needs no card: forward real calls to it, and cancel before day 14 if it isn't for you. After the trial, plans start at $99 a month.

If all you want is a voicemail greeting, that's a different tool. Our AI voicemail page covers replacing voicemail with an assistant that talks to the caller.

How much is an automated phone system?

A cloud phone system with automated menus starts at $15 a user a month on Dialpad Standard (billed annually) and $30 a user a month on RingCentral RingEX Core (billed monthly), while an AI phone assistant like Ringzel is $99 a month for the whole business.

They do different jobs. An automated phone system routes calls with menus and extensions to people who answer them. An AI phone assistant answers the call itself and takes the details when nobody can pick up.

Per-user pricing grows with your team; a flat price doesn't. A 5-person team on RingEX Core pays $150 a month at the monthly rate before any AI add-on.

How do you set up an AI phone assistant on your number?

You forward the calls you can't take to Ringzel in your phone or carrier settings, and setup takes under 5 minutes.

1. 1Build your receptionist. Enter your business name and Ringzel builds a receptionist in about two minutes. Talk to it in your browser.
2. 2Set what it asks. Add the questions you need answered, your hours and your escalation rules.
3. 3Forward your calls. Choose when calls go to Ringzel: when you're busy, when you don't answer or when you're closed. Our guide on how to forward business calls covers the settings.
4. 4Get the details. After every call you get a summary by email, with the recording, transcript and check report in your account.

Your callers keep dialing the number they already know. Nothing changes on their side.

What is the best AI phone answering service?

The best one fits both your call volume and your phone setup: of the 8 we compared, 3 bill per call or per caller, 2 per minute, Allo per agent and seat, CallRail as an add-on to its tracking plan, and Ringzel one flat $99 a month with unlimited calls.

1. 1Does it need its own phone system? Some AI assistants only work on their provider's numbers. Ringzel works with the number you have.
2. 2How does it bill? Work out what 100 calls a month would cost on each plan.
3. 3What's on the entry plan? Bookings and call transfers often sit on a higher plan, on Ringzel too.
4. 4What happens when a caller needs a person? See our guide to escalation and handoff.
5. 5Can you check every call? A summary is the minimum. Recordings, transcripts and a check report show you how each call went.

For a ranked list of AI receptionists, read the best AI receptionist.