Virtual Receptionist for Your Small Business

What does a virtual receptionist do?

A virtual receptionist answers your calls from somewhere other than your office, greets callers in your business name and passes on the details. A live one is a person working remotely; an AI one, like Ringzel, answers every call forwarded to it for $99 a month.

It takes messages. It asks the questions you set, gets the caller's name, number and what they need, and sends it all to you as soon as the call ends.

It's upfront with callers. Ringzel tells callers they're speaking to an automated receptionist. It never pretends to be you, and if it can't help, it says so and takes a message.

It follows your rules on urgent calls. You decide what counts as urgent. In an emergency, Ringzel gives the caller your emergency instruction and texts you right away.

It deals with the calls you don't want. It politely turns down sales calls, spam and wrong numbers, and labels them Spam in your inbox so they don't get in the way.

You see how every call went. After each call you get the recording, the transcript and a summary. Within three minutes, a separate check reviews the call and tells you if anything needs your attention.

It books, transfers and routes on Professional and Premium. It can book appointments into your Google Calendar, transfer calls and send callers to the right person on your team.

Human vs AI virtual receptionist: which do you need?

Live virtual receptionist plans we checked cost $49 to $300 a month to start and charge for every minute or call past the allowance; AI ones start at $0 to $79, and Ringzel is $99 a month with no call limit.

A human virtual receptionist is a trained person at a remote answering company. Ruby, PATLive, Posh and Smith.ai's live receptionists work this way. A person can calm an upset caller or deal with a request that doesn't fit a script, and you pay for that time.

An AI virtual receptionist is software that talks to your callers. It picks up straight away at any hour, answers every call the same way, by your rules, and doesn't cost more on a busy day if you're on a flat price.

Some services sell both. Smith.ai has separate live and AI plans, and Abby Connect lets you mix them, with an AI minute using half of one of its plan minutes.

Pick human if most of your callers need a person, or if calls are few and long and you're happy to pay per minute. Pick AI if you want every call answered at one price and you're fine calling people back. On Professional, Ringzel can also transfer a call to you or your team when a caller needs a person. An AI virtual receptionist does the same job as an AI answering service. There's more on this in AI receptionist vs answering service.

Is a virtual receptionist worth it?

It is if missed calls cost you work. If one job or appointment is worth more than $99 to you, one call that would have gone to voicemail can cover a month of Ringzel.

It's most useful when you're on a job, with a customer or closed. Those are the calls that go to voicemail, and a caller who doesn't get an answer may not leave a message.

It's less useful if you get very few calls and already answer most of them. In that case, a per-minute plan with no included minutes, like PATLive's $49 plan or Posh's $65 plan, may cost less.

The quickest way to judge is to hear it answer for your business. With Ringzel you can do that in about two minutes, before you pay anything. For the longer version, read is an AI receptionist worth it?

Can a virtual receptionist answer calls 24/7?

Yes. Ringzel answers every call forwarded to it 24/7 on every plan, including evenings, weekends and holidays, from $99 a month with no after-hours charge.

Most live services we checked include 24/7 answering too. Ruby, PATLive, Posh and Abby Connect list 24/7 coverage on their pricing pages, and Smith.ai says calls at 2 pm and 2 am cost the same. You still pay for each minute or call.

You choose which calls it takes. You keep your business number and forward the calls you can't take, and setup takes under 5 minutes:

1. 1Keep your number. Customers call the number they already know. Nothing changes on their side.
2. 2Forward the calls you can't take. Set your phone to forward calls when you're busy, when you don't answer or when you're closed. You turn it on in your phone or carrier settings.
3. 3Your receptionist answers. It greets callers in your business name, tells them it's automated and asks the questions you've set.
4. 4You get the details. As soon as the call ends, you get an email with a summary of who called and what they need.

Step-by-step forwarding instructions are in how to forward business calls, and night and weekend cover is in after-hours answering service.

Virtual receptionist vs auto attendant

An auto attendant plays a recorded menu ("press 1 for sales, press 2 for support") and sends the caller to an extension; a virtual receptionist talks to the caller, asks what they need and takes the details. Ringzel does the second, from $99 a month.

An auto attendant, also called an IVR, is part of a business phone system. It's good at one job: sending callers to the right line when someone is there to pick up. If nobody answers that line, the caller still ends up in voicemail.

A virtual receptionist answers the call itself. The caller says what they need in their own words, and you get a message with the details instead of a voicemail you have to call back to understand. If voicemail is what you use now, see AI voicemail.

Ringzel isn't a phone system. It doesn't give you phone lines, extensions, desk phones or a keypad menu. It works with the number and phone service you already have, and answers the calls you forward to it. If you want a menu and a receptionist, you can keep your phone system's auto attendant and forward the calls nobody picks up. For an AI that works with the phone you have, see AI phone assistant.

What is the best virtual receptionist?

The best virtual receptionist for your business is the one whose billing fits your call volume: at 100 calls a month, the plans we checked range from $79 to $915. Check these five things before you sign up:

1. 1Human or AI. Decide whether your callers need a person on the line, or whether every call answered at one price matters more.
2. 2How it bills. Per minute, per call or flat. Work out what 100 calls a month would cost you on each plan.
3. 3What happens past the allowance. Look for the overage rate, whether it's listed at all, and whether spam counts.
4. 4What the entry plan includes. Bookings, call transfers, recordings and transcripts can be add-ons or sit on a higher plan, on Ringzel too.
5. 5How the trial works. How long it is, whether it needs a card, and whether you can forward real calls during it.

Ringzel is built for businesses that want every call answered at one price: unlimited calls on every plan, a check report on every call, and $99, $179 or $299 a month. To compare AI options in more depth, read the best AI receptionist.

Is there a free virtual answering service available?

Yes, but only with limits: Smith.ai's free AI plan covers 25 calls a month, then charges $3.00 a call. Goodcall lets you build and test a demo agent for free and charges once you connect a number.

None of the live services we checked has a free plan. Most give you a free trial instead: 14 days on PATLive, and 7 days or 250 minutes on Posh. Abby Connect offers a free trial on every plan, and Smith.ai's live receptionists come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Ringzel's trial is 14 days and needs no card. Build your receptionist, 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.