AI Solutions

An AI receptionist that never puts anyone on hold.

Every call answered, every appointment booked, every follow-up sent — 24/7, for a flat monthly fee. No per-minute billing, no overflow charges, no voicemail.

Hear It Live Compare the Options

Hear It

Real calls, answered by the AI.

No form, no callback, no appointment. Press play and hear exactly what your callers would hear.

Inbound lead, captured end to end
3:13
A plumbing contractor calls about marketing help. The agent qualifies the need, captures name, phone and email, then reads the whole thing back before handing off.— answered as Backyard Bougie.
Read the transcript
Receptionist
This call will be recorded for quality and training purposes. Thank you for calling the Backyard Bougie family of companies. My name is Samantha. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?
Caller
Yes, hi. My name is Mike.
Receptionist
Hi, Mike. Nice to meet you. Are you looking for marketing support, or custom apparel and printing?
Caller
I'm actually looking for marketing support for my small business.
Receptionist
Got it, marketing support. What's your business name, and can you tell me a little about what you do?
Caller
My business name is Mike's Plumbing Services. We're a plumber local to the Sacramento area, serving Sacramento and the broader metro market.
Receptionist
Perfect, thanks. Are you looking for ongoing marketing support, or more of a specific project — a website refresh, branding, or help with social media?
Caller
I'm kind of looking for all of it. I definitely want the ongoing support, but I know my website probably needs a little help too, because I built it myself.
Receptionist
Makes sense. What timeline are you working with to get started? Are you hoping to kick things off in the next couple of weeks, or more like next month?
Caller
The sooner the better, but I know it takes time. I'm open to whatever timeline is appropriate to get the project done successfully.
Receptionist
Got it. What's the best phone number and email for you, so our Bougie Marketing team can follow up and schedule a strategy call?
Caller
It's area code 916, 555-1212.
Receptionist
Thanks. I've got your number as 916-555-1212. And what's the best email for you?
Caller
It's going to be miketheplumber@gmail.com.
Receptionist
Got it — so that's miketheplumber@gmail.com, correct?
Caller
That is correct.
Receptionist
Perfect. And just to make sure — is your name best listed as Mike or Michael? Also, what's the main thing you want help with first: getting more leads, polishing the brand, or improving the website?
Caller
You can call me Mike, and I'm definitely looking to get more leads.
Receptionist
Awesome, Mike. I've got Mike's Plumbing Services in the Sacramento area, looking for ongoing marketing support starting as soon as possible, with a focus on generating more leads. And your contact info is 916-555-1212 and miketheplumber@gmail.com. We'll have someone from Bougie Marketing follow up shortly to schedule a strategy call and talk next steps. Thank you for calling Backyard Bougie — we appreciate you reaching out, and look forward to working side by side with you.
Caller
Thank you.
Receptionist
You're welcome, Mike.

The Three Options

Voicemail, a human service, or AI.

Voicemail

$0/mo

Free, and the most expensive

Costs nothing per month and loses 30–60% of your inbound calls. Most callers never leave a message — they call the next result on Google.

Human service

$1–3/min

Answering services & call centres

A real person picks up, usually billed per minute or per call. Quality is good; costs climb with volume, and after-hours or overflow minutes are billed at a premium.

AI receptionist

Flat fee

What we build

A virtual receptionist that answers in your business voice, books straight into your calendar, and texts follow-ups — with no per-minute meter running. Flat monthly fee for your plan’s call allowance — a busy week costs the same as a quiet one.

We are not going to pretend AI wins every time. A human service is still better for a genuinely difficult conversation. What AI wins on is everything routine — which is most of what your phone rings about.

What It Handles

More than picking up.

Voice

01

Answers every call

Picks up on the first ring, 24/7. Handles natural conversation — interruptions, accents, follow-up questions — and routes anything urgent to a real person.

Booking

02

Books into your calendar

Checks real availability and confirms the appointment on the call. No callback, no phone tag, no double-booking.

SMS

03

Texts back in seconds

A2P-registered, TCPA-compliant follow-up. Confirms bookings, recovers no-shows, and re-engages callers who hung up.

CRM

04

Logs everything

Every call, transcript, and outcome lands in your CRM automatically — so you can see what people actually ask for.

Pricing

Flat fee. No meter running.

Answering services bill per call or per minute, so a busy month costs you more precisely when you can least afford the distraction. Ours doesn't move.

Standalone

Answer

$249/mo

500 calls included

AI voice receptionist, 24/7
Books straight into your calendar
SMS follow-up, A2P registered
Every call logged in CRM
Local number included
No per-minute or per-call billing

Standalone

Answer + Automate

$449/mo

1,500 calls included

Everything in Answer
Two-way SMS automation
Missed-call text-back
Website chat widget
Automated review requests
Priority tuning and reporting

With a retainer

AI add-on

+$127/mo

Optional · added to any retainer package

AI voice receptionist, 150 calls/mo
Unlimited AI website chat
SMS follow-up, 500 messages/mo
$497 one-time setup
Strategy, content, and campaigns come with the retainer
Retainers from $499/mo (Foundation)

There is no overage meter. A busy month costs you exactly what a quiet one does, and normal variation is on us. If you consistently run over your tier, we move you up in a conversation — not a surprise invoice. A call counts in five-minute blocks, so a typical booking call is one and a 12-minute call is three; hang-ups under 15 seconds don’t count. Standalone setup is $1,500 one-time and covers scripting, voice tuning, A2P 10DLC registration, and calendar wiring.

Who It's For

Built for businesses that can't stop to answer.

Clinics & Wellness

Books consults from after-hours calls and recovers cancellations before the slot goes cold.
Trades & Home Services

Captures the estimate request while you are on a roof, under a sink, or driving.
Restaurants & Hospitality

Handles reservations, hours, and private-event questions without pulling staff off the floor.
Professional Services

Qualifies intake, books the consult, and escalates only what genuinely needs you.

FAQ

The questions people actually ask.

What is a virtual receptionist?

A virtual receptionist answers your business calls without sitting in your office. Traditionally that meant an offsite human at an answering service, billed per minute. An AI virtual receptionist does the same job — answering, booking, taking messages, routing urgent calls — using a conversational voice agent, for a flat monthly fee instead of a per-minute bill.

How much does a virtual receptionist cost?

Standalone plans are $249/mo for 500 calls or $449/mo for 1,500 calls, plus a $1,500 one-time setup. There is no per-call or per-minute billing. A call counts in five-minute blocks — a typical booking call is one, a 12-minute call is three, and hang-ups under 15 seconds don’t count. For comparison, Ruby starts at $250/mo for 50 minutes, Smith.ai at $300/mo for 30 calls ($11.50 each after), and Gabbyville at $399/mo for 50 calls ($7.00 each after) — all verified from their own pricing pages on August 3, 2026. If you are on any of our marketing retainers, you can add it as the AI add-on for $127/mo with a $497 one-time setup — that includes 150 calls and 500 SMS a month, and makes AI website chat unlimited. Calls are counted the same way on every plan.

Is an AI virtual receptionist better than a human answering service?

For volume, availability, and cost predictability, yes — it never queues, never sleeps, and does not bill by the minute. For genuine judgement calls, empathy in a difficult conversation, or anything unusual, a human is still better. That is why every setup we build routes those calls to a real person rather than pretending otherwise.

Will callers know it is AI?

Most do not notice on a routine booking call. We disclose it when the business wants that, and we always tell you plainly what it can and cannot handle. We would rather set the expectation correctly than have a caller feel misled.

Do I need to replace my current phone number?

No. We forward your existing number, so the number on your signage, your Google Business Profile, and your cards all keep working exactly as they do now.

Can I hear it before I commit?

Yes. A real, unedited sample call with its full transcript is on our demo page. For a version tuned to your business, book a demo and we will call you.

Shopping Around

How we compare, with their real prices.

Every figure read from the vendor's own pricing page and dated, including what each one does better than us. If a human answering service is the right call for your business, these pages say so.

Before you switch.

Looking for answering service options built around your specific industry? See the full lineup by trade.

Hear It Yourself

Don't take our word for any of this.

Press play on a recorded call and listen to a virtual receptionist book an appointment, answer a question, and hand off to a human. Sixty seconds, no form first.

Hear the Demo