Backyard Bougie

AI Solutions

A virtual 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.

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 whether you take 20 calls or 2,000.

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

Included

+$127/mo

Unlimited · requires Momentum or Authority

  • Unlimited call volume
  • Setup fee waived
  • Bundled with the full marketing retainer
  • Strategy, content, and campaigns included
  • From $999/mo for the retainer itself

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. Setup is $497 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 regardless of call volume.

How much does a virtual receptionist cost?

Standalone plans are $249/mo for 500 calls or $449/mo for 1,500 calls, plus a $497 one-time setup. There is no per-call or per-minute billing. 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 already on a Momentum or Authority retainer, it is $127/mo with unlimited volume and no setup fee.

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 — that is the point of the demo. Call the live line and hear a virtual receptionist tuned to a sample business handle a real conversation. No form required first.

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.

Hear It Yourself

Don't take our word for any of this.

Call the live demo line 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 Live Demo