- An AI receptionist answers every call at once in your business name, asks the questions you would ask, books the appointment into your diary, texts the customer a confirmation and writes the transcript to a record. Prices in the UK run £30–£100 a month for most small businesses.
- Against a part-time receptionist it is cheaper by an order of magnitude and never off sick; against an answering service it books rather than takes a message and has no per-call charge on flat plans.
- It fits businesses whose calls are repetitive and time-sensitive: trades, clinics, salons, small practices. It fits less well where every call is a long, bespoke conversation.
What it actually does
It answers on the first ring, at any hour, however many calls arrive together. It introduces itself as your business's assistant, asks the qualifying questions you set (for a plumber: what is the problem, where are you, how urgent, when suits), books a slot in your real calendar, confirms by text, and writes the transcript and outcome to the customer's record. Emergencies are flagged and handed to a human number. Callers who hang up get a text back.
What it does not do: hold a long consultative conversation, or pretend to be a person. Most small-business callers want to be answered, understood and booked, and that is the job.
What it costs against the alternatives
UK prices in 2026 sit at £30–£60 a month for basic answering and £60–£100 for plans that book appointments and integrate with a CRM; IONOS publishes £39–£99 by call volume and Hey Jodie £49–£199 flat. A part-time receptionist on 20 hours a week costs several hundred pounds a week and covers 20 of the 168 hours the phone can ring. An answering service prices per call or per minute and mostly takes messages. The full cost breakdown is here.
| Option | Cost model | Hours covered | Books appointments? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whoever is nearest the phone | Free, until it is not | When someone is free | Sometimes |
| Part-time receptionist | Wages, holiday, sickness | Their shift | Yes |
| Answering service | Per call or per minute plus a plan | 24/7 if you pay for it | Message taking; booking often extra |
| AI receptionist | £30–£100 a month typical; IONOS £39–£99; Hey Jodie £49–£199 | 24/7 | Mid-tier and above |
| MyTradeBuddy AI receptionist | Included with the system; no per-call charge | 24/7 | Yes, into your diary, transcript on the CRM record. How it works |
Which small businesses it suits
Best fit: businesses whose calls are repetitive, time-sensitive and worth money. Trades are the clearest case, because a missed call is a lost job and the questions are the same every time. Clinics, salons, small practices and property firms follow the same pattern. Worst fit: businesses where each call is a long, bespoke conversation and the caller expects a person from the first word; there a human service or a hybrid works better.
For trades specifically, the best AI receptionists for UK trades comparison names six providers, and the virtual receptionist page sets human against AI.
How to try one without risk
Put it on a diverted number first, not your main line. Ring it yourself with your five most common calls and one emergency. Check the booking lands in your real calendar and the transcript is readable. Then put it on the main line for a month and count: calls answered that would have been missed, appointments booked without you, and what the office stopped doing. That last one is usually the surprise.
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Frequently asked questions
Software that answers your business phone in your name, asks the qualifying questions you set, books appointments into your calendar, confirms by text and records the call. It answers every call at once, at any hour.
£30–£60 a month for basic answering, £60–£100 for booking and CRM integration. Published examples: IONOS £39–£99 by call volume, Hey Jodie £49–£199 flat.
For booking, yes: it books the appointment rather than taking a message, and flat plans have no per-call charge. A human service still wins for long, bespoke conversations.
Good ones flag emergencies on the qualifying questions and hand the call to a human number you set immediately.
Most callers care that they were answered and booked. The receptionist should introduce itself honestly as your assistant and hand off when asked.