An AI receptionist that books the job and never promises what you cannot deliver

Work with me · Clinics, salons and trades

I set up AI receptionists for small businesses: a voice agent that answers your phone when you cannot, says it is an AI, books the job into the diary you already use, texts the customer and you a summary, and puts the hard calls through to a person.

It suits businesses that lose work to missed calls: plumbers, electricians and heating engineers on a job, dental and physio clinics at a busy front desk, salons with everyone mid-appointment.

Book a free 30-min call Email me about your phone line

Worried your customers will hate it?

Owners say it plainly. These are the four worries I hear most, in their words, and what I do about each.

“the second they realize they’re talking to a robot they’re either hanging up or transferring to a human anyway”

A small business owner on r/AiForSmallBusiness

So I do not hide it. The first sentence says it is an AI assistant and that calls are recorded, and anyone who asks for a person is put through at once, with no loop. We start on after-hours and overflow calls only, so your regulars still reach you in the day.

“his AI receptionist couldn’t understand my address and therefore could not schedule the appointment.”

A homeowner on Hacker News, who fired the plumber over it

The agent reads every address back, letter by letter for the street and the postcode, and the confirmation text repeats it so the customer can correct it. If it still cannot get it, it takes a message and someone calls back.

“the AI said my car would absolutely be done today.”

A commenter on Hacker News

We write a never-promise list with you before launch: exact arrival times, repair prices, diagnoses, discounts, card numbers. The agent is given no way to do those things, and I test it on calls that try to make it.

“If I have a slow month with few calls (or I answer them myself) do I still have to pay for the service?”

A small business owner on r/AiForSmallBusiness

That depends on the plan, so we pick it on purpose. Per-minute platforms charge for the minutes used, and bundles charge a monthly fee whatever happens. I show you both with your own call numbers before you sign anything, and the accounts are in your name.

Behind all four sits one line from the same thread: “one bad customer experience can undo the savings.” That is why nothing goes live before it has passed test calls you can listen to.

What you get

You own it. The phone number, the voice platform account, the calendar link and the script sit in your business’s name from day one.
A fixed price in writing after the first call, before any work starts.
A test line you can ring every week while it is being built.
A written handover: how to change the script, the hours and the never-promise list yourself, so you do not depend on me.
You talk to me, the person who builds it, not a salesperson.

What does a good call sound like?

Below is the kind of script I write with you, for a made-up plumbing and heating firm in Bristol. Pick what the caller says and follow the call to the end. Try to make it promise something.

Call script · AI front desk · sample

Halden Plumbing & Heating, Bristol

The caller says

Never promise

An exact arrival time
A repair price or a diagnosis
To take a card number by voice
Any safety advice beyond: leave, and call 0800 111 999
Anything about another customer’s job

The texts appear here when the call ends.

Made-up firm, address and prices. 0800 111 999 is the real UK gas emergency number. The script is the kind I write with you; the real one uses your services, your diary and your words.

How do I set it up?

List why people call. We go through a week of calls and your missed-call log, and write one answer or action for each reason.
Write the never-promise list. Your words, your limits: arrival times, prices, diagnoses, discounts, payments, other customers’ details.
Connect the diary you already use, with each job’s length and travel buffers. No second calendar.
Set the handovers. Emergencies, complaints, anything about money and anyone who asks for a person go to a named number, in hours and out of hours.
Test it on purpose. I ring it with the calls that go wrong: a mumbled address, a gas smell, a caller who wants a promise, a caller asking about someone else. You listen to the recordings.
Go live on overflow and after-hours first, with someone reading every summary text, then widen it when you trust it.

The full checklist, with the rules on telling callers it is an AI and on recording, is in my note AI receptionist: what it does, costs and risks, with a demo dental front desk you can ring.

What does an AI receptionist cost?

Two parts: setting it up, and the running cost to the voice platform, which is yours and on your own account.

Market data, not my rates

A finished AI receptionist, priced per call: Smith.ai lists a free plan for 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call, a $150 a month plan for 75 calls and a $500 a month plan for 300 (Smith.ai, checked 18 October 2026).
A build-it-yourself voice platform, priced per minute: Retell AI lists $0.07 to $0.31 a minute, pay as you go (Retell AI, checked 18 October 2026). A quiet month costs less, but someone has to set it up and test it.

I price the setup after a first call, from how many reasons people call, which diary it connects to and how many handover numbers it needs. If a finished product covers you, I will say so.

Who is this for, and who is it not for?

A good fit

Trades who cannot answer while on a job.
Clinics and salons with a busy front desk at peak times.
Businesses that miss calls after hours and lose the work to whoever answers first.
Owners who already use an online diary or booking tool.

Not a fit

You already answer nearly every call. Keep doing that.
Most calls need a judgment call: quotes, complaints, clinical advice.
You want it to take card payments by voice. It should not.
Your diary lives on paper only. Start with online booking.

Questions people ask

Will callers know they are talking to an AI?

Yes, because it tells them in the first sentence. In the EU, Article 50 of the AI Act requires it from 2 August 2026, and everywhere else it keeps trust. Anyone who asks for a person is put through.

Can an AI receptionist book into my existing calendar?

Usually, if your booking tool lets other software read and write bookings. We check that on the first call. If it does not, we decide together whether to change tools or have the agent take a message instead.

What happens with an emergency call?

It follows one fixed rule you set, such as a gas smell: tell the caller to leave and ring the emergency line, then put them through to your on-call number. It never improvises safety advice.

Can it take payments over the phone?

No. Card numbers should not be read out to a recorded AI line. It texts a secure payment link, or the customer pays on the day.

Does it work for a clinic with patient records?

It can book, move and cancel appointments and answer questions from your price list. It does not read out records, and it checks who is calling before talking about any booking.

How long does an AI receptionist take to set up?

We agree the timeline in writing after the first call, with the price. While it is being built, you get a test number you can ring every week.

Voice · AI agentsAI receptionist: what it does, costs and risks

How the voice loop works, what the main products charge, what it must never do, and a demo front desk you can ring.

Support · AI agentsAI customer service agent

The chat version, for customers who write instead of calling.

Loyalty · BookingHow to put a loyalty stamp card in Apple and Google Wallet

What happens after the booking: a card that updates itself after every visit.

If you want the booking side built too, see online booking and Wallet loyalty cards. For a bigger AI rollout across a team, see AI consulting.