Sometimes, high-net-worth clients do not walk through the door in a suit. Sometimes, they’re on the other end of an unanswered call made at the crack of dawn. Many businesses have unknowingly lost high-value deals when no one is there is tend to the business outside official times.
Thankfully, businesses can now increase their client base with AI answering services. These platforms have provided solutions and much-needed accessibility that ensure a business never loses a customer again.
This article contains a round-up of the best AI answering services that handle calls without fail. Each of these tools has unique strengths that cater to unique business needs, from low-budget options to large-scale virtual assistants.
1. Rosie AI
Rosie AI is an AI phone answering service and virtual receptionist that works 24/7. It is targeted at small to medium businesses that may not have the resources for a full-time receptionist but still want to provide adequate customer service. Therefore, Rosie offers a modern, lightweight system that plugs in without complicated overhead setups.
Features
- Rosie AI handles incoming calls any time, even on weekends and holidays.
- It engages callers the same way a human would, with a realistic voice and natural conversation rhythm.
- Rosie AI collects vital call data (like details, request type, and responses to custom questions designed by Rosie. It then forwards this data to the business for follow-up and lead qualification.
- It sends booking links and can also book appointments to create an efficient calendar for the business. This ensures the business has a steady flow of customers/clients.
- Rosie has filters to screen out spam calls that could hold up the line and incur costs.
- Calls are recorded and transcribed for review by a human for effective customer tracking.
- Rosie AI can be personalized to the business. It can be configured to provide a specified greeting, business name, voice personality, and suitable answers to FAQs.
Best for:
- Businesses new to AI tech adoption.
- Teams with lean budgets
- Businesses that get many calls outside office hours and during holidays.
2. Smith.ai
Smith.ai is a hybrid AI and human virtual receptionist and call handling service for common routine calls. However, it can escalate sensitive and complex calls to human receptionists. Smith.ai also offers a fully human virtual receptionist package. Basically, Smith.ai combines the speed and 24-hour availability of AI with the human judgment and empathy of humans.
Features
- Smith.ai provides 24/7 phone answering services through AI and humans.
- Re-routing to human agents when calls have a sensitive and/or complex nature in need of human empathy or judgment.
- It ensures high-priority calls, typically lead calls, are forwarded to the business based on established custom criteria.
- Smith.ai can book appointments and consultations in available slots for the business directly from the call.
- Smith.ai can integrate with other tools that handle data and run supporting admin tasks.
- The business will be provided with call logs, recordings, transcriptions, summaries, metadata, and analytics. This helps review performance over time for improvement.
- Businesses are allowed to create call-handling workflows. They will spell out the call handling process, conversation scripts, questions to ask, and markers or points of escalation to human reps.
- Smith.ai makes outbound calls on behalf of the business for follow-ups, scheduled outreach, and appointment confirmation.
- Smith’s AI filters block spam and robocalls to avoid needlessly holding up the line.
- It allows flexible use; businesses can choose an AI-first or a fully human plan option.
Best for:
- Businesses that want a balance between efficiency of automation and human care.
- Teams that want automated but customized call processes.
3. CloudTalk
Just as the name implies, CloudTalk is a cloud-based calling center for managing inbound and outbound calls through AI voice agents and automated call workflows. It also provides customer support, sales outreach, and call-center services, all via the internet rather than a complex phone setup.
This flexibility means it can be used anywhere, managed remotely, and adapted to changes in call volume and team size.
Features
- CloudTalk provides voice agents that handle full conversations. They answer inbound calls, respond to customer queries, qualify leads, schedule appointments, do follow-ups, and make outbound calls.
- It has a global, scalable backend that serves over 160 countries. This is beneficial for internationally linked clients and teams.
- CloudTalk has an AI and human hybrid structure that can be mixed for efficiency and client retention.
- CloudTalk enables automation of phone-system overhead tasks like call routing, call queues, voicemail detection, and smart dialing.
4. Marlie.AI
Marlie.ai is a 24/7 AI answering service that acts as a fully customized virtual receptionist for small to medium-sized businesses.
With 5+ million calls handled, Marlie sets up in just 15 minutes by pulling data from your website and Google Business profile, then integrates with 8,000+ apps including Google Calendar, HubSpot, and Zapier. T
he service handles unlimited simultaneous calls with zero hold times and can escalate to human agents when needed.
Features:
- Answers 100% of calls instantly (sub-2 second response time)
- 40+ customizable AI voices with multilingual capabilities
- 8,000+ integrations including CRM, scheduling, and payment tools
- Unlimited simultaneous call handling
- Built-in appointment scheduling, and lead screening
- Smart call routing and live agent escalation
5. Emitrr
Emitrr is a smart receptionist for businesses that rely heavily on bookings, appointments, and constant customer/client contact. It acts as an automated receptionist and scheduling assistant.
However, Emitrr isn’t just an answering or calling machine, but a multi-modal assistant that handles other channels of contact. It can communicate through text and web messaging in addition to voice calls.
Features
- Emitrr has conversational AI voice agents that can screen calls, understand caller intent, and escalate conversations if the need arises.
- It is a virtual receptionist with 24-hour, round-the-clock availability.
- Emitrr can handle text conversations, voicemails, and other message channels.
- It books, reschedules, and cancels appointments while syncing updates with the business calendar systems.
- Emitrr has a filtering system for blocking spam and routing VIP or urgent calls to the appropriate personnel.
- It logs calls, caller history, caller data, and other performance metrics for review.
- Due to its automation abilities, it can manage calls simultaneously without compromising the quality of service.
- Emitrr has security compliance measures (encryption and secure handling) in the case of managing patient data.
6. RingCentral AI Receptionist
RingCentral Receptionist is an AI phone agent that uses generative AI to automatically answer inbound calls. It’s embedded in RingCentral’s ecosystem for VoIP and business communication.
Its main aim is to give a human-like customer experience. Therefore, it delivers a natural tone, can converse in multiple languages, and provides a smooth handoff to a human rep if the need arises.
Features
- RingCentral delivers customer support in a natural, human-like way and in multiple languages.
- It can detect the contextual importance of conversations and can therefore route calls to the required touch point. This avoids rigid phone-menu systems and reduces wrong transfers.
- RingCentral gathers caller info, schedules appointments, and sends follow-up texts and links to make an efficient calendar.
- It is integration-friendly and can be added to an existing network of calling and customer service systems.
- RingCentral collects data on calls (logs, recordings, summaries, metrics like common questions, resolution rates, and call volume) for performance insights.
- It caters to multiple languages and is flexible enough to switch mid-conversation if the user changes the language preference.
The Bottom Line
AI answering services are what every business needs. They help keep customers happy and satisfied while driving up the efficiency and profit margin of the business.
