Guide · Prices checked 16 October 2026 to 1 November 2026
AI receptionist or answering service: which should a small business pick?
An AI receptionist answers at any hour, takes several calls at once and costs less than a human service once you miss more than about 50 calls a month. A person is better at the call that fits no script, the upset caller and the transfer to a colleague. Here are the published prices at 50 and 150 calls, where each one wins, and who should pick which.
Written by While You Work, which sells an AI receptionist. Every price is from the provider’s own website, linked from our call answering cost guide.
The four options
What each option actually is
Providers use the names loosely. These are the four things you can buy.
A human answering service, or call centre
A company whose staff answer in your business name from a script you agree, take a message and send it by email or text. The old word is bureau. The receptionist on shift answers for dozens of businesses, so what they know about yours is what the script says. ReceptionHQ and The Answer Centre publish prices; Moneypenny and Answer4u quote. See our call answering service page.
A human virtual receptionist
The same idea with a smaller team: a named PA, or two or three people you get to know, who learn your business and announce callers before putting them through to your mobile. The Answer Centre and Face For Business sell this. It costs more per call than message-taking and some plans carry a minimum term. Our virtual receptionist page explains the kinds.
An AI receptionist
Software with a natural voice that answers in your business name, asks the questions set for your kind of business, reads the number back and sends you the details. It answers at once however many people ring, at any hour, for a monthly price. It is what While You Work is. Our AI receptionist page goes through a call step by step.
In-house
You, or someone you employ. A part-time receptionist on 20 hours a week costs about £1,100 a month at the £12.71 National Living Wage, before employer National Insurance, pension and holiday, and covers those hours only. If it is you answering, the calls you cannot take go to voicemail, where most people hang up. Our missed calls guide puts a figure on that.
Side by side
The comparison, with published prices
The lowest published price for each volume, checked between 16 October 2026 and 1 November 2026. Where a provider does not say whether VAT is included, we say so. Providers that only quote are left out.
| Human answering service | Human virtual receptionist | AI receptionist | In-house | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 calls a month | £49 plus VAT (ReceptionHQ 50-call bundle); £49.50 at The Answer Centre’s 99p a call, VAT not stated, weekday office hours | £65 plus VAT (ReceptionHQ MyReceptionist, with transfers) | £30 to £49: Answer.co.uk AI bundle £30 (VAT not stated), While You Work Starter £39 plus VAT, Jodie £49 before tax | About £1,100 a month for 20 hours a week at the £12.71 National Living Wage, before employer National Insurance, pension and holiday |
| 150 calls a month | About £150 plus VAT (ReceptionHQ 100-call bundle at £90 plus 50 extra calls at £1.15); £148.50 at The Answer Centre | About £185 plus VAT (ReceptionHQ 100-call bundle at £115 plus 50 extra calls at £1.35) | £49 to £75: Jodie £49 before tax, unlimited minutes; While You Work Pro £69 plus VAT; Cyberstaff about £75 on short calls (£60 Growth plan for 240 minutes plus 60 extra minutes at 25p, VAT not stated) | The same £1,100. Calls outside their 20 hours go to voicemail |
| Hours | Varies. ReceptionHQ 24/7 with no surcharge; The Answer Centre 8.30am to 6pm on weekdays, extra for 7am to 11pm | Often office hours on the entry plan. Face For Business adds evenings and weekends on a dearer plan | 24 hours a day, every day, at the same price | Their shift |
| Callers at the same time | One per receptionist on shift | One per PA | Several at once, no queue | One |
| A call that fits no script | A person can ask an extra question and decide what to do | A PA who has learned your business can often answer it | Takes the details and passes them to you. No judgement beyond your set-up form | You know the answer |
| Accents, names and a bad line | A person copes, and can ask for a spelling | The same, and a regular PA learns your repeat callers | Usually fine. It asks for a spelling when it needs one and reads the number back for the caller to confirm | Fine |
| Putting a call through to you | Usually offered, sometimes on a dearer plan | The point of the service. The Answer Centre announces the caller and puts them through | With us, urgent calls on Pro and Business if you switch it on. Jodie lists transfers from its £99 plan | Not needed |
| Who hears your callers’ details | The receptionists on shift, wherever the call centre is | A named PA or small team. AnswerConnect’s receptionists work from home around the UK | Nobody listens live. With us the recording goes after 30 days and the transcript after 12 months; speech and AI processing happen in the United States under a UK-approved safeguard | Your own staff |
| Time to set up | A script to agree. Answer4u says about 15 minutes | A briefing call; a 90-day minimum term at Face For Business | A short form. Our line switches on when you save it, usually within minutes. No minimum term | Weeks to recruit |
Every provider is on our comparisons page with the date it was checked, including the ones that cost less than us. Our plans are on the pricing page.
Where AI wins
Where an AI receptionist is better
- It always answers. Every call, at any hour, however many people ring at once. A human service has as many lines as people on shift.
- The same price at 2am. No evening or weekend surcharge, and a busy week costs the same as a quiet one.
- Every call is logged with a transcript. A message from a bureau is what the receptionist chose to write down.
- Price above about 50 calls a month. At 50 calls the AI plans run £30 to £49 and the lowest human price with 24-hour cover is £49 plus VAT. At 150 calls it is £49 to £75 against about £150 and up.
Where a person wins
Where a human service is better
- Judgement. A caller says something the script never imagined. A person asks a sensible question; an AI receptionist takes the details and passes them on.
- Upset callers. A complaint, a bereavement, someone frightened by a leak at midnight. A person hears the tone and changes course.
- Complex transfers. Finding the right person in a team, holding the caller, trying a second number.
- Unusual names and accents on a bad line. A person can ask for a spelling and recognise a regular caller.
- Selling. Overcoming an objection, offering a deal. An AI receptionist takes the enquiry and leaves that to you.
Before you sign
Questions to ask any provider, human or AI
- What is the caller told? For AI, that it is automated and recorded, before any personal detail is asked for; for a human service, whether the call is recorded at all.
- Who is the controller and who is the processor under UK GDPR, and are the data processing terms in writing?
- Which countries handle the speech, the transcript and the recording, and what is the safeguard for each transfer?
- How long are recordings and transcripts kept, and can you delete them yourself?
- What happens when the receptionist cannot help: does the AI put the caller through, take a message or loop, and what happens when every human receptionist is busy?
- How is a call counted, per call, per minute or per second, what do calls over the allowance cost, and what do evenings and weekends cost?
- Can you hear a real call on your own line before you pay, and is there a minimum term?
Our answers to the data questions are on the AI receptionist and UK GDPR page, with where each kind of data goes and the safeguard for it.
Decide
Who should pick which
Pick an AI receptionist if you have
| A trade, salon, cleaner or driving instructor missing about 30 to 400 calls a month | Most calls are what, where and when, which is what an AI receptionist is set up to ask. |
| Calls in the evening and at weekends | The same price at 11pm as at 11am. A human service charges extra for those hours or does not cover them. |
| Several calls at once | Bank holiday Monday after a storm, or a salon on Monday morning. Nobody waits. |
Pick a human service if you have
| An office where callers ask for named people | A human virtual receptionist announces and transfers all day. With us only urgent calls are put through, on Pro and Business. |
| Calls that need judgement: complaints, clinical or legal matters, upset callers | A person hears distress and changes course. An AI receptionist follows its rules. |
| Selling over the phone | An AI receptionist takes an enquiry. It does not handle an objection or close a sale. |
| Fewer than about 20 calls a month in office hours | Pay per call costs less: The Answer Centre’s 99p a call is under £20 a month, before any VAT, against our £39 Starter. |
| More than about 400 calls a month, or staff to route to | Get quotes from Moneypenny or Answer4u, or employ someone. |
Questions
AI receptionist vs answering service FAQs
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an answering service?
An answering service is a company whose staff answer your calls in your business name from a script and pass you a message. An AI receptionist is software with a natural voice that does the same job from a set-up form, at any hour and several calls at once, for a set monthly price. The human service can use judgement on a call that fits no script.
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist is anyone who answers your phone from outside your premises: a person at an answering service, a named PA, or an AI. So an AI receptionist is one kind of virtual receptionist. When a provider says virtual receptionist without saying AI, it usually means a person.
Is an AI receptionist better than a human answering service?
For some businesses. It is better on hours, on taking several calls at once, on price above about 50 calls a month, and on keeping a transcript of every call. A person is better at judgement, upset callers, transfers to named staff and selling.
How much does an AI receptionist cost compared with an answering service?
At 50 calls a month, AI plans with published prices run from £30 to £49 and human services from £49 plus VAT to £110 plus VAT. At 150 calls, AI runs from £49 to £75 and human message-taking from about £150 plus VAT. While You Work is £39 plus VAT for 50 calls or £69 plus VAT for 150. Prices checked between 16 October 2026 and 1 November 2026.
What are the disadvantages of an AI receptionist?
It cannot make a judgement its rules do not cover, it can mishear a postcode or a name on a bad line, some callers hang up when they hear a machine, and there is a short pause before each reply.
Should I use an AI receptionist for my small business?
If you miss calls because your hands are full, most of them are the same few questions and some come outside office hours, yes. If your callers need to be put through to named staff or handled with care, pick a human service and pay the difference.
Prices change. Confirm the current price with the provider before you sign up. All trademarks belong to their owners.
Hear ours before you decide
Plans from £39 a month + VAT for 50 calls, £69 for 150 and £129 for 400. The first 50 UK businesses get Pro for £49 + VAT for 12 months.