The short answer
- An AI receptionist answers every call at once, 24/7, and is usually billed by minutes or calls. Published small-business plans start under $50 a month; for example, Rosie lists $49 for 250 minutes.
- Live answering services and virtual receptionists use real people and bill per call or per minute. Smith.ai lists live plans from $300 for 30 calls, and Ruby lists $250 for 50 minutes, both with 24/7 coverage.
- A person is still better for upset callers, complex judgment calls and anything clinical, legal or high-value. A common setup is AI first, with those calls routed to a human.
- In California, recording a confidential call needs the consent of all parties (Penal Code 632), so an AI receptionist should announce the recording at the start of the call.
- California's bot law (Business and Professions Code 17941) bars using an undisclosed bot online to mislead people in a sale. The safe practice for any AI receptionist is to say it is an AI assistant up front.
The four options
When nobody can pick up, a call goes to one of four places:
- Voicemail. Free and always on. The caller has to want to wait for a callback.
- Live answering service. A call center answers in your name, reads your script, takes a message and sends it to you.
- Virtual receptionist. Also real people, working remotely, but set up to act more like a front desk: transferring calls, booking appointments, doing intake.
- AI receptionist. Software that answers in your name, talks with the caller, asks your questions, answers from your approved information, books or takes the details and sends you a summary.
The lines between them blur. Some answering services now use AI for the first part of a call, and some AI tools hand off to a person. What matters is what happens to the caller, and what you pay for it.
How each one is priced
Pricing models differ more than prices, and the model decides what a busy month costs you.
| Voicemail | Live answering / virtual receptionist | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usually billed by | Free with your phone service | Calls or minutes handled by a person | Minutes, calls or a flat plan |
| Published examples | n/a | Smith.ai live: $300 for 30 calls, $810 for 90. Ruby: $250 for 50 minutes, $720 for 200 | Rosie: $49 for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000. Smith.ai AI: free for 25 calls, $150 for 75 |
| Extra work costs more | n/a | Smith.ai lists $1.50 per call to book an appointment | Booking and transfers are often on higher tiers |
| Over the limit | n/a | Smith.ai: $8.50 to $11.50 per extra call | Per minute or per call, by plan |
Prices are from each vendor’s pricing page, checked October 22, 2026. The point of the table is the shape, not the winner: people cost dollars per call, software costs cents to a couple of dollars per call. If you get 100 calls a month, that gap is the difference between a small line item and a real expense. For a full breakdown of AI pricing, see our guide to AI receptionist cost.
Hours and busy moments
Voicemail and AI answer around the clock by default. Ruby and Smith.ai both list 24/7 live coverage on their plans. The real difference shows up at peaks: the Monday after a storm, the first heat wave, a promo that lands.
A human service has a fixed number of people on shift, so callers can wait on hold when everyone calls at once. An AI receptionist can take many calls at the same time, so nobody hears a ring with no answer. If your calls come in bursts, that matters more than the price per call.
If your only gap is nights and weekends, you don’t need full-time coverage. An after-hours answering setup covers the calls your office can’t take and leaves the daytime to your team.
Call quality: what each does well
AI receptionist
- Asks the same questions every time, in your words.
- Answers from your approved facts: hours, service area, what you charge for a visit.
- Books into a calendar or field-service tool when connected, and texts the caller a confirmation.
- Sends a summary, transcript and recording of every call.
- Weak spots: very upset callers, heavy accents or bad connections, and questions it was never given an answer for. A good setup tells the caller someone will call back instead of guessing.
Live answering service or virtual receptionist
- Handles emotion and odd situations better.
- Can use judgment on a call nobody scripted.
- Weak spots: quality depends on who is on shift, many services take a message rather than book the job, and every extra task adds to the bill.
Voicemail
- Works only if the caller is patient and you call back fast.
When you need a human
Some calls should reach a person no matter which system answers first:
- Emergencies in the trades. A gas smell or a flooding basement should get safety instructions and go straight to whoever is on call.
- Clinical or legal questions. A dental office’s AI should not give clinical advice, and a law office’s should not give legal advice. Those go to staff.
- Upset customers and complaints. A person fixes these faster.
- High-value sales. A large remodel or a commercial account usually deserves a call from the owner.
The right question is not “AI or human” but “which calls go where”.
Hybrid setups that work
You don’t have to pick one. Three setups that combine them:
- AI first, human backup. The AI answers every call, handles routine ones and transfers the rest to your team or to a live answering service.
- People in the day, AI at night. Your office answers during business hours. When the office closes or every line is busy, calls forward to the AI.
- AI for overflow only. You keep your existing answering service and send calls to the AI only when its queue is long.
If you already use a field-service tool, check its add-ons first. Jobber, for example, lists an AI Receptionist add-on at $29 a month, included on its Plus plan. For a business with simple calls, that may be enough.
Disclosure and recording rules in California
Two California laws shape how any receptionist, AI or human, should open a call.
Recording: Penal Code 632. Recording a confidential communication requires the consent of all parties. The fine is up to $2,500 per violation, and up to $10,000 with a prior conviction. AI receptionists often record calls to make transcripts, so the greeting should say the call is recorded before the conversation starts.
Bot disclosure: Business and Professions Code 17941. It is unlawful to use a bot to communicate with a person in California online with the intent to mislead them about its artificial identity, in order to get them to buy something. Disclosure that is clear and conspicuous takes it out of the law. The statute is written for online communication; for phone calls, the honest approach is the same: say it’s an AI assistant.
That’s how we set up every AI receptionist we build: the first line says it’s an AI assistant and that the call is recorded. This is general information, not legal advice. If you work in a regulated field, ask your lawyer.
How to choose
Start with your calls, not the vendors. For a week, write down how many calls you miss, when, and what the callers wanted. If most are routine and come after hours or in bursts, an AI receptionist covers them for the least money. If many need judgment or empathy, a live service or a hybrid fits better. If you get a handful a month and callers are patient, voicemail plus fast callbacks may be all you need.
Not sure how many calls you’re missing? A free audit includes one test inquiry to your business, disclosed in the report, and shows how fast it was answered.
Sources
- Rosie pricing (checked October 22, 2026)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist pricing (checked October 22, 2026)
- Smith.ai live receptionist pricing (checked October 22, 2026)
- Ruby virtual receptionist pricing (checked October 22, 2026)
- Jobber pricing, AI Receptionist add-on (checked October 22, 2026)
- California Penal Code section 632
- California Business and Professions Code section 17941
Rules and prices change. We check this guide when we update it; confirm current terms with the provider before you decide.