Guide
AI receptionist for small business: a plain guide.
What an AI receptionist is, how a call goes, what it costs to run, when it hands the caller to a person, and how to set one up, written for owners who answer their own phone.
14-day free trial · No card needed · Updated November 2026
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone and website chat for you. It talks with callers in natural speech, answers questions from what you’ve taught it, books appointments into your calendar, takes messages, and passes the call to a person when it should. It works day and night, and can answer several calls at once.
It is not a phone menu (“press 1 for…”): callers just say what they need. And it is not a voicemail box: the caller gets an answer or a booking during the call, and you get a written summary afterwards.
How does a call go?
This is how a call runs with Aiva Chat. Other products differ in the details.
01 · It picks up
Your number rings through to the assistant, which answers with the greeting you set.
02 · It listens
It hears what the caller wants and answers in their language, from 13 it speaks.
03 · It answers or books
Hours, prices and services come from what you taught it. Bookings follow your rules and land in one calendar.
04 · It hands over when needed
When the caller asks for a person, sounds upset or mentions an emergency, it can transfer the call to your team.
05 · It takes a message
If nobody picks up a transfer, it comes back, takes a message and creates a follow-up task.
06 · You get the record
Each call is saved with its recording, transcript, summary and outcome, and flagged if it needs a look.
What can it do, and what can’t it?
Good at
Answering the same questions every day, booking and moving appointments, after-hours calls, several calls at once, callers in other languages, and writing up every call.
Not for
Taking payments (Aiva Chat takes none), giving medical, legal or financial advice, or calls that need a decision only you can make. Set those to transfer or take a message.
What does an AI receptionist cost to run?
With Aiva Chat, the cost has three parts: your plan, your phone calls, and the AI. You pay Aiva Chat only for the plan. Calls and AI run on your own Twilio and OpenAI accounts, so they bill you directly at their published rates and Aiva Chat adds nothing on top.
- Your plan: Starter $49, Growth $99, Pro $199 a month, or ten months’ price for a year. Every feature is on every plan; they differ in phone numbers, calls at the same time and team members. See plans.
- Phone (Twilio): a monthly rental for each number, plus call minutes. Rates depend on the country.
- AI (OpenAI): the voice model that talks to callers, plus each call’s summary. Rates depend on the model.
The dashboard shows your OpenAI usage and the cost of each call, so you can see what a month really costs. In India? See what an AI receptionist costs in India.
Which businesses use an AI receptionist?
Any business whose phone rings while everyone is busy. A few we’ve written about:
Salons and spas
Book the right stylist and length while hands are full.
Clinics
Appointments and everyday questions, without putting patients on hold.
Plumbers and home services
Answer on the job, triage urgent calls, book the visit.
Law firms
Intake questions and consultation bookings.
Real estate
Viewings and buyer questions at any hour.
Businesses in India
Hindi, Gujarati and English, on one number.
How do I set one up?
With Aiva Chat, no developer needed. The dashboard’s checklist walks you through it.
01 · Start the free trial
14 days on the Starter plan, no card.
02 · Connect your OpenAI key
The AI runs on your own key, so you see and control the cost.
03 · Create your assistant
Name it, pick a voice, and start from a template for your kind of business.
04 · Teach it your business
Add your website, files or notes, plus your hours and services.
05 · Connect a phone number
Buy one or sync one from your Twilio account.
06 · Call it yourself
Use “Call it now” to hear it before your customers do.
Questions
Common questions.
Can an AI receptionist really answer my business calls?
Yes, for most everyday calls: opening hours, prices, directions, booking, moving or cancelling an appointment, and taking a message. It answers from what you teach it. For anything else, you choose when it hands the caller to a person.
Will callers know they are talking to AI?
Outbound calls from Aiva Chat always open by saying the call is from an AI assistant. On inbound calls, the greeting is yours to write. If a call is recorded, callers hear a short recording notice first.
What does it cost?
Your Aiva Chat plan, from $49 a month after a 14-day free trial, plus your own Twilio and OpenAI usage at their published rates. Aiva Chat adds no markup.
Do I need a new phone number?
You need a number on your own Twilio account. Buy one from the Aiva Chat dashboard (US, Canada, UK and Australia), or get one in Twilio and sync it in. You can also ask Twilio to port your existing number.
What happens after hours?
You choose: the AI keeps answering, or callers hear a message and leave a voicemail that lands in your call history with a follow-up task. One assistant can have its own hours.
Related guides
Read more.
What is an AI receptionist? A guide for small businesses
What is an AI receptionist? A plain-English guide to what it does, how it differs from an IVR or answering service, and whether your small business needs one.
How to choose an AI receptionist: 10 questions to ask
How to choose an AI receptionist: skip the feature chart and ask the ten questions that actually predict whether it will work for your business.
How to pilot an AI receptionist, no front-desk disruption
How to pilot an AI receptionist on one narrow slice of calls, with your front desk as the safety net, so you prove it works before rolling it out everywhere.
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