What Is an AI Receptionist?
An AI receptionist is a virtual phone agent that answers calls, routes inquiries, takes messages, and schedules appointments—replacing or augmenting a human front desk.
An AI receptionist is an AI phone agent specifically configured for front-desk duties: answering calls, greeting callers, routing to departments, taking messages, answering FAQs, and booking appointments. It operates 24/7 and handles unlimited concurrent calls.
What Does an AI Receptionist Do?
An AI receptionist handles the same tasks as a human receptionist: answering incoming calls with your business greeting, understanding why the caller is reaching out, routing calls to the right person or department, taking detailed messages when staff is unavailable, answering frequently asked questions about your business, and booking appointments by checking calendar availability. The key difference: it does all of this 24/7, handles unlimited concurrent calls, and costs a fraction of a human receptionist.
Who Benefits Most?
AI receptionists are especially valuable for small businesses that can't afford a full-time receptionist, medical and dental practices with high call volumes, law firms that miss potential client calls after hours, service businesses (HVAC, plumbing) where techs are in the field, multi-location businesses that need consistent phone coverage, and any business where 62% of calls currently go to voicemail—the average for small businesses.
AI Receptionist vs. Human Receptionist
A human receptionist handles one call at a time, works set hours, takes breaks, calls in sick, and costs $30,000–$50,000 per year. An AI receptionist handles unlimited concurrent calls, works 24/7/365, never takes a break, is always consistent, and costs $30–$500 per month. However, AI cannot handle every situation. Complex emotional conversations, VIP client relationships, and physical front-desk tasks still benefit from human staff.
How to Set Up an AI Receptionist
Setting up an AI receptionist with a platform like Arbol takes under 30 minutes: configure your business greeting and brand voice, add your business information and FAQs to the knowledge base, connect your calendar for appointment booking, set call routing rules (who gets which types of calls), define business hours vs. after-hours behavior, and forward your phone number to the AI. No technical skills or developers required.
Key Takeaways
- AI receptionists handle all front-desk phone duties 24/7
- They cost $30–$500/month vs. $30,000–$50,000/year for a human
- Best for businesses with high call volumes or limited front-desk staff
- Setup takes under 30 minutes with no technical skills needed
- They complement (not always replace) human staff for complex situations
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Frequently Asked Questions
AI voices are very natural today. Many callers don't realize they're speaking with AI. You can also disclose it if transparency is important to your brand.
Yes. You customize the AI with your business info, FAQs, services, and routing rules. It's as business-specific as you make it.
AI doesn't guess. If it doesn't know the answer, it says so and offers to take a message or transfer the call. Every call has a transcript you can review.
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