10 best AI phone answering services for small businesses

Customer service expectations are at an all-time high, so if a caller reaches your voicemail, you’ve probably already lost them.

That’s why AI phone answering services are essential for growing businesses. These virtual receptionists are essentially “always-on” teammates who can pick up the phone on weekends, nights, and holidays.

If it feels like there are a million AI answering services to choose from, you can use this guide to help narrow down your search. We list the 10 best AI answering services (plus prices, features, and limitations) so you can find a fit for your team.

What is an AI phone answering service?

An AI phone answering service (sometimes called an AI agent or virtual receptionist) answers customer calls when your team members can’t. Instead of sending callers to voicemail, it gives customers clear expectations for when they can expect a reply. It can also guide customers with helpful next steps, like:

• Answering FAQs
• Capturing key customer details
• Automating appointment booking

AI phone answering isn’t new, but today’s tools are smarter, simpler, and sound more natural than older iterations. They can also run in the background so your team will never miss a call.

With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the 10 best options for growing businesses.

10 best AI answering services for SMBs

We’ll start with the newest option on our list:

1. Sona: Best for growing businesses

Sona is an AI phone answering service built into OpenPhone, which is a business phone system for startups and fast-growing teams. It answers calls 24/7, captures key details from callers, and provides instant call summaries so you can follow up faster.

Here’s how it works:

• Sona answers the phone before the call goes to voicemail
• It gives a custom greeting based on where the caller is in your call flow
• It listens to the caller’s request
• Then it either answers the question or takes a message for a callback
• After the call, it generates a transcript and summary of what the caller shared

You can train Sona with key business info — like your pricing, hours, and FAQs — to make it even smarter. It also improves continuously based on customer feedback, and you’ll benefit from new features as they roll out.

Sona works seamlessly with the rest of your OpenPhone communication, giving you full visibility into every conversation without switching platforms.

You can use OpenPhone and Sona together to:

• Split responsibility for calls and texts with shared numbers
• Get context and action items from past conversations with call transcripts and summaries
• Automate text messages with auto-replies and scheduled messages
• Use AI to analyze phone calls and spot call drivers by organizing call recordings by topic, sentiment, or keywords 

The best part? You can easily test OpenPhone and Sona in-app with a free seven-day trial before confirming they’re a fit for your business or call flow.

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See Sona in action below: 

Key features of Sona

• 24/7 availability
• Easy to set up
• Shared team inbox with Sona conversation history
• Call recordings, transcripts, and summaries
• Call tags for automatically labeling calls
• Custom phone menus
• Third-party integrations with 7,000+ tools

Sona pricing

Sona is available as an add-on to any OpenPhone plan with the following pricing structure:

• $49 per month for 50 calls per month
• $0.99 per additional call

OpenPhone itself has three plans to choose from: 

• Starter: $15 per user per month for shared phone numbers, voicemail transcriptions, unlimited calls and texts in the US and Canada, and dozens of ways to streamline your business’s phone communication 
• Business: $23 per user per month for phone menus, call transcripts, call transferring, and more advanced features 
• Scale: $35 per user per month for call tags, dedicated onboarding, and priority chat and email support

2. Rosie: Best for email and text notifications

Rosie is an AI answering service that sends real-time email and text notifications for missed calls. All plans come with call transcripts, summaries, and recordings. With Zapier integrations, you can automatically send call records to your CRM. Rosie also offers English and Spanish support to provide better customer experiences across multilingual customer bases.

The first 25 minutes of Rosie are free, which is great for business owners who want to try before they buy. Once those are used up, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid tier, starting at $49 per month for 250 minutes. 

Just keep in mind the starter plan doesn’t include appointment links or call transfers, which are only available on the $99 per month tier. And if you manage multiple locations or want custom CRM integrations, you’ll need to contact sales for the Enterprise plan (which has no public pricing).

Another important caveat: Rosie is a standalone phone answering system, so you’ll have to forward calls to it from your existing phone service. This means you’ll need to toggle between apps to piece together conversation histories.

Key features of Rosie

• Free for the first 25 minutes
• Appointment links (requires upgrade)
• Spam detection
• Zapier integrations
• Live transfers (coming soon)

Rosie pricing

Rosie has three plans to choose from:

• Professional: $49 per month for up to 250 minutes, message taking with custom questions, smart spam detection, and English and Spanish language options
• Scale: $99 per month for up to 500 minutes, appointment links, and call transfers
• Growth: $199 per month for up to 1,000 minutes, training files, and custom agent training

3. RingCentral AI Receptionist: Best for custom agent tones

RingCentral has an AI receptionist that connects directly to its small business phone system, making it easy to automate answering inbound calls and sending SMS responses. It covers the basics you’d expect from an AI assistant (like keyword recognition, call routing, call transcripts, and analytics) while also letting you automate SMS messages for events like appointment confirmations.

One standout feature is the ability to customize your AI agent’s tone. You can choose from dozens of voice options across different languages, including casual, professional, and energetic.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to try before you buy. You’ll have to schedule a sales demo first, then answer dozens of questions before getting a quote. Plus, RingCentral’s AI Receptionist is only available to US businesses, so international companies will need to look elsewhere.

There are also limitations to RingCentral’s phone system to consider. For example, RingCentral’s base RingEx plan doesn’t allow oversight without upgrading — you’ll need the Advanced plan or higher to get transcripts for any conversation the receptionist handles. You’ll also be limited in how many SMS messages you can send. The most expensive tier offers 200 per user per month, which isn’t ideal if you rely heavily on SMS.

Key features of RingCentral AI Receptionist

• Custom call routing
• Casual or formal receptionist voices
• Automatic SMS for specific questions
• Call transcripts
• Call analytics

RingCentral AI Receptionist pricing

RingCentral’s AI receptionist doesn’t come with transparent pricing, so you’ll have to contact sales for a quote.

You’ll also need to purchase a RingEx plan for your business:

• Core: $20 per user per month for unlimited calls in the US and Canada, IVR, 25 texts per user, and 100 pooled toll-free minutes
• Advanced: $25 per user per month for automatic call recording, 100 texts per user, and 1,000 pooled toll-free minutes
• Ultra: $35 per user per month for unlimited call recording storage, 200 texts per user, and 10,000 pooled toll-free minutes

4. Voiceflow: Best for building custom phone agents

Voiceflow is an artificial intelligence platform that lets you build, manage, and scale chat and voice agents. You can use flexible flow editors to create personalized workflows, then collaborate in-app by leaving comments and tagging coworkers.

Voiceflow connects to the apps you’re already using, like Zendesk, Salesforce, OpenAI, and Shopify. They also have pre-built functions available for teams (think tracking agent interactions via Segment or sending SMS messages with Twilio).

Just remember that Voiceflow is an AI platform: there’s no built-in phone system or CRM tools. You’ll have to connect an existing phone service to the mix — like integrating Voiceflow with Vonage, a platform that comes with multiple hidden fees.

Voiceflow doesn’t make it easy to track team efficiency, either. Its analytics dashboard can help track call minutes and tokens but doesn’t offer support for flow analytics or custom dashboards.

You should also know there’s a steep learning curve for Voiceflow’s workflow builder, so you may need someone with technical knowledge to help build and deploy it. Considering there’s no email support unless you’re on the Business plan or higher, it may not be the right option for growing teams without in-house IT support.

Key features of Voiceflow

• Test user personas
• Transcript history (six months max)
• Business texting available
• Knowledge base
• CRM integrations

Voiceflow pricing

Voiceflow has four pricing plans to choose from:

• Starter: $0 per month (one user max) for one concurrent voice call, 50 knowledge base sources per agent, two AI agents, and 100 credits
• Pro: $60 per month for five concurrent voice calls, 200 knowledge base sources per agent, 20 agents, and 10K credits
• Team: $150 per month for 15 concurrent voice calls, 5,000 knowledge base sources per agent, unlimited agents, and 30K credits
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited workspaces, custom concurrent call limits, private cloud hosting, and priority customer support

Additional editor seats are available for $50 per editor per month.

5. Goodcall: Best for third-party integrations

Goodcall is an AI phone answering service that responds to callers with the knowledge you’ve given it. It lets you define different “skills” to give your agent explicit instructions on how to handle certain workflows, then set up “flows” to capture information from the caller.

You can also use Goodcall to connect with more than 1,000 different tools via Zapier, which is perfect for teams with large tech stacks. There are lots of creative use cases to try. For example, you can connect Goodcall to your CRM data to personalize greetings for different callers.

But you should know that Goodcall doesn’t fully integrate with existing business numbers. You can either get a new Goodcall number (choosing your preferred area code) or conditionally forward calls from your existing number. Either way, conversations end up split between two platforms, which makes it harder to manage follow-ups or maintain a complete call history.

Goodcall also doesn’t do well in keeping a clear communication trail since customer and call details get deleted after seven days on the base plan. The cherry on top is the steep learning curve. If you don’t have much time to spare on setup, it might be worth considering a Goodcall alternative.

Key features of Goodcall

• Integrates with 1,000+ tools
• Performance dashboard
• Unlimited minutes and tokens on the base plan
• Call and customer information storage
• Permission-based viewing settings

Goodcall pricing

Goodcall has three pricing plans to pick from:

• Starter: $59 per agent per month for unlimited minutes and tokens, three team members, seven days of call and customer details, and 100 unique customers monthly

• Growth: $99 per agent per month for nine team members, 30 days of call and customer details, and 250 unique customers monthly
• Scale: $199 per agent per month for 50 team members, unlimited call and customer details, and 500 unique customers monthly

6. IsOn24 AI Voice Assistant: Best for automated appointments calendar

IsOn24 offers AI voice assistants designed for texting, calling, chatting, and booking appointments. If you integrate it with Zapier, the AI can automatically add appointments to your calendar and send auto-reply texts with links, which confirms appointments and reduces no-shows without any manual work.

For callers, IsOn24 can answer 24/7 using an AI voice or pre-recorded audio. You can port or forward your number into the IsOn24 system, then let the assistant handle lead capture and live call queuing while you focus on other tasks.

But you should know IsOn24 limits texts and minutes — you only get 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts on the Starter plan. There are also no direct CRM integrations available. You’ll see there’s a Zapier integration, but it requires an upgrade.

And speaking of upgrades, the base plan only supports a single user. If you want multiple users, you’ll need to upgrade to the Sprinter plan. Plus, this is also the only way to access phone and text support. This costs twice as much as the entry-level option.

Key features of IsOn24

• Integrates with Zapier, Jobber, Google Calendar, and Outlook
• Automated appointments
• Call forwarding
• Number porting
• Multi-level conversations

IsOn24 pricing

IsOn24 has three plans available (not including Enterprise):

• Starter: $39 per month for 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts, and 1,000 online replies, plus premium assistant voices, automated appointments calendar, and call forwarding/porting

• Sprinter: $79 per month for 3,000 minutes, 3,000 texts, and 3,000 online replies, plus live call queueing, third-party integrations, and the ability to answer calls from your browser
• Cruiser: $159 per month for 7,500 minutes, 7,500 texts, and 7,500 online replies, plus professional onboarding, account managers, and custom integrations

7. Dialzara: Best for record-keeping

Dialzara is an AI answering service that serves businesses of all sizes and industries (think law firms, realtors, and home services companies). Its greatest strength is in record keeping: after every call, your AI agent will send a summary email or text, which also includes links to the call recording and full transcript.

Unlike some platforms on this list, Dialzara is easy to set up and doesn’t require technical experience. It can create AI prompts based on the knowledge you upload, which you can customize later. It also integrates with Zapier to push caller information to platforms like HubSpot or Slack.

Unfortunately, Zapier is the only native integration you get with Dialzara, which means you can’t tap into any CRMs or productivity tools without setting up your own workflows. Integrations via Zapier also require an upgrade to Business Pro, which is three times the price of the base plan ($99 per month). Want more talk time or knowledge base uploads? You’ll have to upgrade your plan again. Considering other AI phone answering services offer an unlimited amount of both, this might feel restrictive for those who manage high call volume.

Call management is also fairly limited. For example, you can only forward unanswered calls from your cell phone, which requires disabling visual voicemail and your existing call-forwarding feature. If you’re hoping to selectively route calls between Dialzara and other lines, this system may be too rigid.

Key features of Dialzara

• Call transferring
• Knowledge base uploads
• Over 40 voices to choose from
• Zapier integration (requires upgrade)
• External call transferring (requires upgrade)

Dialzara pricing

After you’ve taken a seven-day free trial, you can sign up for one of Dialzara’s three plans:

• Business Lite: $29 per month for 60 minutes of talk time plus self-editable prompts and five knowledge base uploads
• Business Pro: $99 per month for 220 minutes of talk time plus external call transfers and third-party integrations via Zapier
• Business: $199 per month for 500 minutes of talk time plus unlimited knowledge base uploads and white-glove prompt engineering

8. Abby Connect: Best for backup human agents

Abby Connect offers an AI receptionist that can capture, pre-qualify, and intake callers, route and answer calls, and schedule appointments. The mobile app also gives you access to AI-generated call summaries, transcripts, recordings, and customer sentiment scores.

Abby Connect’s biggest claim to fame is its human receptionist backup. If the AI can’t answer a customer’s question, a team of five to seven live receptionists can take over.

But Abby Connect is much pricier than most providers, with starter plans beginning at $99 per month. You’ll also have a limited number of monthly minutes (with no unlimited option available on any plan).

Beyond price, feature limitations could slow you down. You’re capped at six integrations — and there’s no built-in phone number. You’ll have to forward calls to Abby Connect. So if a team member needs to follow up with a customer later, they’ll have to piece together conversation history across multiple tools.

Key features of Abby Connect

• English and Spanish answering
• Offers live chat (separate plan) 
• Custom call flows
• Workflow integrations
• Human backups on demand (upgrade required)

Abby Connect pricing

Abby Connect offers three different services: human receptionists, AI receptionists, and live chat tools.

Here’s what you’ll pay for its AI receptionist plans:

• Free: $0 per month for up to 20 minutes of reception time plus 24/7 call handling, call flows, call transfers, FAQ answering support, and workflow integrations
• Starter: $99 per month for built-in features plus up to 50 minutes of reception time
• Essential: $165 per month for built-in features plus up to 100 minutes of reception time
• Professional: $299 for up to 200 minutes of reception time plus backup human receptionist services
• Growth: $690 per month for up to 500 minutes of reception time plus backup human receptionist services

You’ll also have to pay a $95 setup fee to start any receptionist plan.

9. MrCall: Best for multilingual support

MrCall offers AI call assistants that can answer calls in up to 10 languages. It’s especially useful for scheduling appointments since it integrates with Google Calendar and can text customers reminders through SMS or WhatsApp.

Every customer interaction handled by MrCall includes urgency tagging, so you’ll know right away how soon to book a follow-up. Plus, if the AI can’t solve the customer’s problem, it can transfer the call to an available team member. You’ll also get email notifications with quick caller summaries to get the SparkNotes before jumping on a call.

But you should know MrCall doesn’t work on business phone numbers — it works off call forwarding, which means you need an existing business phone system. You should also know pricing isn’t listed in USD, so unless you’re familiar with conversion rates from euros, you may need to get in touch with the sales team for equivalent pricing.

Key features of MrCall

• CRM system and Google Calendar integrations
• Able to make outgoing calls (must contact sales)
• SMS and WhatsApp support (links require upgrade)

• Call summary emails and notifications
• Embed in your website

MrCall pricing

There are three different pricing plans for MrCall:

• Starter: 50€ per month (excluding VAT) for 200 minutes of incoming calls, Google Workspace integrations, call transferring, and SMS/WhatsApp support
• Professional: 150€ per month (excluding VAT) for 900 minutes of incoming calls, complex conversation flows, the ability to text links, integrations with your website, and the ability to read and write data into your information system
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for 5,000+ minutes of incoming calls, complex digital assistants, production and testing assistance, and price estimates for external software or new model development

10. Curious Thing: Best for HIPAA compliance

Curious Thing is an AI call answering service with plug-and-play AI phone assistants for inbound and outbound call centers. Each agent focuses on slightly different use cases, like FAQs, conversational calls, follow-ups, and payment reminders. You’ll also get unlimited call summaries, automated answering, and link sharing for your online booking system.

If you’re in the healthcare industry, Curious Thing offers HIPAA-compliant custom agents, which are ideal for capturing patient information securely. You can add multilingual support (Spanish, French, Chinese, Portuguese, or Korean) to better serve diverse audiences.

That said, Curious Thing doesn’t offer native integrations (just an open API), meaning there’s no simple way to sync data with your CRM. Call forwarding also has some quirks: you’ll need to disable your existing call forwarding feature and route all calls to a Lucy AI phone answering number.. Disabling conditional call forwarding may cause you to lose your voicemail — fixing it may require help from your carrier.

The biggest limitation? No transparent pricing. There’s also no self-serve free trial either. If you want to try before you buy or get a custom quote, you’ll need to contact the sales team.

Key features of Curious Thing

• Call summaries
• Call notifications
• FAQs (requires upgrade)
• Call transferring
• Link sharing

Curious Thing pricing

Curious Thing doesn’t list its prices online, but it does list its plans.

Here’s how they break down:

• Lucy AI Professional: Custom pricing for unlimited call summaries, notifications for all calls, removed branding, custom message taking, sharing important links, and bilingual capabilities
• Lucy AI Business: Custom pricing for multiple skills, 10 FAQs, call transferring, and advanced messaging taking

The only way to get a quote is to contact the sales team.

The only AI phone answering service you need: OpenPhone

There are dozens of AI phone answering services on the market — but only one is clearly designed for fast-growing businesses. OpenPhone’s Sona was built for startups and fast-growing businesses ready to answer more calls and build deeper customer relationships.

Unlike other AI receptionists, Sona charges by the call (not by the minute), which keeps your virtual receptionist costs simple and predictable. Since calls aren’t forwarded to a separate app or platform, you get better visibility and control over your conversations.

Every call comes with a transcript, summary, and AI tags (available on the Scale plan) so you can easily track, prioritize, and follow up with callers. You can also connect with shared phone numbers so everyone on your team can split responsibility for messages.

Confirm that OpenPhone is a fit for your business with a free seven-day trial.

Then, test calling with Sona in the OpenPhone mobile app and see how our AI phone answering service ensures you never miss a call.

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