It’s an amazing feeling when your business is groagentwing and thriving. But as you know by now, it’s not so amazing to feel the inevitable “growing pains” of that success.
Handling calls can be a big one: you’re too busy to answer every incoming call, but you don’t quite have the resources to hire an in-house receptionist.
So what’s your next move?
Virtual receptionist services are one option, but you’re worried the pricing will be unpredictable. And nobody wants to play a game of business roulette. Maybe you’re wondering if an automated answering service is the best choice for your unique business needs. But you might also be concerned that it’s tricky to set up.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the key differences between a virtual receptionist vs an automated answering service — and help you figure out which one’s right for your business.
What is a live virtual receptionist and how does it work?
The appeal of a live virtual receptionist is that it’s a real person who answers customer calls on your behalf. This means your customers get a human touch and personalized, real-time service.
A virtual receptionist can screen and transfer calls, just like someone who works in-house. They typically follow a script to greet callers, take messages, qualify leads, and take care of appointment scheduling. This means you can still have control over the experience customers get when they call your business.
But as you’ll quickly learn, the cost of a virtual receptionist can vary depending on which service you choose — anywhere from $300 to $2,000+ per month. For example, some providers charge $1,299 per month for just 300 calls, which comes out to about $4.33 per call. And after that, each call costs $6.99.
It’s also important to note that if you need 24/7 availability, you’ll likely need to pay for extended coverage or hire more than one.
What is an automated answering service, and how does it work?
An automated answering service helps you handle incoming calls without needing a live rep. While some people have flashbacks to the time they had a fight with a pre-recorded phone menu, the right automated services are reliable and user-friendly.
They automatically greet and respond to callers in real time. They can also do things like:
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Collect important details from leads so you can follow up later
- Customize based on the time of day, like sending after-hours calls to voicemail or playing a message that says your business is closed and the time it reopens
Another benefit is automated services often have straightforward pricing. You can expect to pay around $50 to $300+ per month, depending on the provider you choose.
OpenPhone, a business phone system for teams, provides an AI voice agent called Sona, which costs $49 per month and includes 50 calls. Additional calls are just $0.99 each. But if you choose an AI agent that charges by the minute instead, like RingCentral’s, your monthly costs will be higher.
💡Want to compare options? Check out our list of the best AI phone answering services.
What are the differences and similarities?
Now that you know the basics of both services, let’s bring them head-to-head.
Availability
One of the biggest differences between the two options is when they’re actually available to take calls, which directly affects how quickly people hear back from your business.
Automated answering service: Available 24/7 to handle every call — whether it’s after business hours, during lunch breaks, or when your team’s tied up. Automated answering services don’t take time off, so you can stay responsive without hiring extra help.
Virtual receptionist: Usually follows a set daily schedule. You may need to pay extra for off-hours or if your company receives a high volume of calls. If your business gets a lot of calls or serves people in different time zones, you might end up missing calls or following up late.
Call handling
This difference in how calls are managed — one handled manually by a person and the other automatically by software — is one of the biggest factors in deciding between a virtual receptionist vs an automated answering service.
Automated answering service: Handles calls automatically using a pre-built call flow. They can answer common questions, route customers to the right team member or department, and take messages when no one’s free. Some support live call transfers, while others collect key details so your team can follow up later — all without needing a human to step in.
Virtual receptionist: Can perform similar tasks — answering questions, routing calls, and taking messages — but everything is managed manually by a human. This can take more time and leave room for mistakes, which will depend on the receptionist who handles the call.
Call consistency
When different people are answering the phone, the caller’s experience isn’t always the same. Some calls might feel polished and professional, while others come across as rushed or off-brand. That’s where the type of service you use makes a difference.
Automated answering service: Delivers a consistent, professional experience for every caller, with the same on-brand tone, greeting, and flow every time. This helps you maintain a polished image across every conversation.
Virtual receptionist: Because they’re not part of your internal team, they may not know your brand, processes, or the people you serve. That can lead to inconsistent experiences for callers. For example, your in-house rep may sound polished and professional, while an external live receptionist might come across as too casual or stray from your script.
Setup and maintenance
The setup process and ongoing updates work differently depending on the service you choose.
Automated answering service: Quick to set up and easy to change as your business evolves. You can update business hours, remove or add team members, or make other call flow changes in just a few clicks.
Virtual receptionist: Requires more onboarding and ongoing training to stay in sync with your evolving business needs. You’ll need to manually share updates so everyone stays on the same page.
Integrations and your tech stack
The way each service connects with the rest of your tools can help your team move faster or slow them down.
Automated answering service: Often integrates with tools like Slack, HubSpot, and Zapier, making it easy to build workflows that automate repetitive tasks and sync data with platforms like your customer relationship management (CRM). For example, OpenPhone’s Sona automatically syncs call summaries in HubSpot. Plus, because calls aren’t forwarded to an external call center, you can keep all of your call transcriptions, recordings, and entire conversation history right in your phone system for better follow-up and oversight.
Virtual receptionist: Rarely offers native integrations, which means you’ll be piecing together conversations from different apps just to see what was said. Without a direct connection to your CRM, for example, important details can slip through the cracks, making it harder for your team to track conversations, follow up quickly, and keep customer records up to date.
Virtual receptionist vs automated answering service: Which is the best choice for your business?
Now for the fun (and trickiest) part: taking what you know about these two service options and applying it to your unique business needs.
- You need to be reachable anytime. If your business gets calls after hours or across time zones, automated answering services keep you covered 24/7 without extra fees. A virtual receptionist may only be available during standard business hours unless you pay for extended coverage.
- You want to stay in control. Want to tweak your call flow or greeting? With an automated answering service, you can make changes instantly without waiting for someone else to update it. With a virtual receptionist, you’ll need to relay changes manually and wait for them to adjust.
- You want to grow without friction. Automated systems scale with you easily — no onboarding, no training costs, no extra stress. In contrast, adding more live receptionists to handle increased call volume usually means higher costs and more management time.
- You value consistency. Automated systems deliver a repeatable, professional experience every time. Virtual receptionists can offer a personal touch, but tone and service can vary depending on who answers. (As much as we all love surprises, this isn’t the right place.)
- You want a solution that fits your small team. If your team is small and juggling multiple responsibilities, automated answering services let you present a polished image without having to outsource or manage additional contractors. A virtual receptionist adds headcount — and it’s one more person to coordinate.
- You want access to customer conversations. With tools like Sona, you get full transcripts and call summaries inside your business phone system, so you can review calls without needing to switch between apps. With a virtual receptionist, call details are often shared separately or logged manually, which can make it harder to get the full picture when it’s time to follow up.
Get an always-on AI receptionist without needing multiple apps
After seeing what automated answering services can do, you might be wondering: “How do I set one up without adding another tool to my tech stack?”
OpenPhone is a business phone system that provides toll-free and local US and Canadian phone numbers you can use to make unlimited calls and texts. Plus, you’ll get access to shared phone numbers that let your team call and text from the same number and entire conversation histories in one place. It also supports features like MMS, SMS, group text, ring groups, and texting automations like snippets, auto-replies, and scheduled texts that save you time when responding to customers and preventing missed calls.
With Sona, OpenPhone’s AI agent, you can place an always-on receptionist anywhere in your call flow. It takes important details and answers common questions when you can’t pick up the phone. And you don’t need to be tech-savvy – it just works right out of the box with no extra tools or setup required. Plus, all Sona-handled calls are logged with transcripts and summaries so your team can follow up faster.
For small teams that can’t always answer every call, Sona gives you a professional touch without having to manage a bunch of different services.
OpenPhone: The best phone system for never missing a call
In the battle of a virtual receptionist vs an automated answering service, the latter offers better consistency, integration options, and flexibility for most small businesses.
OpenPhone takes this automation to the next level with Sona, giving you an AI agent that works right inside your business phone system. No more missed opportunities, no more playing phone tag, and no more paying per-minute rates for basic automated call handling.
Ready to see if OpenPhone is right for your business? Start your free seven-day trial today to try out features like calling, ring groups, call transfers, and more. You can also add test call Sona, our AI agent, inside OpenPhone to see exactly how it works. Then once you confirm it’s a good fit, you can activate your account and purchase Sona.
To go live with Sona in your call flow, just activate your account.
Want to learn more about Sona, check out our recorded webinar to see Sona in action and discover how other businesses are using it to provide better customer experiences around the clock.
FAQs
Automated answering services provide a more consistent, always-available customer experience. On the other hand, virtual receptionists can vary depending on who’s answering and likely aren’t a fit for small businesses searching for a flexible and cost-effective solution.
Interactive voice response (IVR) provides a much better customer experience. It helps callers get what they need right away by routing or playing pre-recorded messages. In contrast, an answering machine is passive — it just plays a message and waits for the caller to leave a voicemail.
A virtual call center is a remote team built to handle a high volume of calls. While it can be a lifesaver for large companies, it’s important to keep in mind that the setup can be complex and expensive. Virtual call centers are also more than most small businesses need.
An auto attendant is a system that answers phone calls for your business and gives callers a set of phone menu options, like choosing a specific department or leaving a message. This helps boost customer satisfaction by making sure they get to the right place without needing a team member to answer and manually transfer calls to another person.
