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AI receptionistA front desk that never lets the phone ring out.
Your staff are with customers, not glued to the phone. TalkerIQ's AI receptionist — one of our AI voice and SMS agents — greets every caller, books the appointment, answers the everyday questions and puts the rest through to the right person — so the desk keeps moving and nobody gets voicemail.
Front desk · example day
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“I'd like to book a cleaning.”9:02 AM · New patient · details capturedBooked Tue 10:30
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“Are you open on Saturday?”12:15 PM · Answered from your knowledge baseAnswered
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“I have a question about my bill.”12:40 PM · Warm transfer with a context noteTo Maria, billing
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After hours: “Please call me back.”6:48 PM · Reason and best time capturedMessage + text sent
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“It's urgent — I'm in a lot of pain.”7:30 PM · Matches your escalation ruleSent to on-call
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is an AI voice agent that answers a business's phone like a front-desk person: greeting callers, answering common questions, booking appointments and routing or transferring calls. TalkerIQ's AI receptionist runs on your existing number and calendar, works 24/7 in 12+ languages, and logs every call for your team.
- Availability
- 24/7, holidays included
- AI response time
- About 1.2 seconds
- Languages
- 12+
- Books into
- Google Calendar, in real time
- Cost
- 73% lower than human-only teams
- Pricing
- 30 AI min/user on Growth ($79/user/mo); 100 AI min/user on Pro ($149)
Sound familiar?
The phone rings while I'm with a client. I either ignore it and lose the booking, or pick up and make the person in front of me wait.
Front desks don't fail because people don't care. They fail because one person can't be in two conversations at once — and the phone always picks the worst moment.
Bookings lost to a busy signal
New customers who reach voicemail rarely leave a message. They call the next business on the list.
The same five questions, all day
"Are you open Saturday?" "How much is…?" "Where do I park?" Each one pulls staff away from paying customers.
Callers passed around
Without someone to triage, billing questions land with the stylist and urgent calls wait behind routine ones.
Nobody's there after closing
Evening and weekend callers get a recording — and you get a list of missed calls with no idea what they wanted.
How it works
What happens when someone calls your front desk?
The AI receptionist sits in your call flow. Your team decides when it answers and what it can do.
A warm, on-brand greeting
Every caller hears your business name, in the voice you chose — with a personalised greeting for VIP clients.
AI receptionistIt works out what they need
Booking, a question, a specific person, or something urgent. It asks follow-ups until it's clear.
AI receptionistIt handles the routine
Books into your live calendar, answers from your knowledge base, and texts a confirmation.
AI receptionistIt puts through the rest
Routes to the right department or person with a note on who's calling and why — or takes a detailed message.
AI + your teamYou see every call
Recording, transcript, summary and outcome in your call history and CRM.
Automatic
Book
Appointments booked while you're busy.
With AI appointment booking, the receptionist checks your real calendar, offers only open times, and books the appointment with the caller's details and reason. A confirmation goes out straight away, and reminders help cut no-shows.
- Real-time calendar integration — no double-booking
- Automated confirmations and reminders by text and email
- Reschedules and cancellations handled on the same call
AI booking · live calendar
Answer
The information desk, always up to date.
Hours, services, prices, directions, this month's promotion or next week's event — the receptionist answers from the AI agent knowledge base you control. Change your holiday hours once and every caller hears the new ones.
- Business hours, services and pricing answered instantly
- Promotions and events kept current from your own notes
- Links and directions texted to the caller on request
What your agent knows
- yourcompany.comWebsite pages · synced on a schedule
- Returns-policy.pdfUploaded file · PDF, DOCX or TXT
- Holiday hours & pricing notesWritten in the editor
Route
Every caller to the right person, first time: how does an AI receptionist route calls?
Billing questions go to billing. A VIP client goes straight to their account manager. An urgent call goes to whoever's on call. The receptionist routes by what the caller actually needs — not by which menu button they pressed.
- Department and person routing based on the caller's need
- Warm transfer with a note on who's calling and why
- Detailed messages and an instant text back when nobody's free
AI qualifies · your team closes
- Name
- Priya N.
- Need
- 40 seats
- When
- Next month
- Score
- Hot
Compare
AI receptionist vs answering service vs voicemail: which covers your phones best?
Four common ways to cover the front desk. An answering service takes messages; an AI receptionist can finish the job.
| Voicemail | Human answering service | In-house receptionist | TalkerIQ AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours covered | 24/7, but nobody answers | Depends on the contract | Working hours | 24/7, or the hours you choose |
| Calls at once | Unlimited messages | Depends on staffing | One | Several at once |
| Books appointments | No | Sometimes, often by message | Yes | Yes, into your live calendar |
| Answers your FAQs | No | From a script | Yes | Yes, from your knowledge base |
| Transfers to your team | No | Usually a message | Yes | Warm transfer with a note |
| Record of the call | Audio only | Message notes | Whatever gets written down | Recording, transcript, summary, CRM sync |
Many businesses keep their receptionist and use the AI for overflow, lunch breaks and after hours.
A Saturday at a salon
What does a day with an AI receptionist look like?
A four-chair hair salon on its busiest day. Names are illustrative.
- Before opening
Two callers book blow-dries into open slots on the stylists' calendars. Each gets a text confirmation with the address.
- Every chair is busy
A caller asks if the salon does balayage and how much it costs. The AI answers from the price list and books a consultation.
- A VIP calls
A regular client is recognised by number, greeted by name and put straight through to her stylist, Aisha, between appointments.
- A complaint
A client unhappy with a colour wants to talk to the owner. The AI takes the details and transfers to Lena, the owner, with a note.
- After closing
A reschedule request is handled automatically; the freed slot shows as open for the next caller. See salon phone systems.
What changes
What front desks notice in the first month.
answered
Daytime rush, lunch break, evenings, weekends and holidays — no more voicemail for new customers.
lower cost than human-only teams
A fraction of the cost of covering the same hours with extra receptionists or an answering service.
interruptions
Staff stay with the customer in front of them while routine calls are handled.
first impression, every time
A consistent, professional greeting with no human error, delays or off days.
What's included
Everything your reception desk does — covered.
Appointment scheduling
Real-time calendar integration with automated confirmations to reduce no-shows.
Call routing
Directs callers to the right department or person, with personalised greetings for VIP clients.
Information desk
Answers about hours, services, pricing, promotions and events from your knowledge base.
Message taking
Captures the reason for calling and the best callback time, then alerts your team.
Text follow-ups
Confirmations, directions and links texted from your business number.
12+ languages
Greets and helps callers in their own language — a multilingual AI phone agent.
Your choice of voice
Pick from 40+ AI voices for phone agents or clone your own.
Call summaries
Every call recorded, transcribed and summarised for your team.
24/7 availability
Covers after hours, weekends and holidays — or just the busy hours you choose.
People and AI, one phone system
Your staff look after customers. The AI looks after the phone.
Routing uses the same call routing and call transfer as the rest of your TalkerIQ phone system, and every call gets an AI call summary.
The person in front of them, and the calls that need a human
- Answer from the browser, desktop or mobile app when they're free
- Get transferred calls with a note already attached
- Return messages with the reason and best time in hand
Greeting, booking, everyday questions and triage
- Picks up every call, even three at once
- Books, reschedules and confirms appointments
- Escalates anything urgent to the person on call
FAQ
Questions about the AI receptionist
Still unsure? Talk to our team.
Reviewed by the TalkerIQ product team · Updated
What can the AI receptionist do?
It answers calls on your business number, schedules and reschedules appointments with real-time calendar integration, answers questions about hours, services, pricing and promotions, routes callers to the right department or person, takes messages and texts confirmations. Every call is recorded, transcribed and summarised.
Does it replace my receptionist?
It works alongside your team. Many businesses let the AI answer when staff are busy, at lunch or after hours, and transfer calls that need a person. You decide when it answers and what it handles.
Will callers know they're speaking with an AI?
The receptionist sounds natural and conversational. You choose whether it introduces itself as an AI assistant, and it can transfer to a person at any point in the call.
Can I customise the greeting and call flow?
Yes. You control the greeting, voice, questions, answers and routing rules — including personalised greetings for VIP clients — and can keep your existing number by porting it to TalkerIQ.
What happens with urgent calls after hours?
You set escalation rules. Urgent calls can be transferred to an on-call number, while routine calls get a detailed message and an instant text back.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
It costs a fraction of a full-time receptionist. Starter ($39 per user per month) includes a 20-minute AI trial; on Growth ($79) the AI receptionist includes 30 AI minutes per user, then $0.25 per minute, and Pro ($149) includes 100 AI minutes per user. Annual billing saves up to 25%, and AI minutes are $0.25, as low as $0.20 with volume — see pricing for details.
Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service?
For most routine calls, an AI receptionist does more than a traditional answering service: it books appointments into your live calendar, answers questions from your own knowledge base and warm-transfers callers, rather than only taking messages. It also answers several calls at once, 24/7. A human service can still suit very sensitive or unusual calls.
Which businesses use an AI receptionist?
Businesses where staff are busy with customers when the phone rings: medical and dental clinics, salons and spas, home services, law and accounting firms, real estate and car dealerships. TalkerIQ also has industry pages showing how the AI receptionist fits each of them.
Keep exploring
Hear your front desk answered by AI.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough. We'll set up a sample receptionist with your hours, services and calendar — before you change anything.