Missed calls from a potential customer can be quite frustrating. While you want to make sure you are as reachable as possible, there will be times when you simply can’t pick up the phone. Whether you are on another call or out working, sometimes a lead’s attempt to contact you will go unanswered.
Unless you recruit the help of an AI answering service. These virtual assistants, so to speak, can answer customer calls, book appointments, and redirect calls to human agents when they realize they aren’t able to help the caller.
Here are the seven best AI phone answering services your small business should try.
#1 – Rosie
Rosie is our top choice for the best AI answering service. It’s easy to use and set up, it has incredibly human-sounding voice options, and it will help you turn previously missed opportunities into revenue.
Rosie is trained on your company’s own data. It will use your website, Yelp reviews, and any internal documentation you have to understand your business and accurately represent it.
You can connect it with all of your existing software: a customer database, scheduling software, and your current phone system. You’ll get a unique Rosie number you can simply forward calls to when you need them answered, enhancing customer satisfaction.
Rosie is not just an AI phone answering service to help you manage phone calls; it can book appointments, send follow-up texts, ask for reviews, and ensure you stay on top of all communication with your clients and leads.
It is also trained to recognize the emotions of a caller. If they seem frustrated or angry, it will proactively offer the option of speaking to a human. It will also escalate to human contact whenever it can’t adequately help a customer out.
This AI answering system comes with a 7-day free trial.
#2 PlayAI
PlayAI is another good AI phone answering service option. It lets you clone your own voice (if you are keen for the virtual assistant to sound like you) or create a unique AI receptionist. You can choose from over 900 voices, so you’ll certainly be able to find a human-like AI voice you’ll like.
PlayAI also supports 143 languages, so you can offer customer service to a global customer base.
It will handle customer queries from start to finish, efficiently managing customer calls, predicting intent, and improving phone communication for businesses. It is adept at providing responses (based on the information you teach it) and even answering any follow-up questions a customer may have.
PlayAI will also learn from previous customer interactions, so it will become more and more efficient the more you use it.
You can easily integrate it with the customer relationship management software you already use so you can track its effectiveness.
This phone answering service is a good choice for customer service teams, but you can also use it to record voiceovers and improve the accessibility of your website.
PlayAI has a custom pricing, depending on your requirements and usage, so you will need to get in touch with their sales team to learn more.
#3 Simple Phones
Simple Phones is a good AI answering service you can use to automate and manage both incoming calls and outbound calls.
It answers calls for you when you can’t come to the phone. Much like other similar solutions, it will become better over time and learn to field calls more effectively. It can also forward calls, escalate them to human agents, and even send notes to the person taking over the call about the customer’s needs.
You can use Simple Phones to make cold calls, too, or just stay in touch with leads and customers to ensure a smooth customer experience. It can also take messages, and you will have a record of every call available. You can use it to tweak responses and further improve customer care.
You can customize Simple Phones to match the needs of your business. It can do a wide range of tasks, from booking appointments to answering customer questions. You can also tailor the voice and accent of your AI answering service so it aligns well with your brand.
Simple Phones starts at $49 per month for 100 calls, so it can be a very affordable option to try out if you are new to the world of AI answering services.
#4 Abby Connect
Abby Connect is a unique blend of AI technology and human customer care agents. Calls are answered by real people, not an AI voice. Artificial intelligence is used to analyze calls and conversions, and significantly improve them using real customer service calls.
It’s like having your own team of agents on hand without having to actually hire them. Their teams are small and highly skilled, as they get to know your business very well and can easily answer all customer questions.
The more calls they take, the more information the AI will have to analyze. It will then be able to pinpoint the most common pain points and issues your callers have and learn exactly which phrases lead to which results.
Abby Connect is a pricier option, as it starts at $329 a month per 100 receptionist minutes. However, it can work great in certain industries, like medical and legal, where a personalized and highly experienced customer care agent can make all the difference.
It can also work well if your customer base is not a huge fan of AI and would prefer to know they are speaking to humans rather than AI agents.
#5 MrCall
MrCall is not only an AI answering service: it can also handle instant text messages and help your customer out via text. It can also set up meetings, give you your messages, and remind you of important tasks.
When answering a call, MrCall will transcribe it for you, so you can know exactly what was said, and what the customer’s needs are. It will also notify you of your customer management system that the call has taken place.
MrCall is an AI phone answering system that can forward calls to the appropriate departments if it’s not able to handle the caller’s needs on its own (or if this is how you choose to set it up). Since it’s highly customizable and operates in the cloud, you can easily tailor it to your business needs.
One of the best features of MrCall is that you can use it from your phone (both an iPhone and an Android phone). All you need to do is install an app, and you’re ready to start setting your assistant up.
MrCall is available from $55 per month for 100 minutes of call time.
#6 IsOn24
IsOn24 is an AI call-answering service that can handle all kinds of call-related tasks.
You can record your own voice to be used for talking to callers or choose from a library of AI-generated options. You can also choose the kind of assistance you need: IsOn24 has already been trained for a wide variety of industries and is ready to go.
IsOn24 will also book meetings and reservations for you, and it can do it via a call, a message, or even an online chat. It can also organize your voicemails, messages, and texts, so you can see at a glance who needs what from your company.
You can connect IsOn24 to your calendar app, as well as the scheduling software and customer management software you already use. If you already use Zapier, you can connect your new answering service with everything in a couple of clicks.
The IsOn24 basic plan costs $49 per month for 1000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 1000 online replies.
#7 Goodcall
Goodcall is a GPT-powered assistant that can answer common customer questions, handle call routing, send text messages, schedule appointments, and save you a lot of time and energy in the process.
One of the best features of this AI answering service is the fact that it can handle an unlimited number of simultaneous phone calls, so your customers won’t get frustrated by having to wait for a human phone agent to become available. This AI answering system can automate customer service interactions, predict customer intent, and improve efficiency in call-answering services.
You can easily integrate Goodcall with all of the most popular CRM systems, so your customer data will be stored in one place. You can also connect it with Zapier.
It can also capture leads for you during a call, so you can reach out to them in the future and grow your customer base. You can use it regardless of the size of your company and your customer support needs, as it easily adapts to different situations and caller requirements.
Goodcall costs $59 per month (or $41 per month if billed annually). All of the features are available at this single price.
Choose the Best AI Answering Service for Your Business
Virtual receptionist services can save you a lot of time, significantly increase your conversion rates, and boost customer satisfaction.
Check out the seven options we listed here and decide which one would best fit the needs and budget of your small business.
