What's a Virtual Receptionist?

A virtual receptionist handles your incoming business calls remotely. You keep your existing phone number and set up call forwarding so that calls reach the service instead of ringing unanswered or going straight to voicemail. From the caller's point of view, someone picked up and helped them. From your point of view, the phone work happens without you standing next to a desk.

The category covers two very different approaches. A human virtual receptionist service employs trained people who answer on behalf of many businesses. An AI virtual receptionist is software that answers automatically, using information the owner has saved about the business, such as services, hours, and pricing. Both fall under the same umbrella term, which is why it is worth knowing which kind a provider actually offers before you compare prices.

• Remote: the receptionist is not physically in your office
• Answers your existing business phone number
• Handles calls you cannot pick up yourself, or all of them, depending on how you forward
• Can be human staff, AI software, or a mix of both

The core of the job is phone work. Most services center on a handful of recurring duties, and the details depend on whether you hire people or use software.

It is also worth knowing the limits. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes in-house receptionist work as including greeting visitors and other office tasks beyond the phone, so a virtual phone service is not automatically a full replacement for a front-desk employee. Compare the scope of what you need covered.

• Answering calls in your business's name
• Taking messages with caller name, number, and reason for calling
• Booking appointments when a calendar with services and availability has been set up
• Transferring calls to you or another number when your rules say to
• Answering common questions from saved business information, such as hours or prices
• When an answer, price, or opening is unknown, taking a message instead of guessing

Human virtual receptionist companies staff real people who answer for many client businesses at once. Providers in this space, such as Ruby and Smith.ai's live receptionist service, publish their own pricing on their sites, and the figures change with plan size and included allowance, so check current quotes rather than assuming a fixed number. Human services bring judgment and flexibility, but coverage hours, included minutes or calls, and overage fees all vary by plan.

AI receptionists answer automatically. They use saved business details to respond, take messages, and book appointments, and they are available around the clock, though availability does not guarantee every call connects, for example if a transfer is configured and no one picks up. Smith.ai also offers a separate AI receptionist product with escalation to its live agents, which shows how the two models increasingly overlap. When comparing, ask what happens when the receptionist does not know an answer, how appointments are recorded, and what you pay for extra usage.

• Human services: real people, judgment calls, plan-based pricing and hours
• AI services: software answers from your saved business info, available around the clock
• Both can take messages and book appointments; the mechanics differ
• Ask each provider how unknown questions are handled

A virtual receptionist does not replace your phone number. You keep the number customers already know and forward calls to the service. How you forward depends on your phone carrier or phone system. Some carriers use star codes, such as *72 to turn forwarding on and *73 to turn it off on several US carriers, while others manage forwarding through an online account portal. Conditional forwarding, which sends calls only when you are busy or do not answer, is a separate feature and is not supported on every line, so confirm with your carrier before relying on it.

One common exception to know about: Google explicitly states that forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system is unsupported, so a Google Voice number is not a straightforward path to an AI receptionist. Check your own provider's instructions before signing up for any service.

• Keep your existing business number; forward calls to the service
• Activation is usually a star code from your phone or a setting in your carrier's portal
• Unconditional forwarding sends all calls; conditional forwarding sends only busy or unanswered ones and is not available on every line
• Verify your carrier's exact product and steps before activating

A virtual receptionist makes sense when calls arrive at times you cannot answer, or when the phone interrupts work you are in the middle of. It matters less if your callers rarely call or you enjoy handling every call yourself. Before comparing providers, get clear on three things: which calls you want covered (all of them, or only when you are unavailable), what the service should do with each call (message, booking, or transfer), and what happens when it cannot help (a message should be the default, not a guess).

Cost is the other half of the decision. Human services typically charge monthly plans with included minutes or per-call pricing, and AI services charge by plan and usage as well. Ask each provider for the included allowance, the overage rate, and any contract terms, and compare that total against what an in-house hire would cost for the hours you actually need covered.

• Decide which calls to forward: all calls, or only busy and after-hours ones
• Decide the default action: message, booking, or transfer to you
• Ask how unknown questions and prices are handled
• Compare included minutes, overage rates, and contract terms across quotes