Virtual Assistant Receptionist

The core idea is simple: instead of your phone ringing unanswered, incoming calls are forwarded to a remote assistant that answers in your business name. Callers cannot tell the difference from the phone number alone, because you keep the number you already have.

With AllDayDesk, the assistant answers around the clock using business information you save, such as your services, hours, and pricing you choose to share. It can answer questions, take messages, and book new appointments. When it does not know an answer, a price, or whether a time is open, it takes a message instead of guessing.

Call activity is visible in your dashboard, including transcripts, summaries, and any booking the assistant made. You review the activity on your own schedule rather than being tied to the phone.

• You keep your public phone number; forwarding sends calls to the assistant.
• The assistant answers using your saved business details.
• It takes messages whenever an answer or price is unknown.
• New appointments go to the built-in dashboard calendar by default.
• Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings appear in the dashboard.

The phrase virtual assistant receptionist covers two different kinds of service, and knowing the difference helps you compare quotes fairly.

Human virtual receptionist services, such as Ruby and Smith.ai's receptionist plans, use trained people answering from remote offices. Ruby advertises plans starting at $245 per month as of October 2026, and Smith.ai uses per-call pricing for its human receptionist service. Actual costs depend on included minutes or calls, overage rates, hours of coverage, and contract terms, so verify those details on a current quote rather than relying on a starting price alone.

AI receptionists, including AllDayDesk and Smith.ai's separate AI receptionist product, answer calls with software trained on your business information. Smith.ai's AI service includes on-demand escalation to its live agent network; that is a feature of their product, not of AllDayDesk.

A traditional in-house receptionist does more than answer phones. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reception duties also include greeting visitors and handling office tasks, so a phone service is not a full replacement for that broader role.

• Human services: real people answer; pricing often starts higher and varies by usage.
• AI services: software answers using your saved details; AllDayDesk pricing is shown separately on this page.
• In-house receptionists: cover in-person and office work beyond the phone.
• Compare included minutes, overage rates, and coverage hours on every quote.

Setup with AllDayDesk starts by choosing your business or entering its website. The service pulls in details about your business, you check that the information is accurate, and then you hear a personalized sample of how the assistant will sound. The sample is a preview only; it does not create a real booking.

Next you choose how to connect your phone. You keep your public number by forwarding calls to AllDayDesk, and the exact steps depend on your phone provider. For example, Verizon mobile uses *72 plus the destination number for all-call forwarding and *73 to turn it off, while T-Mobile uses **21*1 followed by the destination and # for unconditional forwarding. Business landline products differ: Spectrum Business Voice manages forwarding through the SpectrumBusiness.net portal, and AT&T Phone for Business uses *72, the destination, and # for all calls. Always confirm the instructions for your exact service, because codes vary between products from the same carrier.

One important exception: Google Voice does not support forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system, so a Google Voice number is not a compatible forwarding source.

After forwarding is on, configure your services and availability so the assistant can book new appointments on the built-in dashboard calendar. If you prefer, you can optionally connect Google Calendar in Settings after authorizing your Google account.

• Step 1: Choose your business or enter its website.
• Step 2: Check the business details the assistant will use.
• Step 3: Hear a personalized sample of the assistant.
• Step 4: Choose phone setup and forward your number using your provider's steps.
• Step 5: Configure services and availability for appointment booking.

In daily use, the assistant answers calls in your business name, responds to questions using the details you saved, and takes messages when something is outside what it knows. If a caller asks about a price you have not listed or a situation the assistant cannot confirm, it takes a message for you instead of improvising an answer.

For appointment-based businesses, the assistant can book new appointments once your services and availability are configured. Changes to existing appointments are different: those come to you as requests to approve, not as confirmed changes, so you stay in control of your schedule.

Transfers to you are also possible, but you must configure a transfer destination and the rules for when transfers happen. Because pickup depends on you answering, an immediate response is not guaranteed.

Most owners answer their own phones rather than relying on staff, so the assistant works alongside you: it covers the calls you cannot pick up, and the dashboard keeps a record of the activity for follow-up.

• Answers questions using your saved business information.
• Takes a message when an answer, price, or opening is unknown.
• Books new appointments on the dashboard calendar by default.
• Sends existing-appointment changes to you as requests.
• Transfers calls to a destination you configure, with rules you set.

Before choosing any service, write down what actually happens to your calls today. Count the calls you miss or let ring out during a typical week, and note which ones mattered. If you work alone or in the field, the case for coverage is usually clear; if you are at a desk most of the day, an overflow-only arrangement may be enough.

Then compare services on the same points: who or what answers the phone, what hours are covered, what happens when the assistant does not know an answer, how appointments are handled, and what the total cost is at your expected call volume. Ask each provider what happens to a call in the situations that matter to you, and get the answer in writing.

Finally, test the setup before committing long term. With AllDayDesk you can hear a personalized sample built from your own business details before you connect your phone, which shows how the assistant would represent your business.

• Track missed calls for a week to size the need.
• Compare who answers, coverage hours, and total cost at your volume.
• Ask how unknown questions and appointment changes are handled.
• Listen to a sample of the assistant before connecting your number.