Virtual Receptionist: What It Is and How to Choose One

A virtual receptionist handles phone calls for a business from a remote location. Instead of a person at a front desk, your calls are answered by a service. The service greets callers with your business name, answers basic questions, takes messages, and can schedule appointments.

There are two main kinds. Human virtual receptionist services employ trained people who read notes about your business and answer on your behalf. AI virtual receptionists, like the one AllDayDesk provides, use software that learns your business details and answers calls automatically, at any hour of the day.

Both kinds share the same core idea: your callers reach a helpful voice instead of ringing out to voicemail, and you get the details of each call afterward.

• Answers calls in your business name
• Takes messages and shares them with you
• Can book appointments when services and availability are set up
• Lets you keep your existing phone number through call forwarding

Human services answer calls with people. For example, Ruby offers live virtual receptionist plans that start at $245 per month as of October 9, 2026, and Smith.ai uses per-call pricing for its human receptionist service. Those starting prices are not the full picture, since included minutes or calls, overage rates, hours, and contracts all affect the real cost. AnswerConnect also offers 24/7 live answering by people.

AI receptionists work differently. AllDayDesk answers calls around the clock using the business information you save, so it can handle calls at night or on weekends without shift scheduling. Smith.ai also sells a separate AI receptionist product with escalation to its live agents, which shows that some providers offer both approaches.

Neither kind is automatically better. People handle unusual or sensitive conversations with more judgment. AI services tend to cost less and stay available at all hours. The right choice depends on your call volume, your budget, and how complex your calls are.

• Human services: judgment and flexibility, usually at a higher starting price
• AI services: around-the-clock availability from saved business details
• Compare included minutes, overage pricing, and contract terms on any current quote
• Some providers sell both human and AI products under one brand

You keep your public business number. You set your phone service to forward incoming calls to the receptionist service, and the exact steps depend on your carrier or phone system. There is no universal code that works everywhere.

Some carriers use star codes. Verizon mobile, for example, activates all-call forwarding with *72 plus the destination number and turns it off with *73, while unanswered-call forwarding on Verizon mobile uses *71. T-Mobile uses codes like **21*1 followed by the destination and # for unconditional forwarding. Other services manage forwarding in a web portal instead, such as Spectrum Business Voice through Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager after signing in at SpectrumBusiness.net.

Before choosing instructions, identify your exact product. AT&T Collaborate, AT&T Phone for Business, and AT&T wireless all use different codes, and Comcast Business has several phone products with different steps. If your carrier does not publish a conditional forwarding option, you can usually forward all calls instead, or contact the carrier's support to confirm what your line supports.

One important limit: Google Voice does not support forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system, so a Google Voice number cannot be pointed at an AI receptionist this way.

• All-call forwarding sends every incoming call to the service
• Conditional forwarding (busy, no answer, unreachable) is not available on every line or plan
• Identify your exact carrier product before using any star code or portal steps
• Google Voice numbers cannot forward to automated answering systems

AllDayDesk is the AI virtual receptionist offered on this site. Setup starts by choosing your type of business or entering its website, then checking the business details the service pulled together. You hear a personalized sample of how your receptionist would sound before you commit to anything. That sample is a preview only; it does not create a real booking or handle a real caller.

Next you choose how to connect your phone. Because forwarding steps vary by carrier, you follow the instructions that match your phone service. Your callers keep dialing the same number they already know.

Once you are running, calls show up in your dashboard with transcripts, summaries, and any bookings. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk calendar by default, after you have configured your services and availability. If you prefer Google Calendar, you can connect and authorize your Google account in Settings as an optional step.

A few honest limits are worth knowing. If a caller asks something the service does not know, like a price you have not saved or an appointment question it cannot resolve, it takes a message instead of guessing. Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests, not confirmed changes. If you want calls transferred to you in certain situations, you configure a destination and the rules for when transfers happen, and pickup is not guaranteed.

• Enter your business or website, review the details, and hear a sample
• Keep your existing number by forwarding calls per your carrier's steps
• Dashboard shows calls with transcripts, summaries, and bookings
• Built-in calendar by default; optional Google Calendar connection in Settings
• Unknown answers become messages; appointment changes are requests for you

A virtual receptionist makes sense when calls come in while you are busy, closed, or working alone. Many owners handle their own phones, so the decision is usually about coverage during the hours you cannot pick up, not about replacing a front desk.

Ask yourself a few questions. How many calls do you miss or let ring out in a typical week? Do callers mostly need simple things like hours, directions, or an appointment slot, or do they need detailed judgment calls? What can you spend each month, and would a per-minute or per-call plan fit your volume?

Also compare scope. An in-house receptionist, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, greets visitors and handles office tasks beyond the phone, so a phone service covers a narrower slice of the job. If you only need the phone covered, a virtual receptionist can fit; if you need full front-desk help, it will not do everything an employee does.

• Count missed or unanswered calls to estimate the value of coverage
• Match the service type to your call complexity and budget
• Compare included minutes, overage rates, and contract terms on every quote
• Remember a phone service covers calls, not full receptionist duties