AI answering service
AI answering service for small businesses
An AI answering service picks up your business calls with software instead of a person, talks to the caller, records what they need and can book an appointment while they are still on the line. Voxipo is one: plans start at $49 a month, and your 14-day free trial starts when you create your first workspace.
Updated .
The basics
What an AI answering service is
An AI answering service is a phone line with a software agent on it. When a call reaches the service, the agent greets the caller, listens, asks follow-up questions and writes down the result. You decide the greeting, the questions, the opening hours and what the agent may promise.
The word service is a leftover from the human version. There is no call center behind a Voxipo agent. You configure the agent once, test it in a browser, and it answers the calls that reach your Voxipo number.
After each call you get a recording, a transcript and a short summary. The caller is saved as a contact, so your team has a list of callers instead of a pile of voicemails.
Compared with the alternatives
How it differs from voicemail and a human service
Voicemail records a message and leaves the work to the caller. Many people hang up on a mailbox and call the next company on the list. A human answering service talks to the caller, but it often works from a script, bills by the minute or by the call, and passes you a message.
An AI answering service sits between the two. It holds a conversation like the human service and keeps a record like voicemail, and it books into your calendar during the call, which voicemail cannot do and which many human services charge extra for.
| Feature | Voicemail | Human answering service | AI answering service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talks to the caller | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hours | Any hour, but only a recording | Depends on the plan; many cover 24/7 | Any hour on calls that reach your Voxipo number |
| Books an appointment | No | Some plans, often at an extra fee | Yes, into a connected calendar |
| Handles judgment calls | No | Reads a script, may hand the call to a person | Follows the wording you approve; staff decide the rest |
| Typical cost shape | Free with the phone plan | Per minute or per call | A monthly plan with an allowance of minutes and a per-minute rate beyond it |
Limits
What an AI answering service can and cannot do
It can answer in a consistent voice, collect names, numbers and reasons for calling, answer questions from documents you upload, book into a calendar, and call back a missed caller from your own verified business number.
It cannot hand a live call to your phone in the middle of a conversation. Voxipo has no live transfer today. It also does not diagnose, quote prices you have not approved, give legal or medical advice, or dispatch a technician. Those decisions stay with your staff, and the agent can tell the caller so, in wording you approve.
- Every call opens with a notice that the caller is speaking with an AI assistant and that the call may be recorded.
- One appointment fits in a time slot for the whole business, so a shop with several chairs or bays still schedules those by hand.
- On a call, the agent can change or cancel only the booking it made during that same call.
On the call
How it works: forwarding or a dedicated number
There are two ways to route calls to the agent. The first keeps your existing number. You ask your carrier to turn on conditional forwarding, so a call that goes unanswered or finds you busy is forwarded to a Voxipo missed-call number. Voxipo declines the call, schedules the callback and phones the caller back by voice from your own verified number. You can point the same forwarding at your Voxipo answering number instead, and the agent answers those calls live, but one forwarding number cannot do both. The second is a Voxipo local number, which you publish on your website or your Google profile and which the agent answers live.
Carrier forwarding for busy and no answer has no clock. It cannot send calls to Voxipo only after 5pm, and only calls to a Voxipo number are answered live by the agent. If you want a schedule, point callers at a Voxipo number and use a scheduled routing rule to pick which agent answers.
- 01
Choose the number
Keep your current number with conditional forwarding, or use the local number that comes with your plan for live answering. Connecting either one needs a paid plan.
- 02
Write the agent
Set the greeting, the questions to ask, the hours and the topics it must leave to your team.
- 03
Connect a calendar
Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Cal.com or GoHighLevel, so booking works on the call.
- 04
Test it yourself
Talk to the agent in the browser during the trial. Once a plan connects your number, call it from a phone and fix anything that sounds wrong before real callers reach it.
Before you buy
What to check before choosing one
If you are weighing it against a person, the comparison pages lay out where each wins: [Voxipo vs a human answering service](/compare/voxipo-vs-answering-service/) and [Voxipo vs voicemail](/compare/voxipo-vs-voicemail/).
- Ask whether the service can book into your calendar, and for how long. Voxipo books a standard 30-minute phone slot on Google Calendar, Outlook and GoHighLevel.
- Ask what happens when the agent cannot help. Write down the real answer: a saved message, a callback, or a person on the line.
- Ask how the price grows. Per-call and per-minute plans behave differently when you get a busy week.
- Ask to hear a real call before you commit, and talk to the demo yourself in the browser.
- Ask where recordings go and how long they are kept.
Cost shape
What an AI answering service costs
Voxipo bills a monthly plan with a minute allowance. Every plan includes one local number, unlimited AI agents, inbound answering, missed-call callbacks, calendar booking, and recordings, transcripts and summaries. Plans also set how many calls the agent takes at a time, and at launch all customers share the platform's call capacity.
Your 14-day free trial starts when you create your first workspace. You build the agent and talk to it in the browser during the trial, and you choose a plan to connect a phone number.
| Plan | Price | Minutes included | Calls at a time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | $49 a month | 250 | Up to 2 |
| Starter | $99 a month | 600 | Up to 5 |
| Growth | $199 a month | 1,400 | Up to 10 |
| Scale | $399 a month | 3,000 | Up to 15 |
Fit
Who an AI answering service suits
It suits owner-run businesses where the phone rings while someone is on a job, with a customer or asleep: home services, clinics, salons, auto shops, law offices and property teams. If most of your calls are routine requests to book or ask about hours, the agent handles them in the same way each time.
It is a poorer fit if callers nearly always need a person immediately, such as a crisis line, or if your scheduling depends on several staff calendars at once. For a rough view of what unanswered calls cost you today, try the [missed-call cost calculator](/tools/missed-call-cost-calculator/), and read the cost breakdown in [answering service cost in 2026](/blog/answering-service-cost-2026/).
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI answering service?
It is a phone service where a software agent answers your calls, talks to the caller, records the request and can book an appointment into your calendar. Voxipo sets up the agent with your greeting, questions and hours.
How does an AI answering service relate to an AI receptionist?
In practice the terms overlap. Answering service stresses covering the calls you cannot take; receptionist stresses the front-desk work, such as booking and intake. Voxipo does both.
Can the AI send the caller to my phone during the call?
No. Voxipo cannot hand a live call to a person. It saves the recording, transcript, summary and callback details so your team can call the person back.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You can keep your number and turn on conditional forwarding with your carrier. Forward to the missed-call number and Voxipo calls the caller back, or forward to your Voxipo answering number and the agent answers live. You can also publish the local number included with each plan, which the agent answers live.
How much does Voxipo cost?
Plans run from $49 a month for 250 minutes to $399 a month for 3,000 minutes. Your 14-day free trial starts when you create your first workspace, and no card is needed. During the trial you build the agent and talk to it in the browser. Connecting a phone number for live calls and callbacks needs a paid plan.
Will callers know it is an AI?
Yes. Each call opens with a notice that the caller is speaking with an AI assistant for your business and that the call may be recorded.
Keep exploring
Related pages
Try it on your own line
Hear the agent before you decide
Start the 14-day free trial, connect a calendar and talk to your agent in the browser. Choose a plan, from $49 a month, when you want it on real calls.