AI Receptionist vs Answering Service vs Hiring: Which Is Right for You?

There are three common ways to make sure your business phone gets answered: hire someone, pay a human answering service, or use an AI receptionist. Each is a good fit for a different business.

Hiring a receptionist

• Best at: judgement, relationships, complicated or sensitive calls, and everything else at the front desk.
• Limits: working hours only, one call at a time, holidays and sick days to cover, and the highest cost of the three.

A human answering service

• Best at: a friendly human voice taking messages when you can't.
• Limits: usually can't see your live calendar or book anything; often priced per call or per minute; message-taking means the caller still waits for you to ring back.

An AI receptionist

• Best at: answering every call, at any hour — and doing the job: booking into your real calendar, taking orders, answering from your price list, sending confirmations and reminders.
• Limits: it only knows what you teach it. A good one says so when it doesn't know, and hands over in the way you choose — message, callback or transfer.

Many businesses combine them

The most common setup is a person during the day with the AI receptionist catching busy, unanswered and out-of-hours calls. Because you keep your number and simply forward the calls you want it to take, you can change the mix at any time.

What Silux Voice costs

Starter is £24.99 a month with 250 minutes, Growth £49.99 with 600, Professional £99.99 with 1,400 — after a 7-day free trial with no card. See pricing and how we compare.