What Is an AI Receptionist? How It Works and What It Costs
An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone for you. A caller rings your normal number, hears a natural voice, and has a real conversation: they can ask about prices and opening hours, book or move an appointment, place an order, or leave a message. You get a summary of every call afterwards.
It is not a phone menu. There is no "press 1 for bookings". The caller just says what they want, the way they would to a person.
How an AI receptionist works
- Your calls reach it. You forward your existing number to it — every call, or only when you are busy or don't pick up — or use a new number. Nothing has to be ported.
- It listens and understands. Speech is turned into text in real time, and the caller's language is detected from the first thing they say.
- It answers from what you taught it. Your prices, services, hours and policies live in a knowledge base. With Silux Voice the auto-trainer reads your website into it for you to approve.
- It checks before it speaks. Every sentence is checked before it is said aloud, so it does not invent prices, stock, payment methods, "free" offers or medical advice.
- It does the job. It reads your Google or Outlook calendar live before offering a time, re-checks at the moment of booking, writes the booking back, and sends the customer a confirmation with their own link to change or cancel.
What it can do
- Answer every call 24/7, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
- Book, move and cancel appointments in your real calendar or booking system (see integrations).
- Take phone orders for takeaways, shops and pharmacies, quoting only prices you have typed in (phone orders).
- Remember returning callers, and confirm rather than assume anything it is not sure of (caller memory).
- Speak 23+ languages and answer in your own cloned voice (Growth and above).
- Send reminders by text and WhatsApp, and offer cancelled slots to people waiting for one (bookings & reminders).
What it should not do
A good AI receptionist knows its limits. When it doesn't know an answer, you decide what happens: it carries on honestly, promises a callback, takes a message or transfers the call. Unanswered questions are emailed to you, and once you answer, it knows on the next call.
What an AI receptionist costs
Silux Voice starts with a 7-day free trial (30 minutes of answering, no card). Paid plans are monthly or annual subscriptions with minutes included:
- Starter — £24.99 a month, 250 minutes (£4.99 a month for the first 60 days)
- Growth — £49.99 a month, 600 minutes, with voice cloning, 23+ languages and WhatsApp
- Professional — £99.99 a month, 1,400 minutes, with phone-menu routing
- Enterprise — quoted
The same numbers apply in euro and US dollars. There is no setup fee or contract, and annual billing is 10 months for 12. Full details are on the pricing page.
Is it right for your business?
If you miss calls while you are with a customer, on a job or closed, an AI receptionist pays for itself the first time it books something you would otherwise have lost. The quickest way to find out is to start the free trial, test it in a chat, and forward your number only when you are happy.
Quick answers
What is an AI receptionist?
Software that answers your business phone in a natural voice, books appointments into your real calendar, takes orders and messages, and sends you a summary of every call.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. You forward your existing number to it — all calls, or only when busy or unanswered. Nothing has to be ported.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Silux Voice has a 7-day free trial, then Starter at £24.99 a month (250 minutes), Growth at £49.99 (600 minutes) and Professional at £99.99 (1,400 minutes).