What a conversational AI receptionist does
A conversational AI receptionist answers the call with a computer voice and tries to hold a conversation: asking questions, taking details and, with some providers, booking jobs. Features and quality vary a lot between providers. It can suit:
- Businesses with lots of calls that follow the same few questions
- Owners who are comfortable with a computer voice speaking for the business
Before you rely on one, test it with real calls: how it copes with accents and noisy job sites, what happens when it gets something wrong, and what each call costs.
What missed-call text-back does
Missed-call text-back doesn’t try to talk like a person. When you can’t answer, the caller is greeted and can leave a voicemail, and callers on a mobile get a text from your business within seconds. You get their details and reply when you’re free. It can suit:
- Tradies on the tools who want to reply to customers themselves
- Customers who would rather text than talk to a machine
- Anyone who wants a simple setup that sits behind their existing number
What Veltrayo’s AI Receptionist is
Ours is missed-call text-back, with AI that turns voicemails into text. It does not hold a conversation with your callers, and we won’t pretend it does. What it does:
- Greets the caller in a natural Australian voice, using your business name
- Texts callers on a mobile back from your business within seconds
- Sends you voicemails up to 2 minutes long as text, with a link to listen
- Alerts you with who called and a tap-to-call link
- Works behind the number your customers already call
Landlines and private numbers can’t be texted, so those callers hear the greeting and you get an alert instead. Every text names your business and includes “Reply STOP to opt out”.
See how the AI Receptionist works
What ours costs
$750 setup, then $300 a month, month to month. The setup covers your dedicated number, call forwarding on your phone, your greeting and text-back message, and test calls with you. Some phone plans charge for forwarded calls and some prepaid plans can’t forward, so we check yours first. We’re not registered for GST, so no GST is added.
Which should you choose?
If you want a machine to handle the whole call, a conversational AI receptionist may suit you. If you would rather every caller hears back from you, quickly and in your own words, missed-call text-back is simpler. Either way, test it on your own phone before you rely on it.