AI Receptionist or Virtual Receptionist — Which Fits Your Business?
A virtual receptionist is a real person answering remotely — warm, flexible, and long-established. An AI receptionist is software that follows an agreed call flow, takes the caller's details and hands off to a person when needed. If your calls follow predictable patterns, AI handles them well. If every call is unique and emotional, a human wins. AI Phone Receptionist launch pricing: $750 CAD fixed setup, then $179 CAD/month, month-to-month. Includes 300 AI-handled minutes a month; extra minutes are $0.25 each. Taxes extra.
The problem
You are paying a monthly fee for a virtual receptionist and wondering whether AI could handle the routine calls.
When a virtual receptionist is the right call
Virtual receptionists shine when callers need genuine empathy, when conversations regularly go off-script, or when your industry demands a human voice for trust. If you take only a handful of calls a day, the human touch may be worth the fee. Some regulated industries also require a real person on the line for compliance reasons.
When Handbuilt wins
If most calls follow a pattern — service questions, quote requests, business hours, callback requests — an AI receptionist answers them from approved information and emails you a summary, at a fixed monthly price with included minutes.
- Answers outside business hours if that is the routing you choose
- Fixed monthly fee with 300 AI-handled minutes included; extra minutes $0.25 each
- Call flow written around your services, service area and greeting
- A configured and tested fallback to a person or voicemail
What it does not include
Calendar booking, CRM, text messaging, dashboards, extra numbers or languages and other features beyond this scope are not included and are quoted separately.
Launch pricing
AI Phone Receptionist
then $179 CAD/month, month-to-month. Taxes extra.
No separate phone or AI usage charge for the first 300 AI-handled minutes each month; beyond that, $0.25 CAD per minute.
Calendar booking, CRM, text messaging, dashboards, extra numbers or languages and other features beyond this scope are not included and are quoted separately.
Get a fixed quoteCommon questions
Can an AI receptionist handle complex or emotional calls?
It depends on the call. AI handles structured interactions well — FAQs, details capture, callback requests. For calls needing real empathy or nuanced judgment, a human receptionist is still better. The AI receptionist answers what it is approved to and hands off what it cannot.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper long-term?
Compare your current invoice with the AI terms. AI Phone Receptionist launch pricing: $750 CAD fixed setup, then $179 CAD/month, month-to-month. Includes 300 AI-handled minutes a month; extra minutes are $0.25 each. Taxes extra. Whether that is cheaper depends on your call volume and how many calls genuinely need a person.
What happens to calls the AI cannot handle?
They go to the agreed fallback — you, your team or voicemail. The fallback is configured and tested before go-live.
Will callers know they are talking to AI?
We recommend the greeting says so. Callers should always have a clear route to a person.
Can I switch from a virtual receptionist to AI gradually?
Yes. A common approach is running AI for after-hours calls first, then expanding coverage once you see how it performs. Handbuilt can configure the handoff so the transition is low-risk.
Want this built for your business?
Tell us about your setup and we'll send a plan and a fixed quote within one business day.