How does an AI receptionist work on a business phone line?
An AI receptionist answers calls to your business number automatically: it picks up, greets the caller, listens, answers from the details you gave it, qualifies the enquiry, books appointments and logs the call, all in the caller's own language. Outpero's AI employee does this 24/7, can transfer the call to your team when a person should take it, and bills only connected minutes.
What happens when a customer rings
- 01The call reaches the AI employee, either on a dedicated number or because your existing line forwards to it.
- 02The agent greets the caller in the language configured, for example Hindi or Telugu, and switches to English as soon as the caller does.
- 03It listens to the enquiry and replies from your brief: services, timings, fees, location and common questions.
- 04It asks the qualifying questions you set, such as name, requirement and budget.
- 05It books a real slot in your calendar, sends a WhatsApp message with details or reads and writes a spreadsheet, where you have enabled those actions.
- 06If the caller needs a person, it transfers the call to your team.
Afterwards the recording, transcript, summary, sentiment and captured fields appear in the dashboard and go to your webhook.
What makes it different from voicemail or an IVR
Voicemail only records. An IVR forces the caller through a menu. An AI receptionist holds a conversation, remembers returning callers and picks up from the last call instead of starting over. A clinic patient who rang last week about a dental cleaning is recognised, not asked everything again.
Where it earns its keep
- —Clinics and diagnostic labs that miss calls during consultations and after hours.
- —Real estate teams whose hoarding and portal enquiries arrive at night.
- —Coaching institutes handling admission questions in the evening.
- —Home services and restaurants where the phone rings while staff are busy.
What it costs
Inbound calls are billed like any other call on connected talk time: ₹5 per minute on Standard or ₹6.8 on Premium, so a 3-minute enquiry costs ₹15 on Standard. A dedicated +91 number is ₹649/month and includes 1 channel, meaning one call at a time; each extra channel is ₹649/month. Prices exclude 18% GST.
An AI receptionist is not suited to calls that need medical, legal or financial judgement. For those, configure it to take the details and hand the call to a person.
Want to hear an AI voice agent handle this on a real call?
Follow-up questions
Does an AI receptionist replace my front-desk staff?
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Usually it supports them. It answers the calls that would otherwise ring out or wait, handles routine enquiries and bookings, and passes callers to your team when needed. Front-desk staff then spend time on the people standing in front of them.