What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist answers your business phone the moment it rings — day or night — understands what the caller needs, and takes the right action. No hold music, no voicemail, no missed leads.
How an AI receptionist works
Modern AI receptionists like Odette combine three things: speech recognition (to understand the caller), a large language model grounded in your business knowledge (to answer accurately), and a natural voice (to reply). When someone calls, the AI greets them in your business name, answers questions using your website or store data, and — if it can’t help directly — takes a detailed message or transfers the call.
What it can do
- Answer FAQs (opening hours, services, prices, location).
- Take messages and request callbacks, delivered straight to your inbox.
- Screen spam and sales calls.
- Transfer urgent calls to the right person.
- Work 24/7 — including nights, weekends and holidays.
Why businesses switch
The average missed call is a missed customer. Traditional answering services are staffed 9–5 and often charge extra for 24/7 cover. An AI receptionist answers every call instantly, in a consistent voice, at a fraction of the cost. See how it compares in our guide to AI receptionists vs. answering services.
Never miss a call again
Meet Odette — your AI receptionist. Set up by you, 24/7, from a fraction of a traditional service.
Start free trialFrequently asked questions
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that answers inbound phone calls in a natural voice, understands the caller, answers questions from your business knowledge, and takes messages, books callbacks or transfers the call — 24/7, without a human.
Is an AI receptionist better than voicemail?
Yes. Voicemail loses most callers — many simply hang up and call a competitor. An AI receptionist actually answers, helps, and captures every lead.
Does the caller know it’s AI?
With Odette, yes — it opens as your AI assistant on every call. Being openly AI is honest and builds trust.