Answers
One question per page, answered in the first sentence. The useful ones are where the honest answer is no.
Several of these correct things the rest of this category publishes. California's disclosure law is outbound-only. The FCC one-to-one consent rule was vacated. Maine and Utah are the two that genuinely reach a receptionist answering your phone.
AI Receptionist and HIPAA: What to Ask
No product is HIPAA compliant, because no such certification exists. HIPAA is contractual. Here are the questions to put to any vendor before a call touches PHI.
AI Receptionist for a One-Person Business
A solo operator is the clearest case: you cannot answer while you work. Here is the arithmetic at $49 a month and when it does not pay off.
AI Receptionist vs Answering Service
An answering service staffs real people at $165 to $1,950 a month. An AI runs at $49 to $349. Where each one wins, with prices checked September 2026.
AI Receptionist vs Hiring a Receptionist
A receptionist does far more than answer the phone. An AI covers the phone at any hour for a fraction of the cost. Here is the comparison without the fake savings.
AI Receptionist vs Voicemail
Voicemail asks the caller to do the work and most will not. An AI receptionist finishes the conversation. Here is the difference and when voicemail is still fine.
Can AI Handle Angry Callers?
An AI receptionist should route an angry caller to a person quickly rather than try to calm them. Here is how to set that up and why.
Can an AI Receptionist Book Appointments?
Yes, if it reads real calendar availability rather than promising a callback. Which calendars write directly, which go through Zapier, and which do not connect.
Can an AI Receptionist Handle Spanish?
GreetKeeper is English-first at launch and we do not publish a language list we have not verified. Here is what to test before you rely on any vendor's claim.
Can an AI Receptionist Qualify Leads?
It can ask the questions you would ask and record the answers. Here is how to write qualifying questions that work on a phone call rather than a form.
Can an AI Receptionist Take Payments?
Reading a card number to an AI raises PCI DSS questions most vendors skip. Here is why a payment link usually beats taking the card on the call.
Can Callers Tell It's AI?
Some callers work it out and some do not, and the split depends on the call. Here are the cues people notice, and why disclosure beats hoping they miss it.
Can I Change What an AI Receptionist Says?
You write every word, and edits apply to the next call. Here is what to change first, and why reading transcripts beats guessing at the wording.
Can I Listen to Call Recordings?
Recording is a setting with consent obligations attached. Here is why the transcript is usually the more useful artifact.
Can I Try It Before Buying?
Trying an AI receptionist before you commit means hearing it handle your own scenario. Here is what to test and what to ask for.
Can It Answer Pricing Questions?
An AI receptionist answers the prices you give it and should hand over anything needing judgment. Here is where to draw that line.
Can It Handle Medical Questions?
Scheduling and inquiries are one thing, clinical questions another. Here is where the line sits and what Utah requires.
Can It Replace My Front Desk?
An AI receptionist covers the phone part of a front-desk job and none of the rest. Here is the honest division of labor.
Can It Route by Caller?
Routing on the caller's number is possible and less reliable than people assume. Here is the alternative that works better.
Can It Schedule Across Time Zones?
Time zones are where booking systems quietly go wrong. Here is what to confirm before you take appointments across them.
Can It Send Text Messages?
Text follow-up after a call is useful and it is governed by different rules than the call itself. Here is what to check first.
Do AI Receptionists Sound Human?
Modern AI receptionists sound close to natural speech, and some callers still notice. Here is what gives them away, and why telling callers up front works better.
Do Customers Hang Up on AI?
Some callers hang up, and what they hang up on is usually fixable. Here is what the transcripts typically show.
Do I Need Consent to Record Calls?
Consent rules vary by state and published lists disagree with each other. Here is why, and how a configurable recording disclosure keeps you out of the argument.
Does an AI Receptionist Integrate With My CRM?
Some CRMs write natively, some through Zapier, some not at all. Ask which of the three yours is, because most vendors show one logo wall for all three.
Does an AI Receptionist Transfer to a Human?
GreetKeeper transfers to your team when a caller asks or a rule fires. It transfers to your people, not to a call center, and the transcript records the handover.
Does an AI Receptionist Work After Hours?
Evenings, weekends and holidays are where an AI receptionist earns its keep. Here is how to configure out-of-hours rules so you still get to sleep.
Does It Need My Website?
An AI receptionist does not need a website to work, though one makes setup faster. Here is what it actually needs from you.
Does It Support Call Queues?
Queues exist because human agents are finite. Here is what changes when software answers, and what to confirm on a demo.
Does It Work With a Landline?
An AI receptionist works with a landline through call forwarding, the same as any other number. Here is what to check with your carrier.
Does It Work With My Existing Number?
Yes. You keep the number on your van and your signage and forward calls to GreetKeeper. No porting, no reprinting, and you choose which calls forward.
How Accurate Is a Call Transcript?
Transcripts are strong on clear audio and weaker on names, numbers and noisy lines. Here is where errors cluster and how to check yours.
How Do I Cancel?
Canceling an AI receptionist means stopping the forward and ending the subscription. Here is the order, and what to ask before signing.
How Does It Learn My Business?
An AI receptionist learns your business from a brief you write, not from observation. Here is what to put in it and how it improves.
How Long Does AI Receptionist Setup Take?
An afternoon to switch on, a week to get good. The typing is the slow part, not the technology. Here is what each stage actually involves.
How Many Calls Can It Take?
Call capacity and the calls included in your plan are two different questions. Here is how to get a straight answer to each.
How Much Does a Missed Call Cost?
The cost of a missed call is your conversion rate times customer value. Here is how to work out your own number.
How Much Does an AI Receptionist Cost?
AI receptionists run about $29 to $599 a month for a small business. Here is what each vendor's entry plan includes, and what the overage rate does to that.
How to Measure ROI
Measuring return means comparing recovered calls against what you pay. Here is the arithmetic and the numbers you need first.
How to Set Up Call Forwarding
Call forwarding is a carrier setting, not an install. Dial a short code or flip a switch in your account, then test it. Here are the steps and the usual mistakes.
How to Switch Providers
Switching answering providers is mostly about the order of operations. Here is the sequence that avoids a dead phone line.
How to Train an AI Receptionist
Training one means writing a brief and editing it from real transcripts. Here is the loop and how long each pass takes.
Is an AI Receptionist Legal?
Yes. AI voices are lawful but restricted, and inbound answering sits outside the outbound robocall rules. Here is what applies, dated and checked.
Is My Data Shared With AI Vendors?
An AI phone call passes through several services. Here is the chain, and the question worth asking every vendor about it.
Must You Disclose an AI Receptionist?
In some states, yes. Maine's chatbot law reaches inbound AI phone calls and Utah requires verbal disclosure in regulated occupations. Here is the accurate picture.
Per-Minute vs Per-Call Pricing
Per-minute billing charges you more when a call goes well. Per-call charges the same for a wrong number. Here is how to work out which is cheaper for you.
Should a Small Business Use AI?
Whether it fits depends on your call pattern more than your size. Here are the cases where it works and where it does not.
What About Spam Calls to an AI Receptionist?
Spam and robocalls reach an AI receptionist like any line, and on per-call billing they cost you. Here is how to cut them and what to check before buying.
What Data Does an AI Receptionist Store?
Caller number, transcript, summary, booking details, and audio if recording is on. Here are the questions to ask any vendor about storage and retention.
What Does the Caller Hear First?
The first ten seconds of a call decide how the rest of it goes. Here is what belongs in a greeting and what to cut.
What Goes Wrong With AI Receptionists?
Most AI receptionist failures are configuration rather than technology. Here are the six that account for nearly all of them, and how to catch each one.
What Hours Should It Cover?
Deciding the hours means looking at when calls are actually missed. Here are the three patterns most businesses fall into.
What If the AI Can't Answer a Caller?
A well-built AI receptionist stops and hands over rather than guessing. Here is the fallback chain, and how to read a transcript to see where it triggered.
What If the Internet Goes Down?
An AI receptionist reached by call forwarding does not depend on your office internet. Here is what does break and how to cover it.
What If Two People Call at Once?
An AI receptionist answers concurrent calls in parallel, so nobody queues. That is the clearest advantage over a human line, and it matters most when busy.
What Is a Catch-All Greeting?
A catch-all greeting is one opening line used for every caller regardless of why they rang. It is simple, and it is why most first setups underperform.
What Is a Good Answer Rate?
Answer rate is the share of calls that reach somebody. Here is how the number gets flattered and what to measure instead.
What Is a Good Greeting?
A good greeting names the business, says who is speaking, and asks one question. Here is why anything longer costs you.
What Is a Warm Transfer?
A warm transfer passes the caller's context to whoever picks up, so nobody repeats themselves. Here is when it is worth the extra seconds and when it is not.
What Is an Escalation Path?
An escalation path is the written route from the assistant to a person. Here is what belongs in one and what breaks it.
What Is the Setup Process?
Setting up an AI receptionist means writing what it should say, connecting a calendar, and forwarding your number. Here is the order.
Hear it take one of your calls
Two minutes, your own scenario, no card.