How an AI receptionist works
An AI receptionist answers the calls you forward to it and talks with the caller from what you told it about your business. GreetKeeper then books the job into your calendar, takes a message or transfers to your team, and texts the caller a confirmation. You get the transcript and a short summary.
The mechanism in brief
- You forward your existing number to a dedicated local number GreetKeeper gives you at signup, one per location.
- Robocalls and spam calls are dropped before the greeting, and they don't count toward your plan.
- Every real caller gets an answer from your own brief, with live calendar slots, a transfer to a person, or a message.
- After the call, the caller gets one text with the booking link or confirmation, and you get the transcript, summary and outcome.
One call, from the first ring to your calendar
Caller
“Hi, my heater stopped overnight and it's four degrees in the house. Can someone come out?”
What happened next
- Booked Wednesday 8:00am, first slot
- Marked urgent: no heat, young child at home
- Texted the on-call tech with the address
Your shop closed at six. At 7:42pm the call goes unanswered on your line, forwards to your GreetKeeper number, and GreetKeeper picks up the moment it arrives. It says whose business this is and asks what the caller needs.
The caller describes the problem in their own words. GreetKeeper checks your real availability instead of promising a callback, offers the first open slot, and reads the name, number, address and time back before it books. Because there's no heat and a child at home, your escalation rule fires and the on-call tech gets a text.
Once the caller hangs up, they get a text confirming Wednesday at 8:00am. You have the booking in your calendar and the transcript in your inbox. Nobody on your team picked up a phone.
The call flow, step by step
Each stage below runs on every call, in this order. Every behavior is a setting you control.
| Stage | What GreetKeeper does |
|---|---|
| 1. Screening | Silent and robotic callers are dropped before the greeting. Screened robocalls and spam calls don't count toward your plan. |
| 2. Greeting | Answers with your business name and the greeting you wrote. It can say it is an AI assistant, a setting you switch on. |
| 3. Understanding | Listens to the reason for the call and answers from the brief you trained it on. |
| 4. Acting | Books into your calendar, takes a message with the caller's name, number and reason, or transfers to your team. |
| 5. Confirming | Reads the details back before it books, so a wrong digit gets caught on the call. |
| 6. Following up | Texts the caller once with the booking link or the booking confirmation. A reply with the opt-out word stops further texts. |
| 7. Reporting | Sends you the transcript, a short summary and the outcome, and fires your webhook if you set one. |
Two callers at once both get through. Calls that arrive together are answered at the same time, so nobody hears an engaged tone or waits in a queue. See the full list of behaviors on the features overview.
Setting it up takes six steps
Nothing changes for your callers until you turn on forwarding in step five, so you can build the brief at your own pace.
Pick your local number
Choose the area code at signup. Every plan includes a dedicated local number, one per location, and each number can have its own hours, greeting and calendar. Your advertised number stays yours; you forward it to this one.
Draft the brief from your website
Point GreetKeeper at your website for a first draft of your hours, services and FAQs, then correct it. Add closure dates, the prices you're happy to quote on the phone, and what counts as an emergency.
Connect the calendar
Google Calendar and Outlook write directly, so a booking lands where your team already looks. Field-service, practice and CRM tools are reached by GreetKeeper's webhook, caught in Zapier (which needs a paid Zapier plan, Professional or above), Make or n8n.
Set the handover rules
Choose when a call transfers to a mobile, and a second number to try if the first doesn't pick up. Decide who gets a text when a caller describes an emergency. A caller who asks for a person is always handed over.
Forward your number
Use any of the four carrier forwarding modes described below. The ring count is set where the forwarding is set, and GreetKeeper answers the moment the call arrives.
Place a test call
Call your business number from a mobile, ask the question your customers ask most, and book a slot. The transcript that arrives shows you which answers to tighten.
Four forwarding modes, one way of answering
GreetKeeper answers a call the same way whichever mode sends it. You choose the mode, and your carrier or phone system holds the setting.
| Mode | When the call reaches GreetKeeper | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| All calls | Straight away, before your own phone rings | Evenings, weekends and closure dates |
| No answer | After your phone rings out unanswered | Daytime, when your team answers first |
| Busy | When your line is already on a call | A single line that is often engaged |
| Unreachable | When your phone is off or has no signal | Crews working on site |
The ring delay for no-answer forwarding is set by the carrier: Verizon uses a fixed delay of about 30 seconds, AT&T and T-Mobile allow 5 to 30 seconds, and VoIP systems set it in their own dashboard.
Most businesses combine modes: no-answer and busy during opening hours, all calls once the doors close. Our call forwarding setup guides walk through the codes and menus carrier by carrier, including Verizon and T-Mobile.
How it handles the calls that matter
The hard calls decide whether you trust a receptionist. Here's what GreetKeeper does with each one.
| The caller | What happens |
|---|---|
| Wants to book | Checks live availability, offers real slots, reads them back and writes the appointment to your calendar. |
| Asks a question you have answered before | Answers it from what you told it, in your words. |
| Asks something outside the brief | Says it will find out, then takes a message or transfers. |
| Asks for a person | Hands over straight away. Asking is always enough. |
| Describes an emergency | Flags the call urgent and follows your escalation rule, usually a text to whoever is on call. |
| Calls on a closure date | Answers as closed, takes the details and offers the next open day. |
What lands after every call
The call is only half the job. The other half is what's waiting for you and your caller once it ends.
| Output | Who gets it | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Text to the caller | The caller | One SMS with your booking link or the booking confirmation. Replying with the opt-out word stops further texts. |
| Text to the on-call person | Your team | The caller's details, sent the moment a call meets your urgent rule. |
| Transcript | You | The caller's own words, so you judge the job rather than a paraphrase. |
| Summary and outcome | You | A short summary plus booked, message taken, transferred or ended. The outcome is what you filter on. |
| Calendar entry | Your calendar | Written during the call, with the caller's name and reason attached. |
| Webhook | Your other tools | One signed JSON event per call, booking, message or transfer, sent to a URL you set. |
| Recording | You | Optional, paired with a disclosure setting you control. |
The webhook is how a booking or a message reaches a CRM or job board beyond your calendar. Each event carries the caller's name, number and reason, the summary, and a link to the transcript. The integrations list shows which tools write directly and which run through Zapier, Make or n8n.
What it costs to run
GreetKeeper bills by the call, with the overage printed. Your local number is included.
Starter is $49 a month for 200 calls, Professional is $149 for 750, and Scale is $349 for 2,000. Beyond the allowance a call costs $0.45, $0.35 or $0.25 on those plans. Multi-location starts at $299 per location.
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with every feature on, and you don't need a card to start. There's no setup fee, and screened spam calls never count toward your allowance. The pricing page has the annual terms and the full table.
Questions about how it works
How does an AI receptionist answer my business calls?
You forward your business number to the dedicated local number GreetKeeper gives you at signup. When a forwarded call arrives, GreetKeeper answers it at once, talks with the caller from your brief, and books, takes a message or transfers. You choose which calls forward: all of them, or only the ones you miss.
Do I have to change my phone number?
No. You keep advertising the number you already have and forward it to your GreetKeeper number. Nothing is ported, and you can switch forwarding off from your phone or carrier at any time.
How many rings before GreetKeeper picks up?
That depends on your forwarding mode and carrier, because the ring count is set where the forwarding is set. GreetKeeper answers the moment the call arrives. Verizon's no-answer delay is fixed at about 30 seconds, while AT&T and T-Mobile let you choose 5 to 30 seconds.
Does the caller get a text after the call?
Yes, one text. It carries your booking link, or the confirmation if GreetKeeper booked a slot on the call. If the caller replies with the opt-out word, the texts stop.
What happens if two people call at once?
Both get answered. Calls that arrive together are handled at the same time, so there is no hold queue and no engaged tone.
Does it work with a landline or a VoIP system?
Yes, if the line can forward to another number, and nearly all business lines can. On a VoIP system you set the forwarding mode and ring delay in its own dashboard.
Hear it take one of your calls
Your own scenario, answered live. Then start a 14-day trial with no card.