Title: What Is a Virtual Receptionist? Human vs AI | Keres AI URL: https://www.keresai.com/glossary/virtual-receptionist Updated: 2026-10-12 Description: A virtual receptionist answers your business calls remotely. How human and AI virtual receptionists work, how they bill, and how to choose between them. Source: https://www.keresai.com/glossary/virtual-receptionist (HTML). This is a Markdown copy of the page's main content for AI agents and LLM tools. --- # What is a virtual receptionist? A virtual receptionist is a remote service that answers your business phone for you, staffed by people or run by AI. It greets callers, answers routine questions, takes details, books appointments and passes urgent calls to your team, without anyone sitting at your front desk. ## How does a virtual receptionist work? The setup is much the same whether a person or software answers: 1. **Forward your number.** You keep your business number and forward calls to the service all the time, after hours, or only when your line is busy. 2. **Give it your script.** You supply your greeting, services, service area, hours and the questions to ask each caller. 3. **It answers and acts.** The receptionist takes the caller’s details, answers what it can, and books the appointment if it has access to your calendar. 4. **You get the record.** A message, summary or booking lands in your email, texts, calendar or CRM. 5. **Urgent calls reach a person.** Calls that match your escalation rules are transferred or texted to whoever is on call. ## Human virtual receptionist vs AI receptionist A human virtual receptionist is a trained person at a remote answering company. People handle unusual calls well and can use judgment a script did not anticipate. Human services bill by the minute or by the call, depending on the vendor, and one person handles one call at a time, so a busy hour can mean hold time or a message instead of a booking. An [AI receptionist](https://www.keresai.com/glossary/ai-receptionist) is software that answers in a natural voice. It answers at 3 a.m. the same way it answers at 3 p.m. and asks every caller the same intake questions. It is weaker on calls that need real judgment, which is why a good setup sends those to a person. ## What does a virtual receptionist cost? Human services usually sell plans with a set number of minutes or calls and charge for overage. As of October 11, 2026, Ruby’s published entry plan was $250/mo for 50 receptionist minutes, and PATLive’s was $99/mo for 50 minutes ($2.29 per extra minute); pay-as-you-go at $2.99/min. AI receptionists more often charge a monthly rate with included minutes; Dialzara, for example, listed $29/mo for 60 minutes ($0.48 per extra minute) on the same date. Compare options on cost per booked appointment, not monthly price. See [how much an AI receptionist costs](https://www.keresai.com/ai-receptionist-cost) and [Keres AI pricing](https://www.keresai.com/pricing). ## How does Keres AI handle it? Keres AI’s virtual receptionist is [Remi](https://www.keresai.com/agents/inbound), an AI receptionist. Remi answers in two rings, 24/7, asks your intake questions, and books into Google Calendar, HubSpot or ServiceTitan. Calls Remi couldn’t take get a text back within 60 seconds. Remi escalates to a person by the rules you set, and it answers in English today. Billing is a monthly rate with included minutes, then per minute, with no per-call fees. See the product behind this concept ### Want to see Virtual Receptionist working in practice? See how Keres puts it to work for your vertical and workflow. ### [AI Receptionist](https://www.keresai.com/glossary/ai-receptionist) An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone automatically, 24/7. The software greets callers in a na… ### [AI Answering Service](https://www.keresai.com/glossary/ai-answering-service) An AI answering service is an automated phone-answering solution that handles inbound calls 24/7 without human operators… ### [Call Overflow Handling](https://www.keresai.com/glossary/call-overflow) Call overflow handling sends calls your team can’t pick up, because every line is busy or nobody answers within a few ri… ### [After-Hours Answering](https://www.keresai.com/glossary/after-hours-answering) After-hours answering is a service that handles inbound calls outside normal business hours — evenings, weekends, and ho… [← Back to the full glossary](https://www.keresai.com/glossary) ## Virtual Receptionist — FAQ ### Is an AI receptionist a type of virtual receptionist? Yes. A virtual receptionist is any remote answering service; an AI receptionist is one run by software instead of people. It answers around the clock and asks every caller the same questions, and it should hand calls that need judgment to a person. ### How much does a virtual receptionist cost? Human services usually charge for a set number of minutes or calls each month, plus overage. AI receptionists usually charge a monthly rate with included minutes. See [how much an AI receptionist costs](https://www.keresai.com/ai-receptionist-cost) for published prices and how to compare them. ### Can a virtual receptionist book appointments? Yes, if it has access to your calendar or scheduling system. Without that access it can only take a message. Keres AI’s Remi books directly into Google Calendar, HubSpot or ServiceTitan. ### Do I need a new phone number for a virtual receptionist? No. You keep your business number and forward calls to the virtual receptionist, either all the time, after hours or when your line is busy. Last updated October 12, 2026 · [Reviewed by the Keres AI team](https://www.keresai.com/editorial-policy)