What Are My Options for Answering Phone Calls in My Business?

If you run a small business, there is a good chance you have experienced this problem.

You are busy. You are with a customer. You are driving. You are in a meeting. You are trying to focus.

Then the phone rings.

You miss the call and think: “I’ll call them back later.”

But often, later is too late. Did you know that the chances of winning the business drop significantly if it takes you over 10 minutes to return a potential customers call?

Many businesses do not realise how much revenue is quietly lost through missed calls. Especially service businesses where speed matters. If someone cannot get through to you, they often simply call the next business on Google. Find out how much missed calls are costing your business. Click here.

Over the last few years I have seen a major shift in how businesses are handling inbound calls. Traditionally the options were limited to hiring staff or using a telephone answering service. Now there are newer AI-powered options that are dramatically changing the landscape.

So what are your options if you need help answering the phone in your business?

Let’s break them down.

Option 1. Hire a Receptionist

This is the traditional approach.

You hire somebody to answer calls, take messages, transfer calls, and handle customer enquiries.

For many businesses this still works very well.

A good receptionist can:

• build rapport
• reassure customers
• handle complex situations
• represent your business professionally

Typical costs

A full-time receptionist in the UK will often cost:

• £22,000 to £35,000+ per year salary
• plus National Insurance
• pension contributions
• holidays
• recruitment costs
• training
• sick pay
• office space and equipment

That can easily mean a real business cost of £2,000 to £3,500+ per month.

The downsides

• expensive for small businesses
• holidays and sickness
• limited opening hours
• scaling issues
• recruitment headaches

For smaller businesses especially, hiring a full-time receptionist is often difficult to justify financially.

This is why many businesses started looking at outsourced solutions.

Option 2. Use a Telephone Answering Service

This is a very common solution in the UK.

Companies such as Moneypenny and AnswerConnect provide outsourced call handling using real people.

Typically:

• your calls divert to them
• they answer in your business name
• they take messages
• they may book appointments
• they email or text you updates

For many businesses this can be a major improvement over missed calls.

Typical costs

Telephone answering services vary hugely depending on call volumes.

Typical pricing models include:

• £15 to £50/month entry packages
• £1 to £2.50+ per answered call
• or £1 to £1.50+ per receptionist minute

For many growing businesses, realistic monthly costs often end up around £150 to £550+ per month.

The advantages

• cheaper than full-time staff
• professional call handling
• extended hours
• overflow support
• no recruitment headaches

The disadvantages

• costs can rise quickly with volume
• usually charged per minute or per call
• scripts can feel generic
• limited integration with your CRM
• weak automation
• difficult to personalise deeply

This is where things are beginning to change rapidly.

Option 3. AI Receptionists

This is one of the fastest-growing areas in business technology right now.

AI receptionists can now answer calls in a surprisingly natural way.

Modern AI systems can:

• answer calls instantly
• answer FAQs
• qualify leads
• book appointments
• transfer calls
• send follow-up texts
• capture customer details
• update CRM systems automatically
• work 24/7

Platforms like HighLevel now make this technology accessible to small businesses and agencies, not just large corporations.

A few years ago this type of technology felt futuristic.

Now it is becoming mainstream.

One of the biggest advantages of AI receptionists is consistency.

Unlike human teams:

• they do not get tired
• they do not take holidays
• they do not call in sick
• they do not forget scripts
• they do not stop at 5pm

An AI receptionist works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This is especially useful for:

• trades businesses receiving emergency enquiries
• clinics receiving evening appointment requests
• businesses running Facebook or Google advertising campaigns
• companies receiving calls outside normal office hours

Another major advantage is scalability.

Traditional reception teams can become overwhelmed during busy periods.

An AI receptionist can comfortably handle over 100 calls simultaneously.

That becomes extremely valuable during:

• advertising campaigns
• promotions
• peak seasonal demand
• event registrations
• radio or TV exposure
• service outages or emergencies

For example, if a plumbing company suddenly receives a surge of inbound calls during freezing weather, an AI receptionist can continue answering calls consistently without customers hearing engaged tones or going to voicemail.

Teams of AI Agents

This is where things become particularly interesting.

Many people imagine a single AI receptionist trying to answer everything.

In reality, modern systems can use multiple specialist AI agents working together.

For example:

• one AI agent handles bookings
• another handles support questions
• another qualifies sales enquiries
• another routes urgent calls
• another handles after-hours emergencies

This is often far more effective than having one “jack of all trades” receptionist trying to cover everything.

At MarketerM8 we build AI receptionist systems using HighLevel, where businesses can effectively create teams of AI staff tailored to different parts of the customer journey.

That means businesses can create:

• specialist booking assistants
• support agents
• lead qualification agents
• appointment reminder agents
• overflow call handlers
• out-of-hours receptionists

All working together inside one connected system.

Example AI Receptionist Pricing

There are now many AI receptionist providers entering the market.

Typical pricing in the UK ranges from:

• £20 to £100+ per month for basic systems
• plus usage charges depending on minutes and features

At MarketerM8 typical pricing includes:

• £97 per month subscription
• £1,000 setup fee
• £0.17 per minute for live AI call handling

The setup fee covers:

• AI configuration
• call flow design
• integrations
• CRM setup
• appointment booking logic
• knowledge base training
• testing and optimisation

Unlike many traditional answering services, the AI receptionist can also integrate directly into your CRM and marketing automation system.

That means:

• calls can create opportunities automatically
• follow-up texts and emails can be triggered
• appointments can be booked automatically
• missed calls can generate workflows
• conversations can be summarised into contact records

This is one of the reasons AI receptionists are becoming increasingly attractive to growing businesses.

Hear It for Yourself

If you are curious what this technology actually sounds like in the real world, you can try our AI receptionist demo.

Give Jenny, our AI Receptionist Demo, a call on:

07458 008 090

Jenny will role play how an AI agent could answer the phone for your business, including:

• answering enquiries
• capturing customer details
• booking appointments
• transferring calls
• handling common questions

Many people are surprised by how natural modern AI phone systems now sound.

Where AI Receptionists Work Particularly Well

I have found AI receptionists work especially well in businesses where:

• speed matters
• calls are repetitive
• many calls are simple enquiries
• missing calls loses revenue

Examples include:

• plumbers
• electricians
• estate agents
• clinics
• dentists
• gyms
• therapists
• roofers
• cleaning companies
• consultants
• trades businesses

For example:

• “How much do you charge?”
• “Are you open?”
• “Can I book an appointment?”
• “Do you cover my area?”
• “Can somebody call me back?”

These are all tasks AI can now handle very effectively.

The Biggest Misunderstanding About AI Receptionists

Many people think the goal is: “replace humans”.

I do not think that is the best approach.

The strongest systems I am seeing now are hybrid systems.

Option 4. AI + Human Hybrid Reception

This is where things get interesting.

Instead of replacing staff completely:

• AI handles first-line enquiries
• AI covers evenings and weekends
• AI captures missed calls
• AI handles overflow
• humans take over to handle sensitive or complex conversations

This creates a much stronger customer experience while dramatically reducing missed opportunities.

For many businesses this is the sweet spot.

Typical costs

Hybrid systems vary significantly depending on:

• human involvement
• call volume
• hours covered
• integrations

But many businesses find they can dramatically reduce receptionist costs while still maintaining a human touch where it matters most.

Option 5. Just Forward Calls to Your Mobile

A huge number of small businesses still operate this way.

Especially:

• trades
• sole traders
• consultants
• mobile businesses

Typical costs

Usually low direct cost.

But often very high hidden cost.

The hidden costs are:

• missed opportunities
• interruptions
• poor customer experience
• work/life balance issues
• inability to scale

This approach creates problems:

• interruptions
• missed calls while driving
• no consistency
• no reporting
• poor lead tracking

Many business owners become prisoners to their phones.

Option 6. Voicemail

Honestly, voicemail is becoming less effective.

Many customers simply do not leave messages anymore.

Especially younger customers.

If somebody urgently needs help and gets voicemail, there is a strong chance they simply move on to the next business.

Typical costs

Very cheap financially.

Potentially very expensive in lost business.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Consumers increasingly expect:

• fast responses
• immediate answers
• convenience
• 24/7 availability

The businesses winning today are often not necessarily the best businesses.

They are simply the easiest businesses to contact.

That is a very important distinction.

Final Thoughts

If your business struggles to answer calls consistently, you now have far more options than you did a few years ago.

Those options range from:

• hiring staff
• outsourced answering services
• virtual receptionists
• AI receptionists
• hybrid AI + human systems

The right solution depends on:

• your business type
• call volume
• budget
• customer expectations
• how important speed is in your industry

But one thing is becoming increasingly clear.

Businesses that respond quickly and consistently are gaining a significant advantage over businesses that still rely purely on missed calls and voicemail.

And as AI tools continue to improve, I believe we are only at the beginning of this shift.

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Written by Julian Mills. HighLevel consultant and marketing strategist helping businesses automate lead generation, follow-up and customer communication using AI-powered systems.

Learn more about Julian Mills.

You can also explore the free weekly MarketerM8 HighLevel Workshops.