Guide· Buyer's guide
How to choose the best AI receptionist for a UK small business
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The best AI receptionist for a small UK business answers every call in a natural British voice, books straight into your calendar, puts urgent callers through to you, and comes with a UK GDPR contract. There are three types of service. Self-serve apps cost about £30 to £99 a month. Human call answering services cost about £55 to £75 a month for 30 calls. Done-for-you AI receptionists cost £500 to £2,000 or more to set up, then £99 to £500 a month. The right one depends on how many enquiries you get, where they come in, and whether you want to run it yourself.
What types of AI receptionist service are there in the UK?
| Type | How it works | Typical price | Your time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-serve AI receptionist app | You sign up online, add your business details and forward your calls to it | £30 to £99 a month (plans range from £10 to £300), usually no setup fee | You set it up, write its answers and keep them up to date | A few calls a week, mainly message-taking |
| Human call answering service (virtual receptionist) | A person at an answering company takes your calls and passes on messages. Some now add an AI layer first | About £55 to £75 a month for 30 calls, £154 to £230 for 100, then about £2 to £3 a call | Little: you read the messages and ring people back | Callers who need a person's judgement on every call |
| Done-for-you AI receptionist | A provider builds it around your business, connects your calendar and CRM, tests it and manages it every month | £500 to £2,000 or more setup, then £99 to £500 a month | An onboarding call and a test before go-live. The provider runs it | Enquiries by phone, WhatsApp and website chat that you want answered, booked and followed up for you |
What should a good AI receptionist do?
At a minimum, it should:
- Answer every call, 24 hours a day, including when two or more people ring at once.
- Sound natural in British English and understand regional accents. Test this with real people before you buy.
- Book appointments straight into Google or Outlook Calendar and text the caller a confirmation.
- Take the details you need, such as name, number, job and postcode, and send you a summary straight away.
- Put urgent calls through to you, or flag them, instead of only taking a message.
- Tell callers they're talking to an AI assistant. It should never pretend to be a person.
- Work on your existing business number, usually by forwarding your calls, so you keep your number.
If your customers also message you, look for one that answers WhatsApp and website chat in the same way, and follows up: missed-call text-backs, quote reminders, appointment reminders and review requests.
What questions should I ask before I sign up?
- Can I call a live demo and hear it answer a real call?
- What does it do when it doesn't know the answer?
- How many calls or minutes are included, and what does each extra one cost?
- Is there a minimum contract, and how much notice do I give to leave?
- Who sets it up, and who updates it when my prices, hours or services change? Is that included?
- Can urgent calls come straight through to me or my team?
- Can I keep my business number?
- Will you sign a data processing agreement, where is caller data stored, and how long are recordings kept?
- What's included in the setup fee, and how long until it goes live?
Should I choose a self-serve AI receptionist app or a managed service?
Choose a self-serve app if you get a handful of calls a week, mainly need messages taken, and are happy to set it up and keep it updated yourself. It's the cheapest option and you can start the same day.
Choose a managed (done-for-you) service if enquiries are your main source of work, come in by phone, WhatsApp and your website, and need booking into a diary and following up. You pay a setup fee, and in return the provider writes the answers, connects your calendar and CRM, tests it with real calls, and keeps improving it every month.
Both answer calls 24/7. The difference is who does the work and how much the receptionist can do for you.
Is an AI receptionist GDPR compliant?
It can be, if it's set up properly. Under UK GDPR, a provider that handles your callers' personal data on your behalf needs a written contract with you, often called a data processing agreement. Ask for one, ask where the data is stored and for how long, and make sure your privacy notice says you use an AI assistant to answer calls and messages. ICO guidance on contracts with processors
What are the warning signs?
- No live demo you can call or message before you pay.
- A long minimum contract, such as 12 months, before you've seen it work for your business.
- Unclear per-minute or per-call charges once you go over your allowance.
- No data processing agreement, or no clear answer on where data is stored.
- A receptionist that claims to be a person, or can't hand a caller to you.
Where does SoluGenius fit?
SoluGenius is a done-for-you service, based in Bolton. We build your AI receptionist around your business, connect it to your calendar and CRM, and manage it every month. Packages start at £997 setup and £247 a month, excluding VAT, with 250 voice minutes a month and 25p a minute after that. There's no long contract: it's month-to-month with 30 days' notice.
What the setup fee pays for: an onboarding call; we set up your channels, calendar, CRM and follow-ups; we train it only on information you approve; and we test it with you before anything goes live. Every month after that, we monitor it, improve the answers and make your updates, up to 1 hour a month on Starter and 2 hours on Professional. Fixes for problems on our side are always free. You never touch the technology.
We're a good fit if enquiries are how you win work and you want them answered, booked and followed up for you. If you only get a few calls a week and just need messages taken, a self-serve app will do that for less.
Prefer to write? Send us a message and we'll reply within one working day.
- Comparing an AI receptionist with a person or voicemail? AI receptionist vs call answering vs voicemail
Sources: UK providers' published prices, checked October 2026; Information Commissioner's Office, contracts and liabilities between controllers and processors.