The AI receptionist that answers every call and books the appointment.
A 24/7 AI phone answering service on your existing number. It picks up on the first ring, speaks your industry’s language in four languages, qualifies the caller, books straight into your calendar or transfers the live call to your team. Flat $197 a month, unlimited calls.
What it does on every single call.
All six are on by default. Nothing to configure before your first call.
Picks up on ring one
Answers in under a second — 2am, Sunday, or mid-rush. Callers never reach voicemail.
Books while they are still on the line
Checks your live calendar during the call and confirms a real slot before the caller hangs up.
Hands the call to a human
Ask for a person and the live call transfers to your team — no callback, no queue.
Escalates the emergencies
Your keywords — pain, flood, arrest, burst pipe — go straight to the on-call line instead of a booking.
Writes the intake itself
Name, number and reason for calling land in the CRM while the call is still going.
Answers in multiple languages
English, Spanish, French, Mandarin and more — all on the same number.
What a caller actually hears.
A scripted example of a Tuesday-night call to a mortgage office, written to show the flow. Your AI uses your scripts, your calendar and your rules.
- AI
- Thanks for calling Harbour Mortgage, this is the assistant. How can I help?
- Caller
- Hi, we're looking at refinancing. Rates dropped and I wanted to see what we'd qualify for.
- AI
- Happy to help with that. So I can get you to the right loan officer, is this for your primary home, and roughly when are you hoping to close?
- Caller
- Primary home. Sooner the better, honestly. Next month or two.
- AI
- Got it. Dana handles refinances and has a 20-minute call open tomorrow at 10:15 am or Thursday at 4:30 pm. Which works better?
- Caller
- Tomorrow at 10:15.
- AI
- You're booked with Dana tomorrow at 10:15 am. I'll text you the confirmation and a short list of documents to have ready. Is this the best number to reach you on?
- Caller
- Yes, that's fine. Thanks.
What actually happens on a call.
One inbound call, start to finish. No hold music, no voicemail, no callback promise.
Ring one
Picks up in under a second, whatever the hour.
Works out the ask
New enquiry, existing client, or someone who needs a human — in your industry’s vocabulary.
Opens your calendar
Real availability, checked live — not a promise that someone will call back.
Books and confirms
The slot is held and confirmed before the caller hangs up.
Or passes it over
Asked for a person, it transfers the live call straight to your team.
Nothing falls through
Anything it can’t answer is texted to you with the question and the caller’s number.
Trained on your calls, not calls in general.
The same receptionist, with a different script, calendar and set of rules for each kind of business it answers for.
Mortgage
Asks about loan purpose, property and timeline, books a call with a loan officer, and texts the document checklist. Mortgage CRM →
Read: 78% of mortgage leads ghost. The 5-minute window
Dental
Books cleanings and consults, triages emergencies to the on-call dentist, and answers insurance questions. Dental answering service →
Read: 17% of dental calls come after hours
Legal
Runs intake, screens for conflicts, flags urgency, and books the consultation with the right attorney. Law firm CRM →
Read: 48% of law firms can't be reached
Home services
Separates emergencies from routine jobs, books the visit, and dispatches the details to the crew. Small business CRM →
Against a human service, a voicemail, and doing nothing.
Smith.ai prices are their published rates as of August 2026. Traditional answering-service figures are typical published starting prices.
| Voicemail | Human answering service | Smith.ai | TheBigBot AI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers after hours | Records a message | Yes, on plans that include it | Yes | Yes, every hour of every day |
| Books the appointment | No | Sometimes, from a shared calendar | Yes | Yes, from live availability, confirmed on the call |
| Several calls at once | Yes | Limited by staff on shift | Limited by staff on shift | Yes, no queue |
| Pricing model | Free | From about $250/mo, per minute or per call | Per call: $300/mo for 30, $810 for 90, $2,100 for 300 | Flat $197 or $497/mo, unlimited calls |
| A busy month | More missed callers | Overage per minute | $8.50 to $11.50 per extra call | Plan price unchanged; AI minutes at $0.12 to $0.24 |
| After the call | Someone listens, eventually | A message to you | A message, booking or transfer | CRM record, follow-up sequence, review request |
| Languages | Whatever the caller leaves | English, Spanish on some plans | English and Spanish | English, Spanish, French, Mandarin on one number |
| Human judgement | None | Yes | Yes, the core of the service | Qualifies and books; anything nuanced is transferred to you |
Read the full comparison: TheBigBot as a Smith.ai alternative.
Included in both plans. No per-call fee.
The AI receptionist is part of every TheBigBot plan alongside the other 21 features. You pay the flat plan price plus AI minutes at the published usage rate.
Authority Launch
Website, CRM, AI receptionist and automations, set up for you and live in three days.
- 1 AI receptionist on your number, 24/7
- Booking into your calendar, live transfer, SMS fallback
- AI minutes at $0.12 to $0.24, itemised on your statement
- All 22 platform features included
Authority Pro
Everything in Launch, plus weekly content and social publishing run for you.
- 1 AI receptionist on your number, 24/7
- Booking into your calendar, live transfer, SMS fallback
- AI minutes at $0.12 to $0.24, itemised on your statement
- All 22 platform features, plus done-for-you content
Every rate is on the usage fees page. The HIPAA add-on for medical and dental practices is $297 a month and includes a signed BAA.
Cancel these starting day 1.
127 businesses. Four industries. One platform.
Real results from real operators — mortgage brokers, dentists, lawyers, and service business owners across the US.
The AI receptionist booked 14 appointments in my first week without me lifting a finger. This is pure revenue I wasn't seeing before — and it never sleeps.
We went from 23 Google reviews to 187 in 90 days. Our practice moved from page 3 to #2 in local search. Game over for the competition.
After-hours calls used to go to voicemail. Now the AI answers every one, qualifies the case, and books a consult. Booked 11 new clients last month from calls I would've missed.
Summer rush used to bury us in missed calls. TheBigBot answers every single one, books the appointment, and dispatches the tech. Revenue up 34% this quarter.
The patient recall campaign alone filled 47 empty chair slots in month one. The ROI paid for a full year of the platform inside 30 days.
Database reactivation woke up $2.1M in dormant prospects. My pipeline doubled. My assistant thinks I hired four new people — I just flipped one switch.
I switched from GoHighLevel and cut my tech stack in half. The AI intake is night-and-day better — conversions up 62% on paid traffic.
Storm season used to drown us. Now the AI qualifies emergency vs. routine jobs, dispatches crews, and follows up on every quote. Closed 78% more roofs this year.
Things people ask.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?+
Does it actually book, or just take a message?+
Can it transfer a live call to a real person?+
What happens if it can’t answer a question?+
How does it handle after-hours emergencies?+
Can the AI handle industry-specific jargon?+
What languages can it answer in?+
Do callers know they are talking to an AI?+
Is it HIPAA compliant for medical and dental practices?+
What voice does it use?+
How long until it’s answering my phone?+
Ready to stop missing calls?
Included in every TheBigBot plan. Answering your number in 3 days.
Book a Demo →