AI receptionist for a small business: what it can and can’t do

The basics

What does an AI receptionist do?

It is software that answers calls with a synthetic voice, works out what the caller wants and replies using information you’ve given it. You usually keep your own number and forward calls to it: all the time, when you’re busy, or out of hours.

What it should not be trusted with

Keep these with a person:

• Emergencies. If someone may be in danger, it should tell them to hang up and call 999, then alert you.
• Advice that could cause harm if wrong: health, legal, money, gas or electrical safety.
• Payments. Don’t let it take card details. Send a payment link instead.
• Complaints and upset callers. They need judgement, and a real apology.
• Prices, dates and promises it hasn’t been given.
• Anyone who asks for a person, or sounds confused or distressed.

Where AI receptionists go wrong

• Accents and speech. Recognition isn’t equally good for everyone. A 2020 US study in PNAS of five major systems found an average word error rate of 0.35 (roughly 35 errors per 100 words) for Black speakers, against 0.19 for white speakers. Systems may have improved since, so test with your callers’ accents.
• Background noise and poor signal, from vans, building sites and busy kitchens.
• Names, postcodes and email addresses: one wrong letter and you can’t call back.
• Callers who won’t talk to a machine and hang up.

AI receptionist, voicemail, a call-answering service or call forwarding?

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You can combine them: an AI receptionist out of hours that forwards urgent calls to your mobile, with voicemail as the fallback.

How AI receptionist pricing works

Each plan below has a monthly fee and a per-call charge, some after a set number of included calls. Count your typical monthly calls before you choose.

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Example: 60 calls a month. After any free month: Answer AI Growth £38.50 (£30, plus 10 extra calls at 85p), Fasthosts Lite £53.70 (£39, plus 30 at 49p), Answer AI Lite £61 (£10, plus 60 at 85p) and Fasthosts Plus £69. Answer.co.uk’s human service would be £132 (60 at £2.20). Answer AI doesn’t say whether its Growth price includes VAT; the others are quoted before VAT, so add 20% unless you can reclaim it.

The UK rules that apply

This summarises official guidance, not legal advice. Several ICO pages linked here are under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act, and fields such as health or finance may have extra rules.

Recording and transcripts

In its guidance on monitoring calls at work, the ICO says you must tell callers you are recording the call and why; a recorded message is good practice. The rest of your privacy information can be given another way, such as a link on your website. You may have to release a recording if a caller asks for a copy of their information (a subject access request). Check who gives the notice: Answer.co.uk’s terms make the customer responsible for telling callers about monitoring or recording.

A lawful basis and privacy information

You need a lawful basis, decided and documented before you start. For example, the “contract” basis covers steps someone asks for before a contract, such as a quote. Your privacy information must say why you use the information, how long you keep it and who you share it with, including the AI provider.

Health details and risk assessments

Callers sometimes mention health problems. Health information is special category data, which needs a lawful basis and a special category condition. The ICO says a data protection impact assessment is required when innovative technology, including AI, is combined with another risk factor such as sensitive data. If in doubt, it recommends doing one.

A written contract with the provider

The provider usually handles callers’ information for you, as your processor, and the ICO says that every time a controller uses a processor there must be a written contract. Ask where data is stored and whether your calls train its AI: Fasthosts says call data is hosted in its EU-based data centres and isn’t used to train AI, while Answer.co.uk’s terms let it use anonymised transcriptions, without personal data, to improve its services. If data leaves the UK, see the ICO’s international transfers guidance.

Telling callers it’s automated

UK GDPR requires you to be open about how you use people’s information. The ICO’s guidance on explaining decisions made with AI, written for AI that makes decisions about people, says to be “open and candid” about AI-enabled decisions and to have “a designated and capable human point of contact”. The same approach suits a phone assistant: say in the greeting that it’s automated and how to reach a person. Answer AI says its assistant confirms it is an AI if a caller asks directly, so check the greeting can say so up front.

Outgoing calls and texts

Marketing calls and texts are covered by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR):

• an automated marketing call needs specific consent to that type of call; consent to live calls is not enough
• marketing texts to individuals need specific consent, or the “soft opt-in” for your own previous customers
• a service message, such as an appointment reminder, isn’t direct marketing, but can’t contain anything promotional

The ICO’s guide describes an automated call as one “made by an automated dialling system that plays a recorded message” and doesn’t mention AI voice agents. In September 2025 it fined two energy companies £550,000 in total for automated marketing calls using “avatar” software, which made scripted, pre-recorded lines sound like a person in the UK. Unless you’ve taken advice, keep your assistant to answering calls and sending service messages.

Vulnerable and disabled callers

Some callers will be distressed or confused, or have a hearing or speech impairment. In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. The EHRC’s code of practice for services, in force since 5 August 2026, says this duty is anticipatory: consider the barriers in advance. So offer an easy route to a person and another way to contact you, such as email, and hand over anyone who sounds distressed.

Set-up checklist

1. Greeting: “Thanks for calling [business]. I’m an automated assistant. I can take a message or answer questions about [services]. If you’d like a person, just say so.”
2. Recording notice: if calls are recorded or transcribed, say so and why, and link your privacy information.
3. Hand-over list: emergencies, complaints, existing jobs, money questions and anyone who asks for a person.
4. Emergency wording: “If anyone may be in danger, please hang up and call 999.” Add any line your trade needs, such as the gas emergency number in the HSE’s gas safety FAQs, 0800 111 999 (check the number in Northern Ireland).
5. Facts sheet: only facts you’re happy for it to repeat; everything else gets “I’ll pass that on”.
6. Read-back: names, phone numbers and postcodes, before the call ends.
7. Test calls: outdoors, with background noise, different accents, an interrupter, someone asking for a person, and an emergency.
8. Review: read every summary for the first few weeks, then a weekly sample, and fix what it got wrong.
9. Retention and fallback: set how long records are kept, and make sure calls still reach you if the service is down.

Questions to ask any provider

• What do you charge per call, per minute or per transfer, and is VAT included?
• Is there a minimum term, and how do I cancel?
• Do you record calls or keep transcripts? Where, for how long, and can I delete them?
• Do you use my callers’ data to train or improve your AI? Can I see your data processing terms?
• What happens to my calls if your service goes down?

Common questions about AI receptionists