A receptionist team you pay per call, or one you pay per credit.
Smith.ai puts trained human receptionists, backed by AI, on your phone and chat. Joe is software: he answers everything himself, on every channel, and asks for a person only when your rules say he should.
200 credits on us for 7 days to decide if he keeps the job.
Side by side
Human receptionists are excellent and priced accordingly. The question is how much of your volume needs one.
| Feature | We love Joe | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI agent trained on your business, escalating to your team by your rules | Trained human receptionists, with AI assistance |
| Availability | 24/7 on every channel, including bank holidays | Business hours coverage, extended plans available |
| Channels | Phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, SMS, web chat, Slack, Teams, LinkedIn, YouTube, X | Calls, web chat, some messaging |
| Volume behaviour | Handles a spike of fifty simultaneous conversations at the same rate | Cost rises with every call answered |
| Depth of knowledge | Reads your whole knowledge base and your live systems before answering | Follows the script and intake you provide |
| Languages | Over twenty, chosen by what the customer wrote or said | English and Spanish |
| Pricing shape | Credits: one message is one credit, one call minute is ten | Monthly plan per number of calls |
Compiled from each product’s public documentation and pricing pages. Vendors change these — tell us if something here is out of date.
Where Smith.ai is a good fit
High-value, low-volume calls
If one converted call is worth thousands, a human on every call is easy to justify.
Regulated intake
Legal and medical intake where a person must judge the situation.
Hand-off comfort
Some clients simply prefer knowing a human answered.
Where Joe is stronger
Volume does not scare him
The busiest morning of your year is handled at the same speed and the same price per credit.
He works the quiet channels too
The Instagram DM at midnight is as covered as the call at eleven in the morning.
You keep the escalation rules
Define exactly what he must hand to a person and he never crosses that line.
You do not have to choose all at once.
Give Joe the overflow
Nights, weekends and the calls your receptionists cannot reach in time.
Load your intake script
The same questions your receptionists ask, in the same order.
Compare the transcripts
Every conversation is logged with a summary. Read a week of both.
Set the split
Keep humans on the calls that deserve them and let Joe absorb the rest.
Straightforward pricing
Pick the plan that fits the volume. Every plan includes the same brain — the difference is agents, credits and channels.
Starter
- 1 agent
- 1,000 credits
- 1 active channel
- 1 language
- 5 concurrent calls
- 1 knowledge base
- 1 GO storage
- 1 agent
- 3,000 credits
- Save 15% on additional credits
- Unlimited active channels
- 1 language
- Unlimited knowledge bases
- Unlimited operators
- Unlimited concurrent calls
- 3 GO storage
- Up to 3 agents
- 8,000 credits
- Save 25% on additional credits
- Unlimited active channels
- Unlimited languages
- Unlimited knowledge bases
- Unlimited operators
- Unlimited concurrent calls
- 7 GO storage
- Unified Inbox
- Up to 5 agents
- 30,000 credits
- Save 40% on additional credits
- Unlimited active channels
- Unlimited languages
- Unlimited knowledge bases
- Unlimited operators
- Unlimited concurrent calls
- 15 Go storage
- Unified Inbox
Custom
- Unlimited number of agents
- Large volume credits discount
- Custom integrations
- Unlimited languages
- Unified Inbox
- Unlimited operators
- Dedicated onboarding support
- Automation & workflow setup
- Custom storage limit
- Custom voice
200 credits on us for 7 days to decide if he keeps the job.
In every plan
Questions from teams already using a receptionist service.
Can I keep my receptionists for some calls?
Yes. Joe can answer first and warm-transfer any call that matches your rules, or only take the overflow.
How good is he at intake?
He asks the questions you specify, in order, and never forgets one. The result lands in your CRM as a structured record.
What if he does not know something?
He says so and hands over, with everything he has already collected, rather than guessing.
Is there a per-call minimum?
No. Credits are consumed by what he actually handles.
Can he take payments?
He can send a secure payment or booking link and confirm once it is paid.
Joe's ready. Are you?
Pay for judgement. Automate the other ninety percent.
200 credits on us for 7 days to decide if he keeps the job.