Hear it answer — talk to it now
Our AI receptionist as a live voice agent. Tap the button, ask about our services or pricing, and it can take your details — just like it would for your business.
Talk to our AI receptionist
Tap and speak — it answers questions about our services and pricing, and can take your details, just like it would for your business.
A demonstration of Pivot Bureau's AI voice receptionist. No data is stored.
What it does
One in four customer enquiries goes unanswered — missed calls, slow replies, overnight messages. Your AI receptionist catches every one and turns it into a booking.
Answers every question
Hours, prices, menu, services, parking, allergens — answered instantly from your real information, day or night.
Takes bookings & orders
Captures the booking or order, emails it straight to your inbox, and sends the customer a confirmation automatically.
Cuts no-shows
Automatic reminder emails 24h and 2h before a booking — typically reducing no-shows by 40–60%.
AI receptionist vs the alternatives
How an AI receptionist compares with the other ways UK small businesses cover their calls and enquiries.
| AI receptionist | Human receptionist | Answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers 24/7 | Yes | Office hours only | Often 24/7 | Records only |
| Replies instantly | Every time | If not already busy | If not in a queue | No |
| Takes bookings into your calendar | Yes | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Handles multiple enquiries at once | Unlimited | One at a time | Limited | — |
| Knows your prices & policies | In full | Yes | Basic script | No |
| Consistent every call | Yes | Varies by person & mood | Varies | — |
| Hands over to a human when needed | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| Typical monthly cost | From £79 | £1,500+ | £100–£300 | Free |
Costs shown are typical UK ranges for rough comparison — a human receptionist figure reflects a part- to full-time wage. Pivot Bureau's own pricing is fixed and shown in full on the pricing page.
Why answering every call matters
The research on missed calls and slow replies is blunt — and it all points the same way.
Sources: 411 Locals; MIT / InsideSales.com Lead Response Management study. An AI receptionist answers on the first ring, day or night — which is exactly the gap these numbers describe.
How it works
From sign-up to a fully-trained agent on your site in about a week.
We learn your business
You share your menu, services, hours, policies and FAQs. We train the agent on all of it.
We add it to your site
A lightweight chat widget drops onto your existing website — no rebuild needed.
It starts working 24/7
Customers chat, book and order. You get the details by email; they get instant confirmations.
We fine-tune for a week
We watch real conversations and sharpen the answers so it sounds exactly like your business.
Grows with you
Start on the website, then add voice and messaging when you're ready.
AI phone receptionist (Growth)
A natural-sounding voice agent answers calls, books appointments into your calendar and qualifies leads — so the phone is never unanswered either.
SMS, calendar & CRM sync (Growth)
SMS reminders, two-way calendar / Google Sheets / CRM sync, and owner alerts on Telegram or WhatsApp every time a booking lands.
AI receptionist cost — simple, honest pricing
How does this compare? Read our guide to AI receptionist cost in the UK →
Pricing is reviewed annually and may be revised each year, with advance notice before any change takes effect. Where a service is billed monthly, you may cancel at any time, with or without reason. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate service in the event of misuse, breach of our terms, or non-payment. Full terms & conditions apply.
What is an AI receptionist? Key terms in plain English
Quick, jargon-free definitions for UK small businesses.
- AI receptionist
- An always-on assistant on your website that answers customer questions, takes bookings and orders, and emails you the details 24/7 — trained on your own business information so it responds like a knowledgeable member of staff.
- Agentic AI
- AI that doesn't just answer questions but takes actions on your behalf — checking availability, booking an appointment, capturing a lead — following the rules you set. It is the difference between a chatbot that talks and one that gets things done.
- 24/7 booking & lead capture
- Capturing enquiries and confirming bookings at any hour, including nights and weekends, so after-hours interest turns into booked work instead of a missed call or an unanswered voicemail.
- Custom-trained (grounded)
- The receptionist is given your services, prices, hours and policies so its answers stay accurate to your business — it works from your facts rather than making things up.
How we actually build an AI receptionist
How we build it
We build agentic, not scripted. The assistant runs a language model wired to real tools — your calendar, and where it fits your CRM — and is grounded in your own information (services, hours, prices, policies) so it answers from fact rather than guesswork. Voice agents are built on Vapi with ElevenLabs voices and Deepgram speech-to-text, tuned for latency, interruptions and mishears. Every build has an explicit “always send this to a human” list.
Why our approach is different
Most “AI receptionists” are FAQ bots that answer three questions and drop everything else to voicemail. Ours takes the next action — it books the appointment into your existing calendar and only pulls in a human for what genuinely needs one. And because it’s grounded, it won’t invent an opening time or a price it doesn’t know; it says it’ll check and hands off.
Real implementation details
- Knowledge built from your real pages, pricing and policies — not a generic template.
- Books into the calendar you already use; where there’s no integration, it captures the enquiry and messages your front desk.
- Voice runs on a dedicated line with a recording-consent line and a hard monthly spend cap on minutes.
- A defined escalation list for anything clinical, safety-related or high-value.
Common mistakes businesses make
- Letting a bot answer everything, including things it should escalate.
- No human fallback — so an edge case dead-ends.
- Buying voice on per-minute pricing with no spend cap.
- Using an ungrounded model that confidently states the wrong hours or prices.
Our recommendation
Start with a chat receptionist — it’s cheap to run and covers most enquiries. Add voice only where your call volume justifies the higher per-minute cost, and always keep a clear human escalation path. See honest numbers on the AI receptionist cost and cost-per-minute guides.
AI receptionist guides
- AI receptionist vs human receptionistAn honest comparison, real costs, and the hybrid setup most businesses want.
- How much an AI receptionist costs in the UKReal 2026 price ranges for chat and voice, and how to work out if it pays.
- AI phone receptionist cost per minuteWhat actually makes up a per-minute voice price, and why 'unlimited' is a trap.
- AI receptionist vs agentic AIWhich one your business actually needs, in plain English.
- AI receptionists for UK dental practicesThe three moments reception can't answer, and patient-data rules.
- AI appointment setters for small businessHow AI turns enquiries into booked appointments around the clock.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI chat receptionist?
An agentic assistant that lives on your website and handles enquiries like a great front-desk person — answering questions, taking bookings and orders, capturing leads, and emailing the details to you. It works 24/7, including the evenings and weekends when most missed enquiries happen.
How is it trained on my business?
We custom-train it on your menu, services, opening hours, policies and FAQs before launch, then fine-tune for a week after go-live. It only answers from your real information — it doesn't make things up.
Can it take bookings and send confirmations?
Yes — it captures bookings, orders and leads, emails them to you, and sends the customer confirmation and reminder emails automatically. Reminders typically cut no-shows by 40–60%.
Does it work on the phone too?
Phone (AI voice receptionist) and SMS are available on the Growth tier, along with calendar / Google Sheets / CRM sync and owner alerts on Telegram or WhatsApp.
How much does it cost?
From £79/month plus a £200 one-off setup, and your first month is free. No per-message charges, cancel anytime. The Growth tier adds SMS reminders and calendar/CRM integrations. The AI Phone Receptionist is a separate plan (from £129/month), because live calls carry a per-minute cost.
See it answer for you
Try the live Bistro Eisa demo, then we'll train one on your business. First month free.
Book a 30-minute call →