9 Best AI Answering Service in 2024 (Improve Customer Satisfaction)

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Looking for the best AI answering service?

Missed calls driving you crazy? You're not alone. We all get frustrated by ringing phones and voicemails piling up. There just aren't enough hours in the day to return every call.

But what if you had an AI virtual assistant answering phone calls for you? 

Conversational IVR systems with AI technologies like NLU, NLG, and TTS can help automate customer service interactions, freeing up agents for more valuable interactions and enabling complex, two-way conversations with customers, even during tricky collections calls, as seen with ING Bank.

After implementing this technology, ING Bank saw a 50% decrease in agent workloads and a nearly 60% increase in customer payment promises. [1]

This shows the potential benefits of AI-powered phone answering systems for businesses looking to improve customer support and efficiency.

In this article, I'll share the 9 best AI call-answering services to try in 2024. 

Let's DO it!

What is the best AI answering service?

Here are the 9 best AI phone answering system this year:   

• Simple Phones
• IsOn24
• GoodCall AI
• Abby Connect
• Slang.ai
• Mrcall.ai
• answering.ai
• Echo.win
• Curious Thing

1. Simple Phones

What is Simple Phones?

Simple Phones lets you create a customized AI agent in just 60 seconds. This virtual receptionist can answer and screen calls 24/7 using natural-sounding voices. It gets smarter over time to handle all your customers' needs.

The AI of Simple Phones can:

• Book appointments
• Take messages
• Provide answers
• Route calls to the right people

You'll have a record of every call and can tweak responses to match your brand.

Why Simple Phones is My Top Recommendation for AI Phone Answering?

As a business owner, I became increasingly overwhelmed trying to handle all my incoming calls. Between answering customer questions, booking appointments, and responding to inquiries, it was impossible to be available 24/7.

I tried many solutions - call forwarding, hiring staff - but nothing truly optimized our phone system.

Calls inevitably slipped through the cracks, leading to missed opportunities and frustrated customers.

That's when I discovered Simple Phones. After thoroughly researching AI phone answering services, Simple Phones stands out as my top recommendation. Here's why:

Easy Onboarding

Creating an AI agent took me less than 60 seconds right from their website. Without any technical skills, I customized a virtual receptionist to handle our exact business needs.

Seamless Call Handling

The AI seamlessly handles a wide array of caller needs - inbound and outbound calls, answering FAQs, booking appointments, taking messages, transferring calls, and more. It sounds completely natural having everyday conversations.

Robust Customization

I can customize everything - the virtual agent's voice, scripts, call routing, and integrations. Whenever I need tweaks, Simple Phones immediately implements them.

Helpful Features

Features like call logging, voice crawling web content, outbound calling, and real-time testing have made a big difference. My AI assistant improves every day.

Flexible Number Options

I easily kept my existing business number by forwarding missed calls to Simple Phones' number. They assign a new number if needed.

Wide Language Support

Simple Phones offers numerous language and accent options for live chat support. My AI agent handles English, Spanish, and French callers seamlessly.

Simple Phones also makes it easy to integrate their AI phone answering system with your existing CRM or back-end system. This ensures that customer requests are fulfilled and information flows to the right place. 

Plus, they can work with popular tools like Zapier to send webhooks in a format that works for you, making it easy to manage customer information and streamline your workflow.

I hope that answers your questions about why I think Simple Phones is pretty awesome. But hey, don't just take my word for it.

You can start a 14-day free trial and see how it works for yourself. 

Pricing

One of the great things about Simple Phones is that pricing is straightforward, with no hidden fees. Plans start at $49/mo for 100 calls/mo. This basic plan is perfect for small businesses just getting started with an automated answering service.

As your business grows, you can seamlessly upgrade your plan if you need to handle more business calls per month.

2. IsOn24

What is IsOn24?

IsOn24 isn't your average answering service; it's powered by an AI assistant that interacts with customers like a real human.

This virtual receptionist can field calls, do appointment scheduling, and send appointment reminders and other updates over text.

Customers get the white-glove treatment they expect, and you get to focus on the important stuff.

IsOn24 responds to customers in a friendly and professional way, helping your business build solid relationships and trust.

Whether you run an e-commerce outfit, home services company, or maintenance business, IsOn24 has a solution tailored to your needs.

Note that IsOn24 is currently only available to businesses in the US.

Key Features

• AI Voice Assistant: IsOn24 talks to your customers just like you do. Your customers can ask questions, and IsOn24 answers them even when you're not around.
• Texting Back: Not only does IsOn24 answer calls, but it also sends text messages back to your customers. So, if someone texts your business, IsOn24 chats with them too. It even keeps all your voicemails, texts, and online chats organized in one place.
• Appointments Made Easy: IsOn24 helps your clients book appointments over the phone and online. You know those times when you're too busy to answer the phone? IsOn24 can put callers in a queue and let your team answer from anywhere, even from their phones or tablets.
• Always Open for Business: IsOn24 is there 24/7 to help your customers, even when you're catching some Zs.
• Trust-Building Instantly: Imagine you're a customer and you have a question. Would you like to wait for an answer? Nope, and neither do your customers. IsOn24 gives instant answers and helps your clients book appointments right away. Trust me, they'll love it!
• Time for Growth: If you're a superhero, your focus is your superpower, right? IsOn24 lets you focus on growing your business while it handles calls and appointments.
• Different Voices, Your Choice: IsOn24 can talk in different voices and even text, just like your business. You can improve the customer experience while doing what you do best.

So, if you're running a business, a shop, or doing any kind of work, IsOn24 can be like your secret helper, answering questions, setting appointments, and keeping your customers smiling.

If you want to give it a shot, IsOn24 offers a free 7-day trial with no credit card required.

Pricing

• Starter: $39/mo billed annually or $49/mo billed monthly, 1,000 minutes (~750 calls/mo*), 1,000 texts, 1,000 online replies, and more.
• Sprinter: $79/mo billed annually or $99/mo billed monthly, 3,000 minutes (~2000 calls/mo*), 3,000 texts, 3,000 online replies, and more.
• Cruiser: $159/mo billed annually or $199/mo billed monthly, 7,500 minutes (~4400 calls/mo*), 7,500 texts, 7,500 online replies, and more.

Give IsOn24 a shot for a whole week for free:

3. Goodcall AI

What is Goodcall AI?

Goodcall is an AI-powered phone agent system designed for businesses of all sizes.

It leverages AI technology to automate call answering, connects with popular CRM systems, and works with thousands of other applications through Zapier.

Goodcall's agents can:

• Answer common questions
• Route calls efficiently
• Send text messages
• Book appointments
• Capture leads
• Provide customer support

The platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage phone operations more effectively, reducing the need for manual intervention.

Goodcall operates 24/7, ensuring continuous support for customers and potential leads, with easy integration into existing workflows and systems.

Here are some of Goodcall's key features that benefit SMBs:

• 24/7 AI Agents: Goodcall's agents work around the clock to answer calls, reducing the need for staff coverage.Unlimited: Your Goodcall agent is available to answer an unlimited number of calls simultaneously. 
• CRM Integration: Seamlessly connects with popular CRM systems, ensuring all customer data is in one place.
• Automated Call Routing: Routes calls to the correct department or individual based on predefined rules.
• Lead Capture: Identifies and captures potential leads during phone interactions, helping to grow your business.
• Multi-App Connectivity: Goodcall works with thousands of other applications through Zapier, allowing for extensive customization and automation.

Why I Recommend Goodcall

Its 24/7 availability ensures that calls are always answered, even outside of business hours.

The platform's CRM integration makes it easy to keep track of customer interactions and leads, reducing the chances of missed opportunities.

The ability to connect with other apps through Zapier adds flexibility, allowing businesses to customize their workflows.

Another significant advantage is Goodcall's call routing feature, which ensures that customers are quickly directed to the right person or department. This reduces wait times and improves customer satisfaction.

Goodcall is also user-friendly and doesn't require extensive training or technical knowledge to set up and use.

Its intuitive interface makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to get started and benefit from AI-powered phone agents without a steep learning curve.

Pricing

• Free Trial: Free for 14 Days
• Professional: $59/mo
• Enterprise: Custom, contact the Goodcall team

4. Abby Connect

Best for high-end retail businesses

What is Abby Connect?

Abby Connect is a professional phone answering service that combines the personal touch of skilled receptionists with the efficiency of AI technology for analyzing conversations.

They offer dedicated teams of receptionists who know your business well.

This blend ensures your calls sound like humans and are handled with care and precision, making every interaction count. 

However, due to the high price, this service is particularly valuable for high-end retail businesses and the legal, dental, and medical industries, providing a personalized and efficient customer experience.

Why I recommend Abby Connect

I totally recommend Abby Connect, and here's why:

They're not robots; they're real people who can laugh and make your customers smile.

Abby Connect has small teams of receptionists who really get to know your business.

They're like your own team, but you don't have to pay them like full-time workers, which saves you money.

They also use AI to analyze conversations and improve their responses, making sure they keep getting better at helping your customers every day.

What's really cool is that they can talk to people in English or Spanish, book appointments, answer tricky questions, and they're always there to talk to your customers, even when you're busy doing other things. This means you won't miss important calls when you're out and about.

When customers call and get a happy, helpful person on the line, they think, "Wow, this business is great!" And that means they'll want to keep coming back.

So, if you want to make your customers super happy and have more time to do what you're best at, you should try Abby Connect. It's easy to start, with no long contracts or big commitments.

Just give them a call, and they'll take care of the rest.

Pricing

• 100 receptionist minutes: $299 per month, which works out to $2.99 per minute.
• 200 receptionist minutes: $549 per month, or $2.75 per minute.
• 500 receptionist minutes: $1,199 per month, equating to $2.40 per minute.

Each plan offers a different amount of minutes to suit your business needs. 

4. Slang.ai

Best for managing reservations

What is Slang.ai?

Slang AI is an AI answering machine that answers calls in a smart way. It can answer questions, take reservations, and satisfy callers around the clock.

It's great at understanding callers of all ages and accents, and it responds quickly without any frustrating phone menus. 

It also has the ability to manage reservations, customize journeys, and transfer calls to real staff when needed, so you can keep that personal touch in your business. 

Why I Recommend Slang.ai

1. Never Miss a Call: Sometimes, when we call places, they're too busy to answer, and we get a voicemail. But with Slang.ai, voicemails are no problem! It answers calls, talks to people, and even takes reservations. No more missed calls means happier customers!
2. Everyone's Happy: People of all ages can call, and Slang.ai understands them. It can answer questions without making you press a bunch of buttons.
3. Easy Reservations: If your customers want to book a table at your restaurant or change a reservation, they can do it with Slang.ai. And the cool part is that it doesn't need to bother the staff. They have more time to do other important things!
4. Your Business, Your Way: Slang.ai lets businesses decide which calls it can handle and when it should let the staff take over. So, even though it's super smart, businesses can keep that friendly human touch.

And there's more! It's super easy to set up:

1. Launch: You can set up Slang.ai in just 30 minutes. You get to pick how it sounds and what it says.
2. Customize: You can make Slang.ai even smarter by updating its answers. It learns over time, just like we do in school. It even suggests new things to say based on what real customers ask!
3. Monitor: You can see how well Slang.ai is working. It handles calls like a champ, saves tons of time (like a superhero!), and makes customers really happy.

So, if you're a business owner or just love helping businesses be awesome, you might want to tell them about Slang.ai. It's like a smart buddy for their phones, making customers happy and saving the day!

Pricing

Starter: $180/mo, Up to 500 Calls/mo

Growth: $270/mo, Up to 1,000 Calls/mo

Rocket: $540/mo, Up to 2,000 Calls/mo

Custom: High call volume, custom pricing

5. MrCall

What is MrCall?

MrCall is a helpful call answering assistant for handling business phone calls, and it's like having Alexa or Siri answer the phone for you.

It uses powerful artificial intelligence to manage customer calls. It can send messages on WhatsApp or SMS, create reports, and even transcribe conversations.

With MrCall, you can manage calls efficiently, customize responses, and receive notifications via email or its mobile app. It's great for small businesses, firms, shops, and even larger companies that need to handle lots of calls.

Key Features

If you have a business, MrCall can do all sorts of awesome stuff.

It can:

• Answer questions
• Take reservations
• Even talk to people who want to order something from your shop.

And you don't need any extra computer. You can use it on your Android or iPhone with special apps.

Plus, you can share it with your friends who work with you, and you can all work together to answer calls.

There are different versions of MrCall for different needs.

• If you're a small business or a doctor's office, it can help you manage calls so you don't miss any important messages. 
• If you have a shop or a restaurant, it can even understand if someone wants to order food or make a reservation.
• If your business is really big and you get tons of calls, no worries! MrCall can handle lots of calls at the same time. 
• If you ever need more calls than your plan allows, you can just ask for more. It's that easy!

Pricing

• Business+: €25/mo, Up to 300 Calls/mo, VoIP Account, Support for Connection to VOIP PBX, Personalization of Answers, Additional Managed Calls.
• Business: €15/mo, Up to 100 Calls/mo, Personalization of Messages, Sync with Google Business Account/Calendar, Sending Personalized Whatsapp/SMS, AI for Understanding Customer Requests/Booking Management, Call Forwarding.
• Private: €5/mo, Up to 15 Calls/mo, Dedicated Phone Number, Customized Messages, Caller Name Association, Notification of New Calls via Email/Whatsapp/App, Recognition of Contacts, Transcription and Audio of Messages.

6. answering.ai

What is answering.ai?

The advanced technology in answering.ai is trained with thousands of real customer service calls, which allows it to predict the best way to reply in real-time, even in complex scenarios for achieving high customer satisfaction.

The natural language processing algorithm makes it possible for the AI to understand and speak like a human in a phone conversation, giving callers a lifelike experience.

Answering.ai is easily customizable and can respond to frequently asked questions, take messages, and act like a human phone receptionist.

It is designed with solo practitioners and small businesses in mind, so you can set a goal in the dashboard and the AI phone receptionist will lead the call to complete it.

This AI phone answering service works with existing business phone numbers and can be easily integrated with phone providers or VoIP solutions.

Key Features

• Advanced AI technology trained with thousands of real customer service calls
• Natural language processing algorithm that can understand and speak like a real human in a phone conversation
• Easily customizable to respond to frequently asked questions and act like a human phone receptionist
• Aligns perfectly with your business goals and can lead the call to complete it
• Works with your existing business phone number and can be integrated with phone providers or VoIP solutions
• Add abilities with Skills, including basic information, taking messages, answering frequently asked questions, and webhooks for call summaries.

Pricing

• Basic: $99/mo for 250 minutes of AI service, 24/7 availability, advanced AI technology, customizable goals and skills.
• Premium: $299/mo for 1000 minutes of AI service, all Basic Plan features, multilingual receptionist support, and premium support.
• Pro: $499/mo for 2000 minutes of AI service, all Premium Plan features, dedicated account agent, and onboarding call.

7. Echo.win

What is Echo.win?

Echo.win answers phone calls for businesses. This robot helper can do lots of things, like schedule appointments, answer questions, and even help fix problems, just like a real person at a front desk.

Key Features

When someone calls your business, Echo.win talks to them, figures out what they need, and helps them out. It can talk to lots of people at the same time, so no one has to wait on hold.

It's really good for businesses because it works all the time, even at night or on holidays.

Echo.win can also work with other programs you use for your work, like calendars and email.

This means it can keep track of everything and make sure all the information from phone calls is saved and used to help your business do better.

Echo.win is easy to set up, and once it's running, it can make talking to customers much simpler and smarter.

Pricing

Echo.win's pricing is set at $49.99 per month, features including a phone number, AI agents, unlimited references and scenarios, live transcripts, and 100 minutes of calls answered.

8. Curious Thing

What is Curious Thing?

Curious Thing makes AI voice assistants to help businesses with their customer service. One of their main product is called Lucy - she's is an AI virtual receptionist that can answer calls, book appointments, and text customers 24/7!

Key Features

Here's what Lucy can do:

She answers every call right away so you never miss an important customer again. Whenever the phone rings, Lucy picks up so no sales opportunity gets lost.

Lucy also captures all the details like the person's name, number, and email on every call. So now you have a nice record of each new lead!

She can book appointments and meetings based on your calendar. So if someone wants to schedule a call with a sales rep, Lucy can get it on the books. Super helpful!

And I love that Lucy sends text messages to people after calls with extra info they need. It's a great extra touch to keep them engaged.

The best part is that Lucy is available 24/7. So even at night or on weekends, customers can call and Lucy will be there to assist. No more bad service after hours!

She can handle a ton of calls too - from 10 to 10,000! So you can scale up easily as your business grows.

Lucy speaks multiple languages as well so you can serve all kinds of customers.

And she works with your other software too like your CRM system. Everything connected and streamlined.

You even get call transcripts from Lucy so you can see exactly what she discussed with each person.

Pricing

The best way to get an accurate quote is to contact the Curious Thing sales team for pricing specific to your business needs. 

What is an AI answering service?

An AI phone answering service is a smart way to answer calls using artificial intelligence technology.

It's like having a virtual receptionist that can answer calls in a way that is indistinguishable from a human.

With an AI phone answering system, you can cover after-business hours and weekends, vacation days, or times when you're on the phone already.

It can help your customers place orders, make reservations, schedule visits, and more, letting you and your staff focus on the most important tasks.

AI answering machines are always on, always picking up, and always represent your brand. They seamlessly integrate with your current setup, so operations won't change.

Final Thoughts

After digging into the various virtual receptionist services out there, one option stands head and shoulders above the rest: IsOn24.

I can wholeheartedly recommend it as the best AI answering service for any business looking to upgrade their customer service game. 

With affordable and straightforward pricing plans, it's a smart investment for companies of all sizes.