Answers in your name
Greets callers the way you would, in your words, at any hour.
An AI receptionist that answers the calls you can’t
An AI receptionist is a voice assistant that answers your business line, works from your own services, prices, hours and rules, books appointments into your calendar, takes messages and passes urgent callers to a person. Rankure builds one around your business, connects it to the tools you already use and manages it every month: $880 to build, then $264 a month for up to 300 calls.
$880 build + $264 a month. No contract: cancel with 30 days notice.
Listed on Clutch, G2, DesignRush and GoodFirms. Office in Arlington, Virginia.
- Answers day and nightEvery call, including weekends
- Your calendar and CRMBookings land where you already work
- A person when it mattersUrgent callers are passed straight on
- $880 build, $264 a monthUp to 300 calls, month-to-month
Which of these sounds like your phone?
- 1
It rings while your hands are full
You are with a customer, on a job or driving, and the caller tries the next business on the list.
- 2
After 5 pm it goes to voicemail
Many callers hang up rather than leave a message, and the ones who do expect a call back within the hour.
- 3
Your team answers the same five questions all day
Hours, prices, whether you cover their area, how long a job takes, whether you have a slot this week.
- 4
You pay per minute for messages, not bookings
An answering service takes a name and number, and the booking still waits for you.
Why voicemail and a basic answering app don’t fix it
Missed calls are common. In a telephone study of 142 small businesses in the UK, 47% did not answer the first call (TelePA, reported by Alliance Virtual Offices). Voicemail records the problem rather than solving it.
The usual fixes each stop halfway. A human answering service takes messages but rarely books, and charges by the minute or the call. An off-the-shelf receptionist app answers, but it does not know your prices, the jobs you turn down or the towns you cover, so it either guesses or says it will pass the message on. A receptionist built from your own facts can do the part that matters: answer properly, book the job, and only pass on what needs you.
Most small businesses have not made the move yet. The US Census Bureau’s Business Trends and Outlook Survey found 17% to 20% of US businesses using AI between December 2025 and May 2026, and fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees (US Census Bureau, revised 22 May 2026). Answering every call is still a way to stand out.
What your AI receptionist handles
Each one is set up from your own information and switched on only after you have heard it on test calls.
Answers from your facts
Hours, services, prices you publish, areas you cover, what to bring. If it is not in your facts, it says so and takes a message.
Books the appointment
Checks your calendar, offers real slots and confirms by text or email.
Qualifies the job
Asks the questions you would ask, so you know what the job is before you call back.
Passes urgent calls on
Emergencies, complaints or anything you choose go straight to a person by transfer or text.
Sends you a summary
Every call written up by text or email, with the caller’s details and what they need.
AI receptionist, answering service or voicemail?
| Voicemail | Human answering service | Off-the-shelf AI app | Rankure AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers every call | Records only | Yes, during staffed hours | Yes | Yes, at any hour |
| Knows your prices and rules | No | From a short script | Generic answers | Built from your own facts |
| Books into your calendar | No | Sometimes | Some apps | Yes |
| Passes urgent calls to you | No | Yes | Sometimes | Yes, by your rules |
| How you pay | Free | Per minute or per call | Monthly subscription | $880 build, then $264 a month |
General comparison of how each option works, not a review of any named provider.
What it costs, in full
Two numbers, published. No setup surprises and no per-minute meter.
Build
$880 one time
Everything needed to go live, done for you.
- Call flow and greeting written with you
- Knowledge built from your services, prices and rules
- Calendar, CRM and phone line connected
- Test calls until you sign it off
Managed
$264 /month
Running, hosting and improving it every month.
- Up to 300 answered calls a month
- Call summaries by text or email
- Answers updated when your prices or hours change
- Monthly review of missed or passed-on calls
- Month-to-month, 30 days notice
Need more than 300 calls a month, several locations or extra call types? We quote it in writing before you pay anything.
How the price compares
| Option | Published price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Rankure AI receptionist | $880 build, then $264 a month | Built from your facts, connected and managed for you, up to 300 calls |
| Smith.ai human virtual receptionists | $300 a month for 30 calls; $810 for 90; $2,100 for 300 | Live people answering, $8.50 to $11.50 per extra call |
| Custom build by a development firm (RaftLabs) | $15,000 to $35,000 to build | A basic voice agent with 3 to 5 call types, plus running costs |
| Do-it-yourself AI receptionist apps (My AI Front Desk comparison) | About $29 to $309 a month | You set it up and keep it accurate yourself |
Figures from each source’s own page, read 5 November 2026 (RaftLabs updated 7 June 2026; My AI Front Desk comparison 27 March 2026). Our monthly fee is set 12% below the cheapest human receptionist plan above, and the build 12% below the $1,000 entry setup fee for AI automation work reported by Codewave (10 August 2026). If you are happy to set up and maintain an app yourself, that is the cheapest route, and we will say so on the call.
Clear about being an assistant, and inside the rules
Your receptionist never pretends to be a person. You choose the greeting, and if a caller asks, it says plainly that it is an automated assistant and offers to pass them to the team.
It is built for calls coming in. Calls going out are a different matter: in February 2024 the Federal Communications Commission confirmed that AI-generated voices count as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so outbound calls that use them need the called person’s prior express consent (Cooley summary of the FCC ruling). We only set up call-backs to people who asked for one.
Where calls are recorded, the greeting says so at the start, and the summaries stay in your accounts, not ours.
How we build it
- Week 1
Scoping call
How calls come in, what callers ask, what should be booked and what needs you.
- Week 1 to 2
Your facts and rules
We write the receptionist’s knowledge from your services, prices and policies. You approve every line.
- Week 2 to 3
Connect and test
Phone line, calendar and CRM connected. You make test calls until it sounds right.
- Every month
Managed
We read the call summaries, fix any answer that missed, and update it when your prices or hours change.
- A free scoping call firstWe talk through what you need before anything is quoted.
- A fixed-price quoteScope, deliverables and price are agreed in writing before work starts.
- Your approval at each stageDesigns and builds are reviewed with you before the next stage begins.
- Support after launchA post-launch period covers bug fixes and monitoring. Ongoing support is optional, with no long-term lock-in.
- Month-to-month after launchThe $264 monthly fee has no contract. Cancel with 30 days written notice and the number and call summaries stay yours.
Start your AI receptionist
Tell us about the calls you get. Within one business day we send the call plan and a start date. Building starts when you approve it.
- $880 to build, $264 a month, up to 300 calls
- Which calls it books, and which it passes to you
- Live in two to three weeks, after your test calls
Rather talk first? (844) 677-1981
Tell us how your calls come in. We send the plan.
A few lines on your business and the calls you miss. Within one business day we send how the receptionist will handle them, what it connects to and your start date.
Request received ✓
Thanks. We will read it and reply within one business day.
Prices and facts verified · Reviewed by the Rankure team · Next review February 2027
AI receptionist questions
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is a voice assistant that answers a business phone line, responds from the business’s own information, books appointments, takes messages and transfers urgent callers to a person. Rankure builds each one around a single business and manages it monthly.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
At Rankure, $880 to build and $264 a month to run, manage and host, for up to 300 calls a month, month-to-month. Human receptionist services start at $300 a month for 30 calls (Smith.ai), custom builds by development firms run $15,000 to $35,000 (RaftLabs), and do-it-yourself apps cost about $29 to $309 a month.
Will callers know they are talking to AI?
You choose the greeting. The receptionist never claims to be a person, and if a caller asks, it says it is an automated assistant and offers to pass them to your team.
Can an AI receptionist book appointments?
Yes. It checks your calendar, offers open slots, books the one the caller picks and sends a confirmation by text or email.
What happens with urgent calls?
You set the rules. Emergencies, complaints or named callers are transferred to a person straight away or sent to you by text.
Is an AI receptionist the same as an AI voice agent?
An AI voice agent is any assistant that holds a spoken conversation. An AI receptionist is a voice agent set up for one job: answering incoming calls for a business.
Is it legal to use an AI voice on calls?
For calls coming in, yes, as long as recording rules are followed. For calls going out, the FCC confirmed in February 2024 that AI voices are “artificial” under the TCPA, so they need the person’s prior express consent.