AI receptionist vs a human receptionist vs an answering service vs voicemail
For a UK trade or small business that misses calls while working, an AI receptionist answers every call at any hour, books into real availability and texts both sides for £79 a month. A part-time human receptionist costs twenty times that and is off evenings and weekends; an answering service takes messages in office hours; voicemail loses about four callers in five. The table below is the honest comparison.
| Ring Janine | Human receptionist | Answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answers 24 hours a day, every day | Yes | No | y (office hours) | No |
| Picks up within two rings | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Knows your trade’s safety lines (gas, flood, electrics) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Books into your real availability, never double-books | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Quotes your prices, never invents one | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Texts the caller a confirmation and texts you the job | Yes | No | sometimes | No |
| Puts a genuine emergency through to your mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Speaks 15 languages | Yes | No | No | No |
| Every call transcribed and scored | Yes | No | No | No |
| Keep your existing number | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sick days, holidays, lunch | none | yes | none | none |
| Cost per month | £79 + 15p a minute after 300 | £1,800 to £2,600 (part-time, employed) | £100 to £400 + per-call fees | free, and 80% of callers hang up |
Receptionist cost: UK part-time receptionist, 20 to 25 hours a week at the 2026 National Living Wage plus employer costs. Answering service: typical UK published tariffs. Voicemail hang-up rate: widely reported industry figure; your own missed-call log will tell you yours.
Questions people ask
Is an AI receptionist better than an answering service for a tradesperson?
For most trades, yes: an answering service takes a message in office hours and emails it; Janine answers at 2am, knows the safety line for a gas smell or a flood, books the job into a real slot and texts both sides. An answering service still wins if you need a human to make judgement calls about complex accounts.
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring a receptionist?
A part-time employed receptionist costs £1,800 to £2,600 a month before holiday cover. Ring Janine is £79 a month including 300 minutes, then 15p a minute, and never has a day off.
What does voicemail cost a tradesperson?
Roughly four in five callers who reach voicemail hang up and ring the next business on the list. One missed £300 job a month is more than a year of Ring Janine.
Can Janine replace a human receptionist completely?
For answering, booking and texting, yes. For anything that needs a person (an upset customer wanting the owner, a complex account query) she puts the caller through to you or takes a message for the office.
Hear the difference
Ring 07360 266999, tell her which business to be, and give her a job. Then read your trade’s page or get started.