What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that handles the first contact with a customer: greeting them, answering common questions (opening hours, pricing, location, booking rules) and collecting details so a human can follow up.
Unlike a phone tree, it understands free-form questions and replies in natural language. Unlike a human receptionist, it is available around the clock and never puts anyone on hold.
How do AI receptionists work?
1) The receptionist is given instructions: your business details, tone of voice and what it is allowed to do. 2) It is connected to your knowledge: FAQs, policies, service lists. 3) When a message arrives, a language model reads it, looks up relevant knowledge and drafts a reply. 4) Anything it cannot resolve, or anything sensitive, is handed over to a person.
In Agentokia you build this by describing the job, uploading your documents, and testing a conversation before you hire the employee.
What an AI receptionist is good at
Answering repetitive questions instantly, capturing lead details outside office hours, qualifying enquiries before they reach staff, and giving consistent answers based on your own policies.
Limits to be honest about
AI receptionists can be wrong when your knowledge is incomplete, so keep documents up to date and require approval for anything that commits your business (refunds, prices, medical or legal advice). Agentokia does not currently answer phone calls; it works through chat and workflows.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Dedicated AI phone receptionist services typically charge a monthly subscription or per-minute fees. Agentokia is free: you can build and run a chat-based AI receptionist without a credit card.
Set one up in a few minutes
Create a free account, open the AI employee builder, paste a short job description like 'Front-desk receptionist for a dental clinic' and upload your FAQ. Test it, adjust the instructions, then hire it.