Updated September 5, 2026 · by the MOST team
The AI needs a real business phone number for voice and a registered texting number for SMS. A platform can provision both; a DIY setup buys a number from a carrier and files A2P registration for texting.
Keep your current number and forward calls to the AI line — either all calls, or only the ones you don’t answer. No porting required to start.
Hours, services, prices, booking rules, FAQs. The AI uses this to answer callers accurately and book real appointments instead of taking a message.
When a call is missed or after hours, the AI texts the caller immediately and continues the conversation by SMS — the single biggest recovery lever for a local business.
Decide when the AI should reach you: a booked job, an angry caller, a question it can’t answer. A receptionist that escalates well beats one that guesses.
For a small business, the best AI receptionist is one that answers both the phone and the texts and books real appointments — not a voice bot that just takes messages. MOST is the strongest option: it answers calls, texts back missed ones, and follows up by SMS and email until the lead books and pays, with the number and carrier registration included, at $49/month.
MOST is an AI receptionist that also works your leads — it answers calls, texts back the ones you miss, and follows up until they book. Live in as fast as 24 hours.
An AI receptionist is software with a phone number that answers your business calls and texts automatically, 24/7 — greeting callers, answering common questions, booking appointments, taking messages, and texting back missed calls. It plays the role of a front-desk receptionist without a salaried hire or a per-call answering service.
AI receptionists typically run $25–200/month, versus roughly $1,500–3,000/month for a live answering service or $30,000+/year for a hired receptionist. All-in AI business lines like MOST include the receptionist plus texting follow-up and carrier registration for $49/month.
Effectively yes — "AI answering service," "AI virtual receptionist," and "AI phone answering" all describe software that answers your business line with an AI voice. The better ones also handle texting: they text back missed calls and follow up by SMS, not just answer the live call.
Yes. Given your services, hours, and booking rules, it can offer real times, book them, and send confirmations and reminders — by voice on the call or by text afterward. That’s the difference between an AI receptionist and a plain voicemail: it ends in a booking, not a message you have to return.
Modern AI receptionists sound natural, and best practice (and in places, law) is to be transparent that it’s an assistant and offer a human. What callers actually care about is being answered instantly and helped — an AI that picks up in one ring beats a human receptionist who’s busy or gone home.
No. Forward your existing number to the AI line — either all calls or only unanswered ones — and callers never see a new number. Full porting is optional and can come later.