An AI answering service that picks up every call
Nights, weekends and busy afternoons. Speechless answers when you cannot, takes the message and tells you right away what happened.
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What is an AI answering service?
An AI answering service is a voice agent that answers your business calls when you or your staff cannot. It picks up after hours, during a rush or while you are on a job, takes the caller's details and sends them to you. It replaces the live-operator service that reads a script and emails you a note in the morning.
The difference is in the conversation. A traditional answering service for a small business connects the caller to a person who follows a form. This one holds a normal conversation, answers common questions from your business facts and knows when a call is urgent. A burst pipe at 11 PM can ring through to your phone. A question about Saturday hours can just be answered.
It works as a 24/7 answering service and as an after-hours answering service. You pick the mode when you set up forwarding: send everything, send only missed calls, or send only the calls that come in after hours or when your line is busy. Your number stays the same.
What an AI answering service does for you
Covers nights, weekends and holidays
It answers the same way at 3 AM on a Sunday as at 10 AM on a Tuesday. You decide when forwarding is on, so your own phone rings during the day and Speechless takes over after you close.
Takes several calls at the same time
When the whole neighborhood loses power, every customer calls at once. The agent talks to all of them in parallel, so nobody gets a busy signal or a voicemail beep.
Sorts urgent from routine
You say what counts as urgent: no heat, a flooded floor, a lockout. Those calls are put through to your phone, with the caller announced, or flagged so you call back first.
Sends a summary right away
After each call you get the caller's name, number and what they need, by SMS, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Google Chat or email. You pick the channel.
Keeps a record you can review
Every call is transcribed, with recordings if you enable them. Review and export from the dashboard any time, even after you cancel.
Reminds you to call back
If the agent told a caller you would phone them, you get a reminder, so the promise does not get lost between two jobs.
How to start using an AI answering service
- 1
Describe your business in a short chat
Open go.speechless.so/onboarding and share your website. The agent reads your services, hours and prices. You keep or untick each one.
- 2
Say what counts as urgent
Tell it which calls should reach you at any hour and which can wait for a message. Test it with a call from your browser before you pay.
- 3
Turn on forwarding
From your carrier, forward all calls, only missed calls, or only after-hours calls. It works with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, RingCentral, Vonage, Google Voice and Aircall.
- 4
Read your summaries
Each call lands in your phone or inbox as a short summary. Most owners are live in about 5 minutes.
AI answering service vs a traditional answering service vs voicemail
| Speechless | Traditional answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly plan from $39 with minutes included, then a per-minute rate | Per-minute or per-call fees, varies by provider | Free with your phone plan |
| Contract | Month to month, cancel with one click | Varies by provider | None |
| How a call is answered | Instantly, in a natural conversation | A live operator following a script | A recorded greeting and a beep |
| Busy periods | Several calls in parallel | Depends on operators available | Callers wait for the beep |
| Answers questions about your business | Yes, from the facts you gave it | Limited to the script | No |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian | Varies by provider | Whatever your greeting says |
Who needs an after-hours answering service
- PlumbersBurst pipes caught, even at 11 PM.
- HVACNo-heat calls answered in January.
- LocksmithsLockouts answered at 2 AM.
- Garage Door RepairStuck-car calls answered at 6 AM.
- ElectriciansHazard calls flagged, quotes booked.
- RoofersStorm-week calls, all answered.
- Property ManagementEmergencies flagged, routine requests logged.
- Pest ControlInfestation calls sorted by urgency.
Integrations
Connects to the tools you already use
Bookings, contacts and call notes land where you already work.
Native integrations + 1,000+ more apps via Zapier
Simple monthly pricing
Every plan has every feature. Plans differ only by the minutes included.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an AI answering service?
- An AI answering service is a voice agent that answers your business calls when you cannot, takes messages, answers common questions and sends you a summary. It does the job of a live answering service on a monthly plan, and it works at any hour.
- Is there a 24/7 answering service for small business that costs less than a live operator?
- Speechless is a 24/7 answering service with monthly plans. Starter is $39 with 250 minutes, Pro is $129 with 1,000 minutes and Scale is $249 with 2,000 minutes. Past the included minutes it is $0.20, $0.17 or $0.15 a minute. Traditional services usually charge per minute or per call, and the terms vary by provider, so compare your own call volume against both.
- How much does the AI answering service cost?
- Speechless starts at $39 a month. Starter is $39 with 250 minutes, then $0.20 a minute. Pro is $129 with 1,000 minutes, then $0.17 a minute. Scale is $249 with 2,000 minutes, then $0.15 a minute. Every plan has every feature, so you pick by minutes. Adding a card starts a 14-day free trial of Starter with 250 minutes, and you are not charged during the trial. There are no contracts and no setup fees.
- Can I keep my number and only use it after hours?
- Yes. You keep your number and set up forwarding on your carrier. You can forward only missed calls, or only calls after hours or when your line is busy. Your phone rings as usual during the day, and Speechless picks up the rest.
- What happens with an urgent call at 2 AM?
- You decide what counts as urgent when you set it up, for example flooding, no heat or a lockout. For those calls the agent puts the caller through to your phone, either announcing the caller first or connecting them directly. Or it flags the call so you call back first.
- Does the answering service work when it is busy?
- Yes. It takes several calls at the same time, so a rush never sends callers to voicemail. Each caller gets the full conversation and you get a separate summary for each.
- Can I listen to the calls it answered?
- Every call is transcribed, and recordings are available if you enable them. You can review and export them from the dashboard at any time, including after you cancel.
- Is an AI answering service better than a human one?
- It depends on the calls. A human operator can handle an unusual conversation that no script covers. An AI service is faster, always available and cheaper at small-business volume. Our post comparing an AI receptionist with an answering service goes through the trade-offs.
Further reading
More of what Speechless does
Cover the calls you cannot take
Set up your AI answering service in a short chat, test a call in your browser, and start your 14-day free trial when you are ready.
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