A virtual receptionist answers your business calls as if they were your own front desk: greets callers in your name, knows your services and hours, takes details, books jobs, and passes you anything that needs you personally. The “virtual” part just means they are not in your office. The job is the same one a good receptionist has always done.
There are now two kinds
Until a couple of years ago, a virtual receptionist was always a human. A PA working remotely, usually shared between several businesses, answering from a script you briefed them on. That still exists and, for complex calls, it is still excellent. But there is a second kind now: an AI voice that does the same job (answers instantly, qualifies the call, quotes your prices, books the job) for a flat monthly fee and no briefing meetings.
| Human virtual receptionist | AI receptionist (Brring) | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical UK cost | £115–£389/month (~50 calls) | £49/month flat |
| Answers | Business hours (24/7 costs extra) | 24/7, every plan |
| Knows your prices | Yes, after briefing | Yes. Reads your website |
| Books jobs | Varies by service | Cover+ and Front desk |
| Hold time | Depends how busy the PA is | None. Every call answered in seconds |
| Setup | Briefing, setup fee, contract | 10 minutes, no fee, no contract |
What the job actually involves
- Answers in your business name. “Good morning, Smith and Sons”. Not “hello, answering service”.
- Knows your services and hours. No caller gets “I don’t know, I’ll take a message” for basic questions.
- Takes complete details. Name, number, what is wrong, where, how urgent.
- Books jobs. Captures preferred times and puts the job in your diary.
- Flags the urgent ones. Emergencies reach your mobile fast, not at 9am tomorrow.
- Filters the noise. Telemarketers declined politely; real callers never binned.
How Brring does each of those is on the features page. Every one is live product today, not roadmap.
What a virtual receptionist costs in the UK
Human virtual receptionist services charge per call or per month: roughly £115–£389 a month for a package around 50 calls, plus setup fees and contracts on the traditional services. The AI version reset the price floor: Brring starts at £49 a month flat, 100 answered minutes included, 25p a minute after. Full price comparison and the per-call maths: call answering service cost.
Which one fits a small trade
If your calls are short, practical and mostly “how much, how fast, can you come Thursday” (which is most trades) the AI version wins on price, hours and consistency. If your business genuinely needs a human relationship on the phone (long consultative calls, regulars who want a person they know) a human service earns its premium.
Both beat the thing most trades actually run today: voicemail. The missed call maths does not care which you pick, only that someone answers.