What to ask any AI receptionist provider
Every product in this category demonstrates well, because a scripted demo call is the easiest thing in the world to make sound impressive. These questions are the ones whose answers differ between products, which is what makes them worth asking — including of us.
About bookings
This is the largest dividing line in the category and it is often blurred. A message means you still do the work.
If it cannot see whether a slot is free, it is collecting a request, not making a booking.
Per-person availability is meaningfully harder than business availability, and not everyone has it.
Plenty of products can book and cannot unbook, which leaves you doing the unpleasant half.
About the number
If the answer involves changing the number on your van, that is a much bigger project than it sounds.
Ask for the actual period and whether you are warned. Vagueness here is the answer.
A product confident in itself does not need to lock you in for a year.
About honesty
The right answer is that it says so. Any product whose answer is "it always finds something to say" is describing a liability.
Some products treat this as optional or, worse, as a feature to disable. Disclosure obligations vary by jurisdiction, and a provider who is casual about it is telling you something.
You are responsible for your customers’ data regardless of who processes it for you.
The two that get evasive answers
Ask what proportion of calls end with no further work for you — not what proportion are "handled", which can mean a message was taken. And ask them to name a business they are wrong for. A provider who claims to suit everybody has either not thought about it or is willing to sell you something that will not work, and both should cost them the sale.
Test it yourself before you commit
Ring the number with a question your actual customers ask — not a scripted one. Then ring back with something genuinely awkward: an edge case, a mumbled sentence, a question your own website does not answer. The first call tells you whether it works; the second tells you what it does when things are not perfect, which is the part you will live with.
Frequently asked
Whether it writes into your calendar or only sends messages, whether it reads live availability, whether you can keep your number, what happens to that number if you leave, and what it does when it does not know an answer.
Booking versus messaging. A product that sends you a message has moved the work rather than removed it.
Asking them to name a business they are wrong for. A provider who suits everybody has either not thought about it or will sell you something that does not work.
Ring with a real customer question, then ring back with something awkward — an edge case or a question your website does not answer. The second call is the one that tells you what you will live with.