Virtual Receptionist
Your virtual receptionist clocks out at 5pm. Your callers don't.
Most answering services know your name and your address. They don't know that Maria handles color and Tues/Wed are your quiet days. Neither does your voicemail.
A virtual receptionist answers calls on behalf of your business, handles basic questions, and captures caller information when you can't pick up. Kordial's AI does all of that. It's trained on your actual Google reviews and website, available 24/7, for a fraction of what a human answering service costs.
Answer every call starting tonight →Free to start. No credit card. Demo in 60 seconds.
What your current answering service is actually costing you
It's 6:47pm on a Tuesday. Someone calls your shop looking for a last-minute appointment. They don't leave a voicemail. They never do. They search, find your competitor two blocks away, and book there instead. You find out the next morning when you check a missed call log that doesn't tell you anything useful. That caller is gone.
When you pay a virtual receptionist service, you're paying for someone to read a script. They know your name, your address, and whatever you wrote in the intake form six months ago. They don't know your staff. They don't know that you're closed for a trade show this Thursday. Or that your most popular service gets mentioned in every other Google review. They're covering a shift, not running your front desk.
The math is simple and it doesn't favor you. Traditional answering services run $200 to $500 a month. A rotating cast of operators answers twenty other businesses' phones on the same shift. After hours they charge extra. On holidays they're not available. And every month, the bill arrives whether or not a single call they handled actually turned into a customer.
According to BIA/Kelsey research, 62% of small business calls go unanswered. Marchex call analytics found that 68% of callers who don't reach a business on first attempt never call back.
There's a different way to answer your phone. One that knows your business before it picks up the first call, stays on past 5pm, and costs less than one missed appointment.
An AI receptionist that knows your business before it picks up the first call
Paste your business URL.
Type your website address or business name. That's your entire setup. No intake form. No training calls. No scripts to write.
Kordial reads your reviews and website.
In under a minute, your AI receptionist has read every Google review your business has ever received, your full website, and your Business Profile. It knows your staff names. It knows which services get mentioned most. It knows the phrases your customers use to describe you. That's what it draws on when someone calls.
Demo in 60 seconds, then forward your number.
Talk to your AI receptionist in the browser, then forward your business line when you're ready. Every call gets a real conversation, not a phone tree. Callers get their questions answered or their information captured. You get a transcript of every call logged in your dashboard.
- Every call answered, 24/7. A caller at 9pm on a Sunday gets the same quality conversation as one at 2pm on a Tuesday.
- No scripts to write or update. When your hours change or a new service goes up on your website, your AI catches it on the next weekly refresh, without you touching anything.
- Callers who ask a question get an answer. Callers who want to book get a link sent by SMS. Nobody gets put on hold.
- Kordial flags every question it couldn't answer and surfaces them in your dashboard once a week. You fill the gap once. Every caller after gets the right answer.
Paid plans from $49/month. Traditional answering services run $200-500. You keep the difference.
Virtual receptionist service vs. Kordial
| Feature | Traditional Virtual Receptionist | Kordial |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Typically 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri. After-hours at extra cost | 24/7, including nights, weekends, and holidays |
| Monthly cost | $200-$500/month | Free to start. Paid plans from $49/month. |
| Business knowledge | Whatever you wrote in the intake form | Reads your Google reviews, website, and Business Profile before the first call |
| Setup time | Days to weeks: onboarding call, script approval | Paste your URL. Demo in 60 seconds |
| After-hours calls | Voicemail, or surge pricing for extended coverage | Same quality coverage at 11pm as at 11am |
| Context on your business | Generic scripts. Operators cover dozens of businesses per shift | Knows your staff by name, your busiest days, your most-reviewed services |
One recovered call pays for a month of Kordial
A dental practice charges roughly $300 for a new patient exam. If one caller reaches your voicemail at 7pm on a Wednesday instead of talking to someone who can answer their question, that's $300 you didn't see. The booking link alone could have closed it. Your answering service bill that month was $350.
Kordial's paid plans start at $49 a month. The math resolves itself on the first call that would have otherwise gone to voicemail.
Plumbers see the same arithmetic. A service call runs $150 to $400. A burst pipe at 11pm isn't a problem that waits until morning. The homeowner calls one number, then another. The second one picks up.
Common questions
What is a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist is a service that answers calls on behalf of your business when you can't pick up. Traditional virtual receptionists are human operators at a call center, working set hours, reading from a script you provide. AI virtual receptionists, like Kordial, answer calls using artificial intelligence trained on your specific business information. Both handle basic questions, take messages, and capture caller details. The difference is availability, cost, and how much they actually know about your business.
How much does a virtual receptionist cost?
Human virtual receptionist services typically run $200 to $500 per month, though pricing varies based on call volume and hours of coverage. After-hours or holiday coverage often costs extra. AI-powered alternatives are significantly cheaper. Kordial is free to start, with paid plans beginning at $49 per month. The pricing gap reflects the difference in overhead: a human answering service pays operators around the clock, and an AI doesn't have that constraint.
What's the difference between a virtual receptionist and an AI receptionist?
A traditional virtual receptionist is a human, usually at a remote call center, working set hours and reading from a script. An AI receptionist is software that handles calls using voice AI. The practical differences: AI is available 24/7 at no extra cost, doesn't put callers on hold, and costs a fraction of a human service. The tradeoff is nuance. A human can improvise and escalate complex situations in ways AI is still catching up on. For routine calls, routine questions, and lead capture, AI handles it well. For highly sensitive or complex situations, the caller can always be transferred to you.
Can an AI receptionist answer questions about my specific business?
Yes, if it's trained on your specific business data. A generic AI can't. Kordial reads your Google reviews, your website, and your Business Profile before taking the first call. That means it knows your services, your staff names, your pricing (if it's on your site), and the phrases your customers use to describe your business. If someone calls and asks about a service that isn't mentioned anywhere in your reviews or website, the AI tells them honestly that it's not sure and flags the question in your dashboard so you can fill the gap once.
Is a virtual receptionist good for small business?
It depends on what's happening with your phones. If you're missing calls during appointments, treatments, jobs, or meetings, a virtual receptionist can recover that revenue. BIA/Kelsey research found that 62% of small business calls go unanswered, and Marchex call analytics data shows 68% of callers who don't reach a business on first attempt never call back. For a business where each new customer is worth $150 to $500 or more, one recovered call per month covers most virtual receptionist plans. The caveat: if your call volume is very low or your callers consistently have complex needs, the math may not work in your favor yet.
Stop paying $400 a month for someone who reads from a script
Your callers don't care whether it's a person or an AI that picks up. They care whether someone picks up, knows what they're talking about, and doesn't put them on hold. Kordial does all three.
Answer tonight's calls with Kordial →Free to start. No credit card required. Demo in 60 seconds.