What is the difference between an AI receptionist, an answering service and an auto attendant?
VoIP Services Now is the business phone service run by SRS Networks, a Salinas, California company operating since 1996. An auto attendant sends callers through recorded menu choices. AI routing, Pro's basic AI Agent and the fuller AI Receptionist have different configured scopes. The basic agent is included with Pro; AI Receptionist and Live Answer-Connect are separate add-ons. Confirm the conversation, staff handoff, coverage and cost before treating any of them as the same service.
Separate the Menu, the AI Features and the Answering Add-Ons
This table compares the published service boundaries. Live Answer-Connect's answering method and staffing are confirmed in the quote; its name is not a staffing promise.
| Option | How it answers | What it does | Plan or eligibility | Commercial scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto attendant | Recorded menu | Sends callers to configured people, groups or queues | Every hosted plan | Included feature |
| AI call routing | Configured AI-routing feature | Routing behavior to confirm for your setup | Plus and Pro | Included feature |
| Basic AI Agent | Limited conversation | Basic reception with approved tasks and handoff | Pro | Included feature |
| AI Receptionist | Fuller AI conversation | Scoped answers, inquiry capture and expanded workflows | Confirm eligibility and scope | Custom-quoted add-on |
| Live Answer-Connect | Confirm answering method in the quote | Separately scoped answering coverage and instructions | Confirm eligibility and scope | Custom-quoted add-on |
Which One Do Your Callers Need?
Look at call reasons, peak periods, the share arriving after hours and how often staff judgment is required. Choose a representative period and distinguish an unanswered call from a caller who reached the wrong department. Those are different failures with different fixes.
If callers mostly need sales, service or accounts, start with a short menu and real destinations. If they repeatedly ask the same approved questions or need to leave an inquiry, review the conversation and intake scope. If many calls require judgment, improve the staff route before adding more automated conversation.
Routine Questions, Appointments and Urgent Reports Need Different Next Steps
Routine answers need an approved information source and someone who updates it. New inquiries need a short field list, a destination and a follow-up owner. An appointment request needs staff confirmation unless a specific booking workflow has been verified. Direct calendar booking is not confirmed in this offer.
Calls requiring human judgment need an agreed person or group. Keep business-approved urgent routes separate from routine AI intake, and test the unanswered case. An answering feature does not decide urgency or guarantee that a person responds.
Use the AI Receptionist scope for the fuller add-on, or the included Pro AI Agent limits when basic reception is enough.
Separate Included Features from Custom-Quoted Services
Hosted user plans are Basic $14.99, Plus $18.99 and Pro $24.99 per user per month with a 1-year commitment, plus taxes and fees. The auto attendant is included on every plan, AI routing on Plus and Pro, and the basic AI Agent on Pro.
AI Receptionist and Live Answer-Connect are separate, custom-quoted add-ons. Ask for setup, ongoing service, usage, instructions, integrations and changes to be itemized. A user-plan rate is not a receptionist subscription price. Optional phone rental and onsite installation are also separate; the pricing page carries current terms.
Review a Daytime Menu and a Different Closed-Hours Route
A daytime group can answer the main number while schedules send routine closed-hours inquiries to another agreed destination. That design can make sense when different staff cover different periods. Confirm the add-on eligibility and configured behavior before relying on it.
Test a caller asking for staff, a department closing early, a failed transfer and a question outside approved information. Assign the follow-up owner and the no-answer path. The feature guide describes schedules, queues and forwarding that support that discussion.
When a Menu Is Enough
If callers know their department and staff reliably answer it, a conversational add-on may add cost without improving the next step. Fix unclear menu choices, dead destinations and missing voicemail ownership first. Keep the simplest arrangement that gets the call where it belongs.
If the remaining gap is a routine conversation or inquiry capture, demonstrate that specific call before buying broader coverage. A service whose required application, language or usage terms remain unconfirmed is not ready to be treated as the answer to those requirements.