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Everywhere you look, people are talking about artificial intelligence (AI). From fashion to farming, the technology is disrupting just about every industry. Even in our own industry, we’re seeing an increasing number of customers asking about AI receptionists. At first glance, it’s easy to see why: 24/7 availability, lower costs and greater scalability– but don’t you get all that from a virtual receptionist too?
In this blog, we’re going to compare AI receptionists vs our human virtual receptionists.
What Is an AI Receptionist?
Firstly, it’s important to understand what we mean by an AI receptionist. With AI tech still developing, one person’s view on AI is different from another person’s, meaning the definition of an AI receptionist can differ from one individual to the next. Some may consider an AI receptionist to be a robot that is capable of answering the phone and holding conversations with customers. Others may consider the use of AI in call routing to be enough for a service to be classed as an AI receptionist.What Is a Human Virtual Receptionist?
At Pocket Receptionist, we don’t claim to offer AI receptionist services. Instead, we offer virtual receptionist services to businesses of all sizes. A virtual receptionist is still human, but they don’t work from your office. Our virtual receptionists handle calls from our UK headquarters, so similar to an AI receptionist, you don’t have to worry about managing or motivating your virtual receptionist. In many ways, a virtual receptionist is like outsourcing. Our experienced team of human, trained receptionists will act as an extension of your team. They’ll answer calls using your company name, be able to answer common questions, schedule appointments or divert callers to a member of your team if needed.What are the differences between AI Receptionists vs Human Receptionists?
| Feature |
AI Receptionist |
Human Receptionist |
| Out-of-Hours Availability |
Yes |
Yes |
| Able To Handle Complex Queries |
No |
Yes |
| Empathetic Tone |
No |
Yes |
| Trust |
Low |
High |
| Local Knowledge |
Poor |
Strong |
Where AI Receptionists Work Well
Simple Call Routing
If you just need an answering service that tells customers to “press 1 for sales” or “press 2 for customer service” then an AI call handling service will be able to execute this effectively. While most people consider AI a new phenomenon, this kind of process has been automated by businesses for a number of years now.Out-of-Hours Calls
Robots don’t work set hours like humans, so if your business simply needs a voice to provide information around the clock, then an AI receptionist would again be able to offer this. However, whether this works for your business or not would depend on the complexity of your inbound phone calls.Simple, Repetitive Enquiries
AI receptionists work best when enquiries are repetitive and straightforward to deal with. This allows businesses to train their AI receptionists to handle such enquiries, although for most businesses, it’s rare for all customer enquiries to look the same.Where Human Receptionists Still Have the Advantage
Handling Complex Conversations
AI is great when following a script, but things can get a bit tricky for AI receptionists when callers go “off-script”. Human receptionists are able to adapt in this situation, understanding your callers’ individual needs before offering a bespoke response.Building Trust
Trust is one of the key factors when it comes to making a purchase, and whether we like it or not, AI receptionists aren’t yet trusted. If your business operates in an industry such as law, health or trade, where trust is vital, an AI receptionist is unlikely to win over your caller. Hearing a human voice on the other hand instantly builds trust between caller and business.Understanding Emotion
As already mentioned, most business calls are unique. Sometimes you’ll receive an angry customer looking for an urgent response, other times it will be a confused caller looking for assistance. Human receptionists understand emotion and can adapt in terms of tone and delivery. AI receptionists however are unable to recognise when a customer is in need of a more urgent response for example.Capturing More Leads
If your business is lead based, you’ll want a receptionist that is sales focused. While AI receptionists are able to respond to questions, they don’t quite compare to the skill of our human, virtual receptionists in areas such as building rapport, handling objections and ultimately converting more callers into leads.AI Receptionists vs Pocket Receptionist: Which is Right For Your Business?
AI receptionists and Pocket Receptionist’s virtual call handling service share many of the same benefits. Both are cheaper than hiring a full-time in-house receptionist, there’s no need to worry about holidays or sick days, and you can be assured that more calls will be answered. But deciding which option is right for you comes down to your business needs. To be fair to AI receptionists, they have made significant strides in recent years. And if your business receives a high volume of repetitive, simple calls then there’s a chance that using AI will be a valid option. But if you operate an industry where trust is crucial, custom experience is paramount or you just like the idea of a real person answering your calls, then a virtual receptionist is likely to be your best solution. If you’d like to learn more about our virtual call answering services from trained, human receptionists, feel free to contact us today. ‹ Back
