// AI receptionist
AI receptionist for UK businesses, from £19.99/month
Give callers a useful first answer when your team is busy. LineHQ's AI receptionist uses the business details you configure — services, opening hours, FAQs and price notes — to answer routine questions, capture enquiries and hand callers over when you have set a route. It clearly identifies itself as an automated assistant.
// the short answer
Reception costs £19.99/month and includes 60 AI minutes — about 30 answered calls. The receptionist answers routine questions from the information you provide, captures the details your team needs and can hand a caller to a configured person or route. After the included allowance, use is 15p/min or a prepaid minute bundle.
Last reviewed October 2026
Answers from your business details
Set the services, FAQs, opening hours, locations and price notes you want callers to hear. It answers from that information rather than making promises on your behalf.
Captures a useful enquiry
Ask for the caller's name, number and the details your team needs to follow up. A message or structured request gives your people a clear next step.
Hands over when a route exists
Send callers to a configured person or route where one is available. If nobody can take the call, your normal voicemail or message path can still handle it.
Clear allowance, clear overage
Reception includes 60 AI minutes, about 30 answered calls. Scale includes 200 minutes, about 100 calls. Additional minutes are 15p/min or a prepaid bundle.
// set it up around your team
Give callers a helpful first step, not a made-up answer
The AI receptionist is strongest when it has a clear brief: the questions it can answer, the details it should collect and the handover your team expects. You stay in control of what it knows and where calls go next.
Add the information it can use
Configure services, FAQs, opening hours, locations and any price notes you are happy to share. Leave out anything you do not want it to state.
Choose the details to collect
Set the triage questions that matter to your team, such as the caller's name, contact number and what they need help with.
Set the handover path
Choose which person or route can receive a transfer. If a route is not available, the AI can capture the enquiry for a person to review.
Use booking links on your terms
Where you have connected an online booking link, the AI can text it to a caller. Otherwise it can capture a request for your team to arrange the next step.
AI receptionist vs virtual receptionist vs human answering
| LineHQ AI receptionist | Virtual receptionist | Human answering service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caller experience | Conversational answers from your configured information | Greeting and press-1 menu | Conversation with a live operator |
| Routine questions | Answers services, FAQs, hours and supplied price notes | Routes by the menu choice | Depends on the operator brief |
| Enquiries | Captures the details your team has asked for | Sends a caller to a chosen route or voicemail | Takes details or transfers |
| Handover | To a configured person or route where available | To the department or route selected | Operator decides within their brief |
| Best for | Routine questions and structured first-contact capture | Simple department routing | Calls that need a live person |
| From | £19.99/month with 60 AI minutes included | Included from Reception | Usually charged per call or minute |
Choose the AI receptionist when callers need more than a menu but your team wants to control the information, questions and handover. It is not a substitute for a live person where judgement or a promise is needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is an automated caller-facing assistant that answers routine questions from the business information you configure, collects enquiry details and follows the handover paths you set. LineHQ tells callers that they are speaking with an automated assistant.
Is an AI receptionist different from a virtual receptionist?
Yes. A virtual receptionist gives callers a greeting and a press-1 menu. An AI receptionist can have a conversation within the details you have configured, answer routine questions and capture an enquiry. Both can be part of the same LineHQ call flow.
What does £19.99/month include?
LineHQ Reception costs £19.99/month and includes the AI receptionist, 60 AI minutes and about 30 answered calls. The plan also includes two UK numbers, forwarding minutes, a virtual receptionist and other Reception features.
What happens after the included AI minutes?
After the included allowance, you can use a prepaid AI minute bundle or pay 15p per minute from calling credit. Minutes are rounded to whole minutes of the AI call.
Can the AI receptionist book appointments?
It does not confirm or reschedule appointments itself. If you have connected an online booking link, it can text that link to a caller. Otherwise it can collect the request for a person on your team to arrange the appointment.
Can it transfer a caller to a person?
It can transfer a caller only to a configured, reachable person or route. Where no route is available, it can capture the caller's details for your team instead.
Can it quote prices?
It can state only the price notes you have supplied for the relevant service. It does not create an instant quote or promise a price that is not in your configured information.
Can the AI receptionist support my business sector?
It can answer routine questions using the business information you approve, capture enquiry details and follow the handover paths you set. If your sector is not yet in the knowledge base, contact LineHQ with a short description of your business and the questions callers usually ask. We can draft sector-specific FAQs for your review before any content is added. It does not give specialist advice or make promises on your behalf.
Contact us about your sector →How do I set up the AI receptionist?
Choose Reception or Scale, add the business information and caller questions you want it to use, then choose when it answers and where it can hand calls over. Test the flow before relying on it for live callers.
Ready to give callers a better first answer?
Start with Reception at £19.99/month. It includes 60 AI minutes — about 30 answered calls — then 15p/min or a prepaid minute bundle.