Service
AI Receptionist for UK Businesses That Answers Every Call
An AI receptionist answers your business calls in a natural voice, books appointments into your live calendar and passes on anything it cannot handle. HAeX builds and runs it for UK businesses, on ElevenLabs Agents and a Twilio UK number. We scope it on a free 30 minute call.
It suits UK businesses that miss calls while busy or closed, and that book appointments or take enquiries by phone.
Is an AI receptionist right for my business?
We build it most often for dental practices and private clinics, estate agents and property managers, law firms and construction and trades. The common problem is the same. The phone rings while your hands are full, and the caller tries someone else.
It is also a fit if you run a small firm and want an AI receptionist for small business budgets and sizes. We scope it to the calls you really get.
It is not a fit if most of your calls are long and sensitive from the first word. A person answers those better. Even then, an AI receptionist can cover the overflow and the hours when nobody is in.
Advice firms can read AI for financial advisers and brokers.
Will callers know they are talking to AI?
It sounds natural, and it says it is an AI assistant if anyone asks.
The voice runs on ElevenLabs Agents. We write the greeting with you, so it uses your business name and the way you talk to customers. Callers get a clear, calm conversation. They do not get a menu of numbers to press.
We never ask it to pretend to be a person. If a caller asks, it tells them.
What happens with a call it cannot handle?
It takes the caller's details and passes the call, or a written summary, to you straight away.
You choose the rules. Some calls ring through to a named person at once. Others wait as a short summary in your inbox. Every call flow we build ends in a handover, a booking or a message to your team. No caller is left at a dead end.
Can it book straight into my diary?
Yes. It checks your live calendar and books, moves or cancels appointments.
Because it reads the real diary, it does not offer a slot that is already taken. It can also pass the caller's details to your CRM, so the enquiry is waiting for you when you sit down.
We confirm which calendar and CRM you use on the first call. Then we connect them and test with you before anyone rings.
It only answers from information you approve, and you can read every call transcript.
Will it get my prices or services wrong?
We load your services, opening hours and the prices you are happy to share. We also list the questions it should leave to a person. If it does not know, it says so and takes a message.
No system is perfect, which is why the transcripts matter. You read them, tell us what to change, and we change it.
How much am I losing to missed calls now?
Work it out with our Missed Call Revenue Calculator, which uses your own call numbers.
You enter how many calls you get a week and how many you miss. You then add how many callers never ring back, how many enquiries turn into jobs, and what a job is worth. The calculator multiplies them and shows the monthly loss. It also shows how long an AI receptionist would take to pay for itself.
We show the method under the result, and you can save the report. You do not need to give an email to see the number.
What does an AI receptionist cost?
We scope it on a free call and give you a fixed quote. The price depends on your call volume, opening hours and the systems it connects to.
We do not publish a single figure here, as it would not be true for most firms.
Here is how the main options compare.
| Item | Ready made app | HAeX managed AI receptionist | Human answering service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sets up the call flows | Usually you | We do, with you | The provider |
| Calendar and CRM link | Varies by app | Built and tested for you | Usually by message |
| Who fixes problems | You, or support tickets | We do | The provider |
| Answers at any hour | Yes | Yes | Depends on the plan |
| Best for | Simple needs and a tight budget | Firms that want it set up and run for them | Sensitive calls that need a person |
Ready made apps often cost less each month. They also leave the setup and fixing to you. Our work is the setup and the running.
Callers are told the call is recorded, and you decide where data is kept and for how long.
Is it safe under UK GDPR?
Every build ships with a short UK GDPR and data flow note. Where the work needs one, we also write a data protection impact assessment. A person signs off the call flows before they go live.
Your receptionist uses ElevenLabs for the voice and Twilio for the phone line. Before you sign, we tell you what each service stores and where. You can read more about AI governance and compliance or the ICO's guidance on UK GDPR.
Will it take work from my front desk team?
No. It takes overflow, out of hours calls and repeat questions, so your team handles the calls that need a person.
Your team stays your team. The receptionist covers the moments when nobody can pick up: lunch, a busy morning, the evening. It also answers the same simple questions that eat a desk's day, such as opening hours and where to park.
Phones are one part of customer service. Our guide to what you can automate by department covers the rest.
AI receptionist
How long until it is live?
We put a go live date in your fixed quote. HAeX builds usually take two to six weeks from the audit, depending on how many systems connect.
Here are the four steps.
- 1
Discovery call
30 minutes. We learn how your calls work today.
- 2
Audit and fixed quote
We map your calls, then send a fixed quote.
- 3
Build
Two to six weeks. We set up the voice, the UK number and the calendar link, then test it with you.
- 4
Run and improve
We watch the transcripts, fix problems and improve the call flows.
See our wider AI Automation Services if you want the same care applied to paperwork and follow ups.
Your questions, answered
Does an AI receptionist work with my existing phone number?
We set up a UK number for the receptionist as part of the build. You can forward your current line to it or publish the new number. That depends on your phone provider, and we check it on the first call.
Can it answer calls out of hours?
Yes. It answers whenever you switch it on, and out of hours calls are one of the most common reasons firms ask for it.
What is the difference between an AI receptionist and an AI voice agent?
An AI receptionist answers inbound calls for your business. An AI voice agent is the wider technology, and we also build AI voice agents for other call jobs.
Is an AI receptionist better than a virtual receptionist?
It answers at once and books into your diary. A human service handles sensitive calls better, and many firms use both. Read about our AI phone answering service to see how they compare.
Will it give advice or take payments?
We set it up to answer from approved information, take details and book. We do not set it up to give advice.
Can a small business use one?
Yes. If you take calls and book work by phone, it can help, and we scope it to the number of calls you really get.
How is this different from a website chatbot?
A receptionist answers phone calls. A chatbot answers messages on your website. Many firms need both, and we build AI chatbots for business too.
What happens on the call
- 1
You tell us how your phone works today
- 2
We show you how a call would flow in your business
- 3
You leave with ideas you can act on and a clear next step
It is 30 minutes with one of our consultants, with no slides.
Prefer to talk first? Call 07435 708864.
What you now know
- It suits firms that miss calls and book by phone.
- It sounds natural and says it is AI if asked.
- Calls it cannot handle reach you with a summary.
- It books into your live diary.
- It answers only from information you approve.
- You can work out what missed calls cost you.
- You get a fixed quote after a free call.
- You decide where data is kept, and callers are told about recording.
- Your front desk team handles the calls that need a person.
- You get a go live date in the quote.
See how your calls would be handled
The first call is free. We show you how a call would flow in your business.