An AI receptionist is a software service that answers your business phone when you can't, takes down what the caller needs, and either texts you the details or hands the call to a human — priced monthly, per minute or per call depending on the vendor.
How is phone answering actually priced?
| Model | How it works | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|
| Per minute | You pay for every minute a person or AI spends on your calls. | Call volume is low and predictable. |
| Per call | A set price for each call answered, sometimes with a minimum. | Calls are short and you can estimate how many you get. |
| Flat monthly | One price per month for answering, within a stated usage range. | You want a predictable bill and your call volume swings with the season. |
Traditional live answering services usually charge per minute or per call, and the bill grows with your busy season. AI receptionists more often charge a flat monthly price, because the cost of an extra call to the provider is small.
What's usually billed as extra?
- Setup or onboarding fees
- A new phone number, or forwarding from your existing one
- After-hours or weekend coverage
- Appointment booking or calendar connections
- Text-message confirmations to your customers
- Transferring calls to you live
Before you compare prices, write down which of these you actually need. A low headline price can end up costing more once the extras you need are added.
How do you estimate what you'd actually pay?
- Look at your phone bill or call log for last month: how many calls came in, and how many went to voicemail?
- Multiply the missed calls by how often a caller like that turns into a job, and by what a typical job is worth to you.
- Compare that to the monthly price. If one recovered job a month pays for the service, it's usually worth trying.
What does Riley cost, and what's included?
Riley is $149.99 a month flat. That price includes your behind-the-scenes forwarding number, the call minutes, and your instant text alerts. Your phone still rings first—Riley only answers when you can't pick up (*71 on Verizon, **61* on AT&T and T-Mobile). She captures the caller's name, number, address, and job request without guessing prices, and texts it straight to your phone so you can reply CALL or YES [NAME] / NO [NAME]. Call the demo line at (361) 301-9955 to test it first. Cancel anytime.
What does "included" actually mean on a flat plan?
On Riley, $149.99 a month includes the forwarding number, the call minutes, and the job texts. There is no per-call fee. There is no per-minute fee.
Each call can run up to 5 minutes. There is no monthly cap on how many missed calls Riley can take.
What is not included: a new number for your customers to learn. You keep the number on the truck. Texts you send to customers (appointment confirmations) need a one-time carrier registration. We do that paperwork with you.
A worked example with honest numbers
Say you miss 8 calls a week. Two of those would have become jobs. Your average job is $400. That is about $3,200 a month sitting in voicemail. Riley is $149.99. One recovered job pays for two months.
That math is yours, not a claim about Riley's customers. Plug your own numbers into the missed-call calculator if you want the worksheet.
When a cheaper headline price still costs more
- A $99 plan with a 50-minute cap bills overage on the first storm week.
- A $149 live-answer plan with 75 minutes does the same thing on a Monday.
- A custom quote that starts at "about $200" is not a quote until it is in writing.
What Riley will not include at $149.99
A human on every call. A legal intake flow. A Clio sync. A new number painted on your truck.
You keep your number. Your phone rings first. Riley is the fallback. That is the product.
Cancel online. No contract. 14-day money-back if it does not save you a job.
Call (361) 301-9955 before you pay. Hear the intake. Then decide.
A second worked example, with overage
A $99 plan with a 50-minute cap looks cheaper than $149.99 until the first storm week. Ten 6-minute calls is 60 minutes. The overage line is then the real price.
A $149 live-answer plan with 75 minutes does the same thing on a Monday after hail. Riley does not have that line. $149.99 is the month.
A custom quote that starts at "about $200" is not a quote until it is in writing. Ask for the overage rate, the after-hours rate, and the included minutes before you compare the headline.
Your math is yours. Eight missed calls a week, two that would have been jobs, $400 average ticket is about $3,200 a month in voicemail. One recovered job pays for two months of Riley.
Primary sources, not recap blogs
- Verizon: how to use call forwarding — Verizon's own *71 / *73 codes for sending unanswered calls off voicemail
- FTC: robocalls and unwanted calls — Federal guidance on blocking and reporting unwanted calls that fill a small-business mailbox