A virtual receptionist answers your business calls without anyone sitting at a desk in your office. AIssie is the AI version: it picks up in under a second, every hour of every day, answers questions about your business, books the job into your calendar and texts you the details — for a flat $199 a month, with no per-call charge.
What a virtual receptionist actually does: your number diverts to someone — or something — that answers as your business. Callers hear your business name, not a voicemail beep. Routine questions get answered on the spot, details get written down, and the job gets booked or passed to you. For years that meant a person in a call centre handling several clients at once, with cover outside business hours costing extra and calls queueing at busy times.
Human vs AI virtual receptionist: a human works a roster, takes one call at a time and follows a short script about your business. AIssie answers every caller at once, works nights, weekends and public holidays for the same flat fee, and is configured with your full service list, pricing, service area and booking rules. An unusual or emotionally sensitive call is still better handled by a person — which is why AIssie transfers those to you on rules you set.
What it costs: Australian virtual receptionist services are usually billed per call or per minute, commonly $2–$4 a call against a monthly minimum with after-hours loading on top. AIssie is a flat monthly fee — voice plans run $99 to $670 per month with no per-call charge, no after-hours premium and no lock-in contract, against $55,000+ a year for a full-time hire.
How to choose one: pricing that does not punish a busy month, booking into your actual calendar rather than message-taking, a natural Australian voice you have heard yourself, genuine 24/7 cover with no premium, escalation rules you control, and month-to-month terms.
What an AI-powered virtual receptionist is: a voice assistant that answers your business phone the way a receptionist would — introducing itself, answering questions, taking down details and booking or transferring the call. AIssie is one, purpose-built for Australian small businesses: an Australian voice, Australian hours and public holidays, priced in AUD, integrated with the tools you already use (ServiceM8, Xero, Google and Microsoft calendars).
AIssie answers Australia-wide and knows the difference between AEST, ACST and AWST, so “first thing tomorrow” means the right morning for the caller. You keep your existing number and divert it — all the time, after hours only, or only when the line is busy or unanswered. 24/7 is the default, not an add-on: a 2am Sunday call costs the same as a Tuesday lunchtime one.
A virtual receptionist answers your business phone from outside your office. Calls divert to a receptionist who greets callers in your business name, answers routine questions, takes the caller’s details and books or transfers the job. Traditionally that receptionist was a person in a call centre; increasingly it is an AI that does the same work instantly, around the clock.
Human virtual receptionist services in Australia are usually priced per call or per minute, commonly $2–$4 a call with a monthly minimum, so a busy month gets expensive quickly. AIssie is a flat monthly fee — voice plans run $99 to $670 per month with no per-call charge and no lock-in contract.
They overlap, but the intent differs. An answering service is mostly about capturing a message so someone can call back. A virtual receptionist is meant to act like your receptionist — answering questions about your business, qualifying the caller and booking the job then and there.
A human virtual receptionist works a roster, handles one call at a time and follows a short script about your business. An AI virtual receptionist answers every call at once, never queues, works nights, weekends and public holidays at the same price, and knows your full service list, pricing and booking rules. A human is better at unusual, emotionally sensitive calls — which is why AIssie transfers those to you on rules you set.
AIssie introduces itself honestly and speaks natural Australian English. What callers notice is that the phone was answered on the first ring and their problem got handled. The demo line is answered by AIssie itself — call (08) 6800-4000 and judge the voice before you buy.
A good one can. AIssie books directly into Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar or ServiceM8 during the call, checking live availability rather than emailing you a message to action later. Message-taking-only services leave that work with you.
No. You keep your existing number and divert it — all of the time, after hours only, or only when your line is busy or unanswered. Nothing on your printed signage, vehicles or Google listing has to change.
An AI-powered virtual receptionist is a voice assistant that answers your business phone the way a receptionist would — introducing itself, answering questions, taking down details and booking or transferring the call. AIssie is one, purpose-built for Australian small businesses: an Australian voice, Australian hours and public holidays, priced in AUD, integrated with the tools you already use (ServiceM8, MYOB, Xero, Google and Microsoft calendars).
Yes — 24/7 is the default, not an add-on. Nights, weekends and public holidays are exactly when a human roster gets expensive or drops to voicemail. AIssie answers on the first ring at 2am on a Sunday for the same flat monthly fee as a Tuesday lunchtime, so there is no premium hour and no coverage gap.
A phone receptionist is anyone whose job is to answer your business calls: greet the caller, work out what they need, take their details and book or transfer them. "Virtual" simply means that person is not at a desk in your office — the calls divert to a receptionist working elsewhere, or to an AI. So a virtual receptionist is a phone receptionist you do not have to employ, house or roster. AIssie is the AI version: it does the same work on every call, around the clock, for a flat monthly fee.