Guides to answering the phone as a small business
What receptionists and answering services cost, how to set one up, and the scripts and greetings to use. Written to be useful whether or not you ever use Masheev, with sources for every price.
A still of the Masheev console: a full inbox of conversations, one of them an AI-drafted WhatsApp reply awaiting a person's approval.
Demo board. Synthetic conversations, real product interface.
All guides
- How much does an AI receptionist cost in 2026?What an AI receptionist costs in 2026: pricing models, published prices from eight vendors, worked examples at 50, 150 and 400 calls, and fees to check.
- How much does a virtual receptionist or answering service cost?Virtual receptionist and answering service costs in 2026: per-minute and per-call prices from Ruby, Smith.ai and Abby Connect, plus in-house and AI options.
- What is an AI receptionist?An AI receptionist answers calls and messages, answers questions from your business information, books appointments and hands off to staff. How it works.
- How to set up an AI receptionistA vendor-neutral checklist for setting up an AI receptionist: audit your calls, write the answers, set limits, forward your number, test and review weekly.
- Phone answering scripts for small businessesCopy-ready phone answering scripts for small businesses: greetings, after hours, messages, booking, transfers, holds, price questions and upset callers.
- Business voicemail greeting examplesTwenty copy-ready business voicemail greetings: general, after hours, holiday, out of office and by trade, plus what every greeting needs and common mistakes.
- After-hours call handling: options for small businessesFive ways to handle after-hours calls: voicemail, on-call rotation, forwarding to a mobile, an answering service or an AI receptionist. Costs and a protocol.
Hand the routine calls to an AI receptionist
Masheev answers calls and messages in the hours you set, books through your connected tools and hands the rest to your team. From $18/mo.