A 24/7 answering service without the 24/7 staffing bill
Masheev is software, so there are no shifts to fill and no night or holiday rate. Configure it to cover every hour, or just the hours your team cannot, and pay the same published usage rate whenever a call arrives.
- Guided setup
- Unlimited seats
- From $18/mo
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.
What is a 24/7 answering service?
A 24/7 answering service answers a business's calls at any hour of the day, every day of the week, so callers reach something other than a ring-out or a voicemail box. Traditionally this means a call center staffed in shifts, which is why round-the-clock coverage is usually the most expensive tier. An AI answering service changes the economics: software does not work shifts, so covering 3am costs the same as covering 3pm.
Masheev answers phone calls, SMS and web chat during whatever hours you configure, including all of them. It uses your own business information, books through a connected calendar or supported booking tool, and hands off to your team under the rules you set. Usage is billed at the same published rates at every hour. Round-the-clock coverage is something you configure, not something we guarantee: availability depends on your plan, your phone provider's forwarding and your setup, and Masheev does not offer an uptime guarantee.
Where this helps
The situations this is set up for. Anything outside them goes to your team.
- Two calls arrive at once at 11am and the second one rings out, because the only person who answers the phone is already on it.
- A quote for human round-the-clock coverage costs more than the business can justify for the handful of calls that arrive overnight.
- Coverage is patched together from a daytime receptionist, a voicemail box and the owner's cell, and each one handles calls differently.
- Lunch breaks, sick days and holidays leave gaps that nobody planned for until a customer mentions they could not get through.
What Masheev does
Configured around your hours, services and rules.
No shifts to staff
Coverage is a schedule setting, not a hiring plan. Set Masheev to answer at all hours, or only the hours your team is unavailable, and change it when your needs change.
One rate at every hour
Voice is $0.30 per minute and web chat is $0.10 per message at any time of day. There is no night, weekend or holiday surcharge on usage.
Daytime overflow on the same line
Forward calls when your line is busy or unanswered, where your carrier supports it, and Masheev picks up the ones your team cannot reach during the day.
The same answers day and night
Every conversation draws on one knowledge base of your hours, services, prices and policies, so a caller at midnight hears what a caller at noon hears.
Handoff rules that change with the clock
Routing rules decide who gets a handoff or an urgent transfer. A daytime question can go to the front desk and a night emergency to whoever is on call.
One record of every conversation
Calls are transcribed, summarized and recorded in a shared inbox with SMS and web chat, and analytics show when your calls actually arrive.
A two-person HVAC office forwards calls to Masheev when the line is busy or unanswered. At 10:20am on a Tuesday, the dispatcher is on a call when a second customer rings; Masheev answers, books a tune-up for Thursday through the connected calendar and confirms the booking with the caller. At 2:10am on Wednesday, a caller reports no heat with a newborn at home, which matches the office's urgent rule, so the call is transferred to the on-call technician. Both calls are billed at the same per-minute rate, and both are in the inbox with summaries when the office opens.
How to set it up
Setup time depends on your phone provider and configuration. Test before anything goes live.
Choose your coverage hours
Decide whether Masheev answers always, or only when your team does not. Many businesses start with nights and overflow and widen from there.
Set up forwarding with your carrier
Forward your existing number always, when busy, or when unanswered. The options depend on your phone provider, so confirm what yours supports. Or add a new number.
Add knowledge and time-based rules
Enter your hours, services, prices and policies, then set who receives handoffs and urgent transfers during the day and overnight.
Test across the day
Place test calls in business hours, in the evening and overnight. Check that forwarding triggers as expected and that summaries reach the right people.
AI 24/7 answering vs a human 24/7 answering service
| Capability | Masheev | Human 24/7 answering service |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | AI receptionist, no human operators | Human operators in shifts |
| Night, weekend and holiday rates | Same usage rate at any hour | Varies, often a premium |
| Pricing model | Flat fee plus metered usage | Usually per minute or per call |
| Answers questions from your knowledge base | Varies, often scripted message taking | |
| Books into your calendar | With a connected calendar or booking tool | Varies by service |
| Handles emotional or unusual calls | Hands off to your team | A person can use judgment |
| SMS and web chat in the same inbox | Usually phone only |
What it does not do
The limits, stated plainly, so you can decide what stays with a person.
- No uptime guarantee. Round-the-clock coverage depends on your plan, your phone provider's forwarding and your configuration, and any software or phone network can have an outage.
- Masheev does not supply operators; the people who take over are your own team. If you need an outside person to answer every call at any hour, a staffed service is the right choice.
- At 3am a handoff waits in the inbox unless you assign someone on call for urgent transfers. Always-on answering does not mean always-on staff.
- Usage is metered, so a business with long calls at high volume should estimate its monthly minutes against the published rates before switching.
Frequently asked questions
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Take the routine calls off your plate
Routine calls and messages handled on supported channels in the hours you set, with a person whenever your rules call for one. From $18/mo.