AI chatbots & receptionists · UK SMEs
An AI receptionist for business, set up and looked after for you.
Calls come in while you're with a customer. Website enquiries arrive at nine at night. An AI receptionist or chatbot can answer in the meantime. It handles routine questions, takes details and books people in where your calendar allows.
You can buy a ready-made AI receptionist and set it up yourself, and if your calls are simple, that may be all you need. We do the setting up for you, then look after it. Most of the work is fitting it to your business: what it should know, and how it connects to your phone line, website and calendar. It's yours once paid for.
Safeguards we build into every assistant
Standard messages like booking reminders go out automatically, in wording you've approved. Anything AI writes for one particular customer is checked by a person before it goes out. Live assistants, such as website chats and phone receptionists, always say they're AI, hand over to a person on request, and have their conversations reviewed afterwards. No outbound AI marketing calls.
In practice:
- It says it's AI. In its first chat message or spoken sentence. It never uses a human name or photo.
- A person is always an option. If your team is free, it hands over; if not, it takes a message or books a callback.
- It works from what you've approved. Your services, hours, prices and policies, in writing. It's set up to say when it doesn't know and pass the question on.
- People make the decisions. Refunds, complaints and anything that needs judgement go to your team.
- Incoming calls only. Each call starts by saying it's recorded or transcribed, and why.
Your phone number and email stay on your website, so the assistant is never the only way to reach you.
AI chatbot or AI voice agent: which do you need?
Same job, different place. An AI chatbot for business websites answers people already on your site. An AI voice agent, often called an AI receptionist, answers your phone. You may only need one.
| Compared | Website chatbot | AI receptionist (voice agent) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | A chat window on your website | Your business phone line, for incoming calls |
| Good for | Questions before people buy or book | Calls you can't take: busy spells, evenings, weekends |
| How it hands over | Passes the chat to your team, or takes a message | Puts the call through, or takes a message for a callback |
| Running costs, paid by you | The tool's monthly fee, plus any AI usage fees | The tool's monthly fee, plus usage such as call minutes |
We build with Claude, ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft's tools, compared in our guide to the best AI tools for business. Before we recommend a chatbot or phone platform, we check its terms and where it keeps your data.
How it introduces itself
You agree the exact words, but the AI label, a way to reach a person and, on calls, the recording notice always stay in.
Example: the first message in a website chat
Hello, I'm the AI assistant for [your business]. I can answer questions about what we do and when we're open, or pass you to the team. What can I help with?
Example: the start of a phone call
Hello, you're speaking to [your business]'s AI assistant. This call is recorded so the team can follow up. I can take a message or book you in. If you'd rather speak to a person, just say.
How we set one up
- 01
A free call
Tell us how calls and enquiries reach you, and which questions keep coming up.
- 02
A written plan, with the hours
Simple, well-defined jobs go straight from the free call to a written plan with the hours. That plan is free: it's your quote. Bigger or less clearly defined jobs start with a first AI review: a fixed-length session, charged by the hour, with its length agreed with you and written down first. The plan covers what it answers and passes on, the tool, and a written total of our hours and its fees.
- 03
Set up in your accounts
It sits in your business's name, connected to your website, phone line or calendar, and loaded only with what you've approved.
- 04
Tested before it goes live
We test it on real questions, including prices, refunds and cancellations, with a person checking every answer.
- 05
Hand-over, then looked after
We show your team how to read the conversations and step in. Later changes are charged by the hour, written down first.
No account managers: you deal with Regan Fisher, founder and developer, and Brandon Fisher, AI and automation consultant. More about NetVortex.
When an AI receptionist isn't worth it
We'll advise against one if:
- you get a handful of calls a week and can return them yourself;
- most calls need judgement, like complaints, unusual quotes or bad news;
- your prices, services and opening hours aren't written down yet (do that first);
- nobody has time to read the conversations and fix wrong answers.
For behind-the-scenes jobs, like sorting enquiries, our AI automation agency work may suit you better. Not sure where AI fits? Talk to us as your AI consultant first, or take the free AI readiness assessment for business.
What the rules say about customer-facing AI
- Consumer law. The CMA's guidance on AI agents (9 March 2026) says your business is responsible for what an agent does, as it is for an employee. Tell customers when they're dealing with AI if it could affect their decisions, and keep a person checking.
- Data protection. Under UK GDPR, people get privacy information when you collect their data (ICO guidance), so each call opens with a short notice, and the chat window shows one.
- EU customers. If you serve customers in the EU, Article 50 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026: they should be told they're talking to an AI.
Sources checked 8 October 2026. Not legal advice. The ICO's guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. See also our guide to AI agents for business.
Questions
We don't publish prices: it depends on how many calls or chats it handles, what it connects to and how much it needs to know. You pay the tool's fees in your own account. Our time is charged by the hour, written down first. How we price has the detail.
They can be, if calls and enquiries often go unanswered and most are routine. If you get a few calls a week, or most need a proper conversation, probably not.
No. We don't make outbound AI marketing calls: our assistants only answer incoming calls. Automated marketing calls also need each person's specific consent under PECR (see the ICO's telephone marketing guidance).
It can happen, even with approved information to work from. So it's tested on prices, refunds and cancellations before launch. After that, your team reads its conversations, and we agree in writing who fixes wrong answers and how fast.
You do. Chats, recordings and transcripts stay in the tool's account, in your business's name. As the data controller, you'll usually need a data protection impact assessment (DPIA), and we'll help with it. If customers might mention their health, the DPIA needs to go further. Before you commit, we tell you in writing which tools handle the data, and where.