Answering service vs missed-call text back vs AI receptionist
By JP, who runs Ralphio. Updated 7 October 2026.
An answering service puts a real person on your calls for about £25 to £500+ a month. Missed-call text back texts everyone you couldn't answer, from £6.49 a month. An AI receptionist answers with a computer voice for about £30 to £500+. For a trade working off a mobile, text back fixes the biggest leak for the least money.
Side by side
| What the caller gets | Typical cost | Watch out for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Your greeting and a beep | Free | 54% of people won't leave a message |
| Answering service | A real person who takes a message in your business name | About £25 to £500+ a month, by the minute or by the call | Busy months cost more. They can take a message but can't price or book a job without your rules. |
| Missed-call text back | A text from your business within seconds | From £6.49 a month for a basic text | Can't text landlines or withheld numbers. A basic one sends a text and stops there. |
| AI receptionist | A computer voice that answers and asks questions | About £30 to £500+ a month | Some callers hang up on a robot. It can mishear names and addresses. |
Answering service
Services like Moneypenny put a real receptionist on your calls. When you can't answer, the call goes to them, they answer in your business name and send you the message.
It's the best caller experience of the three, because people get a human. It's also the dearest, and the bill rises with your calls, so a good month costs more. The receptionist doesn't know your trade, so they take a message rather than qualify the job, unless you give them a script.
Worth it if: you get a lot of calls, your customers expect a person (commercial clients, letting agents), or you want every call picked up during office hours.
Costs for a trade, with a worked example, are in answering service for tradesmen.
Missed-call text back
Your phone diverts the calls you don't answer, and the caller gets a text straight away: who you are, sorry you missed them, what do they need. They reply when it suits them, and you get it as a message rather than a voicemail to play back.
It's the cheapest of the three and it works at 2am. Most people would rather text than talk anyway. The limits: a text can't reach a landline or a withheld number, and a basic service sends one text and leaves the rest to you.
Worth it if: you're on the tools all day, your business runs on a mobile, and your problem is the calls you can't pick up rather than the ones you can.
AI receptionist
A voice assistant answers the call, asks what the job is and where, and sends you a summary. The better ones can book into a diary.
It answers every call, day and night, for less than a person. But callers can tell, and some put the phone down. It can also mishear a postcode or a name, and you won't know until you ring back. Ring it yourself a few times before you put it in front of customers.
Worth it if: you want calls answered rather than texted, your customers are comfortable with it, and you'll keep an eye on what it writes down.
Which one would I pick?
For a sole trader or small team working off a mobile: missed-call text back first. It's the cheapest fix for the biggest leak, which is the people who ring once, get voicemail and ring someone else.
If you're getting more calls than texts can handle, or an office line that should always be answered, add an answering service for office hours and keep text back for evenings and weekends. They don't compete.
To be straight about where I stand: Ralphio is missed-call text back with the follow-up done for you. It sorts the job, gets you the details and chases the quote. Nobody picks up your phone, so it isn't an answering service.