The 7 best answering services for small businesses

Letting that phone ring means missing out on a lot of ka-ching: 42 percent of small businesses lose an average $6,000 per year due to unanswered calls. The solution? An answering service for small businesses that provides reliable customer service by picking up customer calls when you can’t— after hours, when you’re busy, or acting as your full-time, 24/7 customer care team.

I have a lot of hats to wear as a freelancer. An answering service allows me to spend more time delivering work to my clients and they don’t have to wait for me to call them back (always a challenge across time zones!).

Some businesses prefer to use live (a.k.a. human) receptionists to provide friendly, personalized service to their customers. Others prefer the scalability and cost effectiveness of an AI answering service that can instantly answer common questions or transfer calls.

Whether you’re looking to extend your team with human agents, an AI powerhouse, or a combination of both, these are the best answering services for small businesses right now.

Tool	Best for	Unique features	Plans/pricing
Jotform AI Agents	Fully customizable AI automation	Includes multiple channels (website, social media, and more), lead capture, data collection, 24/7 instant customer service, trainable AI, FAQ handling	Free up to 100 conversations per month; Premium plans range from $34 to $99 per month
AnswerConnect	Relationship-building customer service	Includes 1-800 number; 100 percent human agents	Contact for pricing
Slang	Restaurants	Cross-sell reservations across multiple locations; track CSAT score	Ranges from $380-$540 per month per location
Emitrr	Healthcare service providers	HIPAA-compliant appointment booking; automated two-way texting and confirmations	Contact for pricing
Moneypenny	Industry-specific experienced agents	Receptionists experienced in your industry; bilingual English/Spanish	Starts at $145 per month; custom quote
Davinci	Work from home businesses needing physical address	Virtual office to use as business address; physical meeting space rental	Ranges from $129 to $319 per month based on services required
UpFirst	Startups	Provide service in 90-plus languages; scalable AI	Ranges from $20 to $128 per month depending on call minutes required; higher usage custom plans available

Why small businesses need an answering service

Missing a call can mean losing a new prospect or even a sale. For small teams (including freelancers like myself), it’s impossible to be available all the time. Even in larger teams, a busy workload can disrupt answering the phone or returning messages promptly, giving customers a negative impression of your business.

The best way to set yourself up for success is to outsource call management so you can focus on delivering the best experiences and results for your customers.

What makes a great answering service for small businesses?

There are a few universal features all answering services for small businesses should have:

• 24/7 availability: Whether your small business answering service is staffed by human agents or AI, your customers deserve help right away when they need it.
• Customization and/or training: Your answering service should sound like an extension of your company, so being able to customize call scripts and workflows is crucial.
• Integrations: The best small business answering services work with the tools you already use, such as adding call details to your CRM software, for example.
• Automations: The most useful answering services for small businesses don’t just answer calls, they save time by automating common tasks, like answering FAQ questions, routing calls, and more.
• Call recording or summaries: Having access to call information at a glance gives you valuable information about what people call in for, as well as providing oversight to ensure your answering service is performing to your quality standards.

Personally, as a freelancer who doesn’t receive hundreds of calls per month or need to book in-person appointments, I was looking for an affordable answering service that could automate my workflow, including instantly answering common questions for existing customers and capturing new leads.

Your business needs may be different. Additional features that may or may not be important to you include bilingual or multilingual agents, lead qualification, detailed analytics, and how easy it is to scale up call volume when needed.

Best answering services for small businesses in 2025

1. Jotform AI Agents

Jotform AI Agents deliver instant responses 24/7 so you can focus on growing your business and serving clients. Seamlessly use AI Agents to route calls, capture valuable information, schedule appointments, answer customer questions, and more — via phone, social media, Shopify, and email in one combined system.

I found Jotform AI Agents really easy to set up. You start with choosing the name, language, and accent of your Agent, then train it and set call handling options. The AI Agent Builder is neatly laid out into Build -> Train -> Publish sections with everything neatly organized, so you can get up and running quickly (and change things easily anytime), no matter your level of previous experience with AI tools.

You can even customize details such as your agent’s average response length, prioritize certain attributes or goals, tone of voice, and more — and customize each of these settings by contact type: chat, voice call, or email. I set mine to offer longer, more formal responses via email and shorter, casual responses via phone, for example.

Besides all the settings and options, I like that you can train the AI Agent by chatting with it — a feature I haven’t seen elsewhere. Tell your agent how you want them to answer customers or something about your business and it will remember, including extracting information from a URL.

Plus, pre-defined templates make it even easier to set up a specialized answering service for your small business. From general customer service templates to hotel reception, restaurant ordering and reservations, to hiring and human resources, Jotform AI Agents provides scalability with peace of mind.

Start in minutes with the easy set-up process:

1. Build and train your AI Agent: Quickly teach your agent your brand by uploading company policies and product information via documents or links, and create custom knowledge bases and FAQ responses.
2. Choose your agent channels: Use Jotform AI Agents across web chat, Facebook and Instagram messaging, email, SMS, WhatsApp, and Shopify, or run a standalone agent embedded on your website.
3. Activate your AI Agent: Route inquiries intelligently, hand off to live agents when needed, and deliver fast, consistent service at scale. Monitor performance and refine settings anytime for optimal results.

Best for: Providing a unified, cross-platform customer experience

Key features: Includes multiple channels (website, social media, and more), lead capture, data collection, 24/7 instant customer service, trainable AI, FAQ handling

Pros: Easy, no-code chatbot builder sets up in minutes; customizable chatbot templates made specifically for small businesses to start from; set tone and brand elements and quickly train your chatbot from documents or web URLs; embed on any website platform, including with our easy WordPress plugind more

Pricing: Fully featured free plan for up to 100 monthly conversations; premium plans range from $34 to $99 per month for up to 10,000 monthly conversations, HIPAA compliance, advanced forms, and more; enterprise pricing available for unlimited usage, custom branding, done-for-you workflow building, and more; nonprofit and education customers receive 50 percent off all plans.

G2 rating: 4.4

Alongside Jotform AI Agents, Jotform AI Chatbots offer always-on support across your digital channels. Jotform AI Chatbots perfectly complement the Jotform AI Agents answering service by automating FAQ answers, gathering information, and providing interactive, instant customer service. Assist customers with order tracking or product questions, capture leads, set appointments, collect feedback and surveys, and much more.

The set up and training process for a chatbot is very similar to Jotform AI Agents, so I won’t recap all the options but it’s just as easy to use. You can also start with setting up a chatbot agent first and then add voice and WhatsApp contact options with a few clicks for a full, cross-platform answering service in minutes.

Of course, all Jotform AI Agents work within the larger Jotform automation ecosystem: connect agents to your forms and workflows to seamlessly move customers from a support call through a mortgage application form, for example. Or in my case, through my initial inquiry contact form to capture a new lead.

For any inquiry on any platform, Jotform AI Agents make connecting with your customers easier and faster and help turn conversations into conversions too.

Best for: Providing a unified, cross-platform customer experience 

Key features: Includes multiple channels (website, social media, and more), lead capture, data collection, 24/7 instant customer service, trainable AI, FAQ handling

Pros: Easy, no-code chatbot builder sets up in minutes; customizable chatbot templates made specifically for small businesses to start from; set tone and brand elements and quickly train your chatbot from documents or web URLs; embed on any website platform, including with our easy WordPress plugin

2. AnswerConnect

Voted the best answering service for 2025 by Forbes, AnswerConnect is a good all-around answering service for most small businesses. It’s especially useful for those with repeat callers as AnswerConnect prides themselves on providing 100 percent human customer service focused on building connections.

The mobile app is also useful for staying informed. You receive instant notifications of new calls, complete with a summary of what was discussed, actions taken, and relevant information, such as an appointment confirmation. AnswerConnect also has a web chat add-on for wrap-around customer service via phone or web.

Best for: Relationship building

Key features: Live 24/7 answering, bilingual support, call routing, appointment scheduling, 1-800 number included, 20-plus integrations (Zapier, Salesforce, Zoho, and more)

Pros: All human customer service; 99.43 percent of calls answered within four rings; app to set on/off answering times, see call history, and more; they plant a tree for every customer per month

Cons: Pricing not publicly available; likely more costly than comparable services

Pricing: Via custom quote

G2 rating: 4.5

3. Slang

Built exclusively for restaurants, Slang helps free up staff time on the phone and convert calls into customers for restaurants of all sizes, from one location to entire groups. Slang picks up every call instantly and its trainable AI can provide answers to commonly asked questions, list today’s menu, and set reservations.

For reservations, your customers can instantly book using real-time availability, including preferences like seating type and party size, and you no longer have to sift through dozens of voicemails and call everyone back, saving 200 hours or more every month. If you have multiple restaurants, Slang can cross-check available reservations among all nearby locations, turning what would normally be a lost customer at one location into a confirmed guest at another.

The power of Slang lies in the fact that it’s specialized for the restaurant industry. Other answering services for small businesses can answer a restaurant’s calls, but only Slang provides the specific menu and reservation automations designed to turn callers into diners.

Best for: Hospitality

Key features: 24/7 availability, reservation booking, automated menu and allergy information, cross-sell reservations across multiple locations, tracks CSAT score

Pros: Set up in under 30 minutes; handles reservations and customer inquiries, including custom call routing for VIPs and cross-selling between different locations based on current availability; real-time alerts for complaints so you can respond quickly; integrates with OpenTable, SevenRooms, Yelp, and more

Cons: Best suited for restaurants that offer dine-in services with reservations

Pricing: Starts at $380 per month per location for answering service, basic reservations, and summaries; the Premium $540 per month plan adds reservation cross-selling, bilingual service, and real-time alerts

G2 rating: 4.6

4. Emitrr

Set up a customized, automated answering menu and call routing tree with Emitrr, plus automatically send text reminders, confirm appointments, and provide customer service 24/7 — made specifically for appointment-based and service businesses.

Besides enabling HIPAA-compliant appointment booking, Emitrr also has time saving texting capabilities. Using your existing business phone number that’s familiar to your clients, you can send individual or group text messages and receive replies to confirm appointments.

Appointment management is where Emitrr shines. It connects with over 500 popular CRM and booking tools for two-way appointment syncing and automations. For example, view all unconfirmed appointments and send out automatic reminders for your clients to confirm them, avoiding no-shows and maximizing your billable time. Personally, I love when businesses offer confirmations by texting as I’m a typical Millennial who hates making phone calls and texting is way faster and more convenient.

Best for: Healthcare

Key features: 24/7 answering, HIPAA compliant, two-way texting, appointment scheduling, AI automation, CRM integration

Pros: HIPAA compliant for healthcare appointment booking; two-way texting; customers can reply to automated messages; customizable menus, call transferring, and appointment reminder workflows

Cons: Excels at appointment management, so would be overkill for businesses that don’t regularly schedule client appointments

Pricing: Contact for pricing

G2 rating: 4.8

5. Moneypenny

Moneypenny’s live reception answering service for small businesses prides itself on becoming an extension of your company, treating your customers as if they were their own with industry-experienced receptionists who follow your custom call scripts and instructions.

Moneypenny also offers an AI answering service, which can quickly answer questions, handle appointment bookings, or route calls, either to your team members or a Moneypenny human receptionist.

Best for: Industry-specific support

Key features: Bilingual support (English/Spanish), data gathering, appointment scheduling, 24/7 availability, live answering, call transferring, custom scripts

Pros: Experienced human receptionists in legal, finance, and others — they speak the lingo of your industry; focused on warm customer service for relationship building; client portal to customize call scripts, view call history, and manage account

Cons: Clients who prefer dedicated account management may find the self-serve client portal too impersonal

Pricing: Starts at $145 per month but must contact for custom quote

G2 rating: N/A

6. Davinci

Davinci offers a live answering service in addition to virtual office space which you can use as a public business address and space to accept packages and even book client meetings — perfect for those who work from home and want to keep their home address private.

Davinci offers a lot of value, since you can mix and match services, such as only renting virtual office space for a public-facing business address, or only using call answering, or combine everything the modern location-independent business needs in one tool.

An alternative to Davinci is renting a PO Box at your local post office, but of course that doesn’t offer an answering service or meeting spaces. I use a virtual office for my business and love the peace of mind knowing my home address isn’t out there for anyone on the internet to see (or get on junk mailing lists). Protecting your privacy and having your own 24/7 receptionist? It’s a no brainer.

Best for: Online or work from home businesses

Key features: 24/7 answering, meeting spaces, virtual offices, appointment scheduling, order processing, customizable training

Pros: Over 20,000 meeting spaces and virtual office locations worldwide; administrative services include delivery management and outbound calls; live, human receptionists answer every call

Cons: Virtual office perk not needed if you already have a business location and/or don’t need to meet with clients in-person

Pricing: Based on call minutes; business plans are $129 per month for 50 minutes or $239 per month for 100 minutes; premium plans are $249 per month for 50 minutes or $319 per month for 100 minutes, and include administrative tasks, outbound calls, order processing, and more

G2 rating: N/A

7. UpFirst

As an AI answering service for small businesses, UpFirst provides infinitely scalable call answering at an affordable price. The smart AI can scan your calendar and directly book appointments, answer FAQ inquiries, update your CRM, and more, making it a great choice for startups who may not have many calls at first, but need the ability to scale up fast.

Speaking of fast, set-up is a breeze in UpFirst. Start by entering your website URL and UpFirst starts learning about your business. Then just enter your phone number, choose a language and voice, personalize the initial call greeting script, and you’re set. It only took me a few minutes.

Whenever you want UpFirst to answer calls, forward your number to the one UpFirst gives you. Customize options like tone of voice, call scripts, types of appointments with custom booking rules, and much more. I would worry about forgetting to set my phone to forward calls sometimes, but as long as you remember, UpFirst is an easy to use and affordable answering service for small businesses.

Best for: Startups

Key features: 24/7 instant AI-powered answering, FAQ automation, appointment scheduling, spam call filter, call routing

Pros: Trainable AI can answer common customer questions instantly; appointments appear directly in your calendar — supports Google, Outlook, Clio, and others; integrates with thousands of apps to record call info in your CRM, lead tracker, and other services; provides service in over 90 languages

Cons: Fully AI and self-setup; not for companies wanting a done-for-you service or human receptionists

Pricing: All plans include the same features and are charged by call volume: $20 per month for 30 calls ($1.50 per additional), $48 per month for 90 calls ($1 per additional), or $128 per month for 300 calls ($0.75 per additional), plus custom pricing available for higher volumes

G2 rating: N/A

Save time with a small business answering service

No matter your budget, there’s an answering service you can start using today to free up your time and deliver faster service to customers.

Just starting out or looking to eliminate waiting times for your customers? Opt for an AI answering service that offers flexible pricing, the ability to quickly answer customer FAQ inquiries, and call transferring to your team members.

Have more complex customer needs where relationship-building is critical? Consider outsourcing to a human customer service team experienced in your industry who will treat your customers like their own.

Looking for ultimate flexibility? With Jotform AI Agents, you can deliver automated, smart customer service via phone, chat, and social media — plus access all of Jotform’s powerful forms and features used by over 30 million users to streamline your business. Try an instant demo today.