March 30, 2025
What Is an Answering Service?
When your team is too busy to handle incoming calls or struggles to provide round-the-clock customer support, an answering service could be the perfect solution.
Answering services look after incoming calls on behalf of business users, helping the business deliver higher-quality, more consistent customer service. They provide a range of services, from message-taking and call routing to scheduling appointments and processing orders. Some can even handle basic customer support (such as answering frequently asked questions).
How does an answering service work? 📳
An answering service works (kinda) like a virtual receptionist for your business by:
👉 Managing incoming calls
👉 Taking messages
👉 Transferring calls to the most appropriate team member or department
They can be somewhat customized to your specific needs – such as whether you require always-on support, or only need the answering service to field queries outside regular business hours.
Depending on your choice of provider, you may also be able to control other aspects of your answering service, like the agents’ tone of voice and the types of information they collect from customers.
5 benefits of using an answering service 📞
Answering services offer wide-ranging benefits, allowing you to deliver 24/7 customer support without growing your headcount – thereby increasing efficiency and productivity in your business.
Answer customer calls 24/7 ⌚
An answering service gives customers a point of contact for your business whenever they need support. And if you’re available to them around the clock, they’re more likely to reward you with loyalty.
That’s a big deal given that, on average, repeat customers account for 44% of business revenue and 46% of orders.
Increase employee productivity 👔
The less time you and your team spend on calls, the more availability you have for core business tasks – from managing your accounts to promoting your business to serving your customers.
Save money on a full-time receptionist 💵
In the US, receptionists earn a median salary of $36,590, or $17.59 per hour. That can be tough for a small business to justify – especially if you only receive a handful of calls a day.
Answering services can do the job of a full-time employee at a fraction of the cost (we’ll dig into typical pricing for answering services later in this article…).
Not only are they budget-friendly, but they’re also convenient and flexible, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively while maintaining professional call-handling.
Capture more leads 🌱
The #1 purpose of choosing an answering service is to ensure that you never miss a call. With prompt, professional responses and the ability to share useful information, answering services can engage potential customers, solve their problems, and capture their information – thereby turning more callers into hot leads.
Deliver a better customer experience 🏆
Customer satisfaction improves if callers don't have to call back repeatedly or, even worse, leave voicemails (that’s right – customers hate voicemails). The more responsive you are, the more likely customers are to trust you. A call answering service can make it happen.
What are the different types of answering services? 👂
Not all answering services are the same. You can choose from various flavors of answering service, including live agents, AI-powered services, and hybrid models. Whether you want a human touch, vast tech capabilities, or the best of both worlds, there are a range of benefits to explore.
Live human agents 🧑💻
Live human agents are just what they sound like: real people answering your incoming calls. The big difference between a human-powered answering service and a full-time receptionist is that they work remotely and aren’t 100% dedicated to your specific business.
Human agents give your customer interactions a personal touch and can modify their tone and approach according to the needs of your business and customers. They use critical thinking to resolve basic issues and are capable of recognizing nuances in conversations, helping them deliver more empathetic support.
AI-powered answering services 💻
AI-powered answering services use artificial intelligence to handle customer calls. They can efficiently field large volumes of calls with quick, automated responses – even answering multiple calls at once. So they’re the best solution if you want to guarantee that you never miss a call.
You can use AI services to answer frequently asked questions, route calls, and even schedule appointments – all without human intervention.
One of the main benefits of AI answering services is that they learn more about your business and customers over time. In effect, this means the longer you use them, the better their service becomes, and the more value you get. They excel in handling routine tasks and can quickly provide customers with the information they need, improving efficiency and reducing wait times.
AI-powered services are also the most cost-effective solution, often costing a fraction of the price of human services.
Hybrid models 🧑🤝🧑
Hybrid call answering services combine AI-powered automations with live human agents. Essentially, this means you get the flexibility and empathy of a real human, twinned with the massive scalability of an AI solution – although, of course, they’re less scalable than a fully AI-powered service. And they’re also significantly more expensive.
Key functions of call answering services 💡
Call answering services can carry out a range of tasks that support your business. Besides answering calls, key functions include message taking, call routing, and appointment scheduling. Significantly, they can handle all of those services 24/7, allowing you to support customers whenever they need you.
Call forwarding 📲
Call forwarding is about redirecting callers to the most appropriate person within your business. That way, your employees only have to deal with calls when it’s absolutely necessary – the rest of the time they can just get on with their day job. You control the parameters around call forwarding, allowing you to forward calls based on criteria like the type of inquiry or time of day.
Message taking 📝
A message taking service helps accurately record customer inquiries. That way, when you pass the message on to a human employee, they have all the necessary information to deal with the customer’s problem or query.
Whether human or AI-powered, answering services can take down essential details like the caller’s…
👉 Name
👉 Contact information
👉 Reason for calling
This allows you to follow up appropriately, in a timely manner.
Appointment scheduling 🗓️
Need support with managing your calendar? Not only can answering services help you increase appointment bookings, they can organise them too. Integrate the tool with your digital calendar for streamlined operations.
You can save a ton of legwork by allowing your answering service to book, reschedule, or cancel appointments. They can also send confirmations and reminders, minimizing missed meetings and reducing all the annoying back-and-forth of arranging additional appointments.
After-hours support 🌃
Want to give your customers someone to talk to when you down tools at the end of the day? After-hours support means customers can receive assistance, book appointments, or leave messages at any time.
Whether through live agents or AI-powered systems, after-hours support improves satisfaction and helps you maintain a professional business presence. It can strengthen your brand reputation and keep operations running smoothly around the clock.
How much do answering services cost? 💰
Answering service costs vary between providers and based on your needs.
Some solutions charge by the minute, but you’ll generally get more value from a monthly package with a set call-handling allowance.
Prices for a basic and/or low-volume call answering service start at around $50 – $149 per month. Or, if you need to answer a higher volume of calls or leverage advanced features like call transfers and custom agent training, you could be paying $3,000+ per month.
👉 Rosie is an AI-powered answering service with prices ranging from $49 – $199 per month. Check out our pricing page for more details.
Factors to consider when choosing an answering service provider ⚖️
There are some important factors to look at in potential answering services, from the level of support they provide to the amount of customization they offer. You’ll also want to consider pricing – because if you’re paying thousands of dollars a month for an answering service, you might as well hire a full-time receptionist. Before you make a decision, do your research and find out which boxes each provider ticks.
Availability 🕖
It’s essential to consider the level of coverage you’ll get. Is the provider only available during business hours, or can they answer calls around the clock?
👉 With Rosie, your AI agent is available 24/7, so you never have to worry about missing calls.
Customization 📜
Customization is key. Can you tailor the service to your business or industry? Consider factors like call scripting and branding. And, if your customers speak different languages, you should also consider multilingual support.
👉 Rosie allows you to provide custom training to your AI agent so their responses will be tailored to your business and customers.
Pricing 💳
Pricing is a crucial factor, too. Find out whether the provider will charge per call or per minute, or charge a flat monthly rate. Be mindful of hidden fees and contract terms, and look at scalability options. Balancing cost with service quality helps you get the best value without overspending.
👉 AI answering services like Rosie tend to offer the best value, as they can answer multiple calls at once. This can save you from hiring new team members.
Scalability 📈
Scalability is essential. Your business may grow, or there might be certain times of year when you see a higher volume of calls. Your chosen answering service should adapt to these changing circumstances. Look for flexible solutions that allow you to upgrade or adjust services easily.
👉 Rosie’s standard plans include up to 1,000 minutes of monthly call-answering – or, if you need more, just reach out for a custom quote.
Integrations 🔗
Make sure the answering service can integrate with your existing systems and the external tools in your tech stack – such as your CRM, appointment scheduling software, or email provider. Because there’s no point saving a ton of time on call handling, only to waste it on manual data entry and other low-value admin tasks.
👉 All Rosie plans include Zapier integration, connecting your answering service with over 1,000 apps.
The bottom line 📋
An answering service can help you focus on essential business tasks without forcing you to expand your team. Whether you choose from live agents, AI-powered systems, or a hybrid solution, your answering service can boost productivity and help you capture more opportunities. With Rosie’s pricing starting at just $49 per month, it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to scale your business.
👉 Create a free Rosie account and get your first 25 minutes of call handling on us!
FAQs 🤔
Which industries benefit most from answering services?
Answering services make most sense in industries where customer calls need to be handled promptly and potentially around the clock – especially when employees are often away from the office. At Rosie, we get the most interest from these particular industries:
What's the difference between answering services and call centers?
Answering services and call centers both manage customer interactions, but their scope differs. Answering services handle inbound calls, usually responding to basic queries. They can also take messages, schedule appointments, and perform other functions.
Call centers, however, manage inbound and outbound calls, covering everything from customer support to sales to and data analysis. They’re better suited to businesses with big budgets needing in-depth, tailored customer support.
What is the difference between a voicemail and an answering service? 💬
A voicemail is an automated system that records voice messages when you’re unavailable. An answering service, on the other hand, involves a live agent (human or AI) answering your calls in real-time.
Unlike voicemail, which just records messages, answering services provide an interactive experience. They give immediate, personalized responses to callers, helping you deliver a higher-quality customer experience.