Smith.ai AI Receptionist review: is it worth it for inbound calls for a small business, answered by AI with live-agent backup?
Smith.ai AI Receptionist is worth it for a small business that wants AI to answer its calls, with real people as backup. The AI voice receptionist answers calls and books appointments. A free plan covers 25 calls a month and paid plans start at $150 a month, but the price of the live-agent add-on is not published.
| Starting price | Free plan; paid plans from $150 a month, billed monthly (read October 5, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Free plan or trial | Free plan |
| Standout feature | AI answering backed by a 500+ person live receptionist network under one account |
| Maker | Smith.ai, Inc. |
In this review
Who is Smith.ai AI Receptionist for?
This service is for small businesses that get many inbound calls. It can answer calls, qualify leads, and schedule appointments. It works well if you want AI to handle routine calls and have live agents for complex ones.
Skip this if you are a restaurant needing to send orders directly to your point-of-sale system. It is also not ideal if you need a service that clearly lists all pricing upfront, especially for add-ons.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free plan with 25 real calls a month and no setup fees
- Every self-serve tier and overage rate is published
- Calls can escalate to a live North America-based receptionist, with no fee when the AI initiates the escalation
- Billed per call rather than per minute, and known spam calls are filtered before they count
Cons
- No price is shown for the live-agent add-on
- No named security certification or public status page was found
- Customer stories are mostly law firms; listed industries (home services, medical and wellness, contractors and others) do not include restaurants
- Credit card required at signup even on the Free plan (no charge until you authorize overages)
How much does Smith.ai AI Receptionist cost?
| Plan | Price | Charged per | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Per account | 25 calls a month, then $3.00 a call; 50 practice calls a month |
| Pro (75 calls) | $150 a month, billed monthly | Per account | 75 calls a month included ($2.00 a call); extra calls $2.50 each |
| Pro (150 calls) | $270 a month, billed monthly | Per account | 150 calls a month included ($1.80 a call); extra calls $2.30 each |
| Pro (300 calls) | $500 a month, billed monthly | Per account | 300 calls a month included ($1.67 a call); extra calls $2.17 each |
| Enterprise (300 calls) | $500 a month | Per account | Same 300 calls and call rates as Pro (300 calls), bought through sales with a longer-term plan on offer |
| Enterprise (500 calls) | $800 a month | Per account | 500 calls a month included ($1.60 a call); extra calls $2.10 each; bought through sales |
| Enterprise (1000+ calls) | Quote on request | Per account | More than 1,000 calls a month; bought through sales |
Did we sign up for Smith.ai AI Receptionist?
How it scored
| Criterion | Weight | Score (1-5) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core job | 25% | 3 | Answering, qualification, scheduling, warm transfers and live-agent escalation are all described on vendor pages; not confirmed first-hand. [source 1] [source 2] [source 3] |
| Fit for the category's buyer | 20% | 4 | Self-serve Free and Pro plans include answering, scheduling and call routing; customer stories are mostly law firms; restaurants are not among listed industries. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Pricing transparency | 20% | 4 | All AI Receptionist tiers and overage rates are public with a free plan; the live-agent add-on price is not published. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Setup and time to first result | 15% | 3 | Self-serve signup with a guided test step; vendor says setup takes about 15 minutes (unconfirmed); capped at 3: not tested hands-on. [source 1] [source 2] |
| Integrations and data portability | 10% | 4 | Integration directory and native CRM integrations; API and CSV export are documented for the live-receptionist product. [source 1] [source 2] [source 3] [source 4] |
| Trust, security and support | 10% | 2 | Support channels are published and Trustpilot reviews discuss support, but no named security certification or status page was found. [source 1] [source 2] [source 3] [source 4] |
What do Reddit users say about Smith.ai AI Receptionist?
Both threads are lawyers comparing answering services, so the comments cover Smith.ai's service in general, including its human receptionists, not only the AI Receptionist. The newer r/Lawyertalk thread leans positive; the older r/LawFirm thread is mixed, with complaints about scripted calls, value and CMS integration.
I was an early adopter of smith and still use them. excellent all the way.
Smith.ai is good for me. They follow my basic instructions well. Ask about cheaper plans, a "starter" plan, etc. You might save a few bucks.
All of those services are mediocre at best. ... The receptionists at smithai are answering calls for many different businesses by reading a script as it pops up on their screen. It's often awkward and off putting. ... After hours just send to voicemail or use smithai for low volume times
You get more bang for buck lighting cash on fire than using smith.ai. Hire a VA for calls
I don't use smith.ai because they wouldn't send retainers if asked and did not integrate the way I wanted with my CMS....
What are the best alternatives to Smith.ai AI Receptionist?
- Goodcall review: AI phone agent for local small businesses.
- Slang AI review: AI phone host for restaurants: calls, reservations, FAQs.
- Loman AI: An AI phone agent for restaurants that takes orders and reservations and connects to POS systems such as Toast, Square and Clover; prices not published. [source]
- Retell AI: A platform for building and testing AI phone agents through an API, priced per minute. [source]
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version of Smith.ai AI Receptionist?
Smith.ai has a Free plan at $0/mo with 25 calls/mo and $3.00/call after that.
Does a call cost extra when it goes to a human receptionist?
Not when the AI initiates the escalation; live agent involvement for information verification or scheduling is a per-call add-on with an unstated price.
Do spam calls count toward the call quota?
Calls from over 20 million known spammers are filtered out and do not count towards your quota.
Is there a contract?
AI Receptionist operates on a month-to-month basis with no long-term contract, requiring 30 days notice to cancel.
How much do human-only receptionists cost at Smith.ai?
Human-first Virtual Receptionist plans start at $300/month for 30 calls, with various tiers available up to custom enterprise solutions.
Sources
- Smith.ai home page (read )
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist product page and FAQ (read )
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist plans and pricing (read )
- Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists (human-first) plans and pricing (read )
- Smith.ai integrations directory (read )
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist for enterprise (read )
- Smith.ai help center (read )
- Smith.ai help center: API articles (read )
- Smith.ai help: export call data via CSV (read )
- Smith.ai reviews on Trustpilot (third party) (read )
Changelog
- : Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the cited sources. Peter Chen, CEO of Midwest AI Solution Inc., is the editor responsible for this site and its corrections.
- : Fact check: Enterprise contract terms, industry focus, credit-card note, one Reddit excerpt and the Reddit summary corrected against sources.
- : Published without a hands-on test; the setup score is capped at 3 until one is done.
- : Support score lowered from 3 to 2 under the trust rule (support channels are published, but no security certification or status page), so the evidence score moved from 3.5 to 3.4.