Smith.ai vs. OpenPhone Sona

In today's competitive marketplace, every call represents a potential customer, partnership, or revenue opportunity that can't afford to be missed. For businesses without the resources of a full call center, choosing the right AI-powered call-answering solution isn't just about handling calls — it's about capturing leads, building lasting relationships, and scaling your business efficiently. The wrong choice can mean lost opportunities, frustrated customers, and stunted growth. 

That's why understanding the critical differences between AI Receptionist from Smith.ai and OpenPhone Sona is essential. Today, we outline those differences so you can make the best decision that will drive your business forward.

Features both solutions offer

• 24/7 call handling: Both platforms provide round-the-clock automated call answering to ensure no call goes unanswered
• FAQ handling: Automated responses to frequently asked questions from callers
• Recording & transcription: Access AI-generated transcripts and recordings for review.
• Reporting & analytics: Track performance with robust insights and usage stats.

What sets Smith.ai apart

While both solutions provide essential call-handling features, AI Receptionist delivers a fundamentally different experience that goes far beyond basic automation. Unlike OpenPhone Sona's limited capabilities, AI Receptionist combines sophisticated AI technology with human expertise, offering unparalleled flexibility, advanced customization, and proven results that growing businesses demand.

Human-backed excellence

AI Receptionist provides the perfect balance of AI efficiency and human intelligence through 24/7 human escalation for complex calls that require a personal touch. When situations arise that need nuanced understanding or specialized assistance, your callers are seamlessly connected to your team via our Smart Team Directory Transfers feature. And when your team is unavailable, your callers are connected with our highly rated human receptionists, who are trained to know your business. This ensures complete coverage and exceptional customer experience at all times.

OpenPhone Sona operates as a fully AI-dependent agent with no human backup support, leaving callers stranded when they need to speak with a real person and your team is unavailable. OpenPhone’s website doesn’t even mention call routing or capability to transfer to your team for escalations. The lack of transfer ability creates gaps in coverage that can frustrate customers and damage your reputation.

Advanced business capabilities

With AI Receptionist, you get sophisticated, customizable call playbooks that adapt to your specific business needs, including lead screening and qualification, comprehensive intake processes, appointment booking, and intelligent escalation. This personalized approach ensures AI Receptionist best suits your unique use case, and that every call is handled with the precision and professionalism your growing business requires.

Sona provides only fundamental capabilities like answering calls, responding to basic questions, and logging caller details. The platform lacks essential tools, such as advanced appointment booking or custom lead qualification — tools that your business needs to convert prospects into customers effectively.

Business phone platform independence

AI Receptionist integrates seamlessly with virtually any phone system, including OpenPhone, giving you the freedom to choose the telecommunications solution that best fits your business without being locked into a specific platform. This flexibility, combined with extensive native integrations and connections through Zapier and Make, allows you to build the custom workflows your growing business demands.

Sona functions exclusively within the OpenPhone telecommunications ecosystem, requiring businesses to invest in OpenPhone's complete business phone system to access the AI answering service. OpenPhone touts robust integration capability as well, however, companies not interested in changing their entire phone infrastructure are left without options for accessing Sona's capabilities.

Bilingual customer support

AI Receptionist automatically detects Spanish-speaking callers and engages them fluently in their preferred language, ensuring no potential customer feels excluded or misunderstood. With millions of native Spanish speakers in the U.S., this bilingual capability isn't just a convenience — it's essential for  maximizing the market reach of service businesses catering to diverse communities.

Sona currently supports only English, explicitly stating on their website that the AI "won't be able to respond" to callers who speak other languages. This limitation immediately excludes Spanish-speaking prospects and can result in lost business opportunities in today's multicultural marketplace.

Complete voice personalization

AI Receptionist comes with a diverse range of conversational voices that can be fully customized to match your brand identity and customer preferences. You have complete control over how your AI Receptionist sounds, including gender, tone, and speaking speed, ensuring every interaction reflects your business's unique personality and professionalism.

Sona provides only one voice option, with no customization capabilities currently available. This limitation means businesses cannot tailor their AI's presentation to align with their brand identity or adapt to their specific customer base and industry requirements.

Proven industry leadership

Smith.ai brings over 10 years of specialized experience in AI-powered call handling, with insights gained from millions of customer interactions and hundreds of stellar reviews across Trustpilot, Clutch, and G2. This extensive track record demonstrates consistent customer satisfaction and deep understanding of what businesses and their callers truly need from an AI answering service.

OpenPhone only introduced their AI call answering solution in 2025, making it a newcomer to the specialized field of AI-powered customer engagement. While OpenPhone has experience with business telecommunications, they lack the proven customer satisfaction track record and specialized expertise that comes from years of dedicated focus on call answering and client engagement.

The superior choice for business growth: AI Receptionist

The choice is clear: AI Receptionist delivers the comprehensive, reliable, and scalable solution that modern businesses demand. For growth-minded business owners who value 24/7 professional human support, comprehensive business features, business phone flexibility, bilingual accessibility, fully customizable AI voice options, and established market expertise that deliver exceptional results, AI Receptionist is the superior choice for your 24/7 AI call answering partner over OpenPhone Sona.