Smith.ai vs. Rosie

When it comes to managing your business’s calls, both AI Receptionist from Smith.ai and Rosie offer 24/7 call answering, instant call summaries, call recording and transcription, and simultaneous call handling. However, not all AI answering services perform at the same level.

The basics: Features both services offer

Both Smith.ai and Rosie provide essential features of AI call handling, including:

• 24/7 call answering: Ensure no call goes unanswered, day or night.
• Instant call summaries: Receive updates via text or email right after each call.
• Simultaneous call handling: Avoid missed opportunities by managing multiple calls at once.
• FAQ answering: Respond to common customer inquiries automatically.
• Call recording and transcription: Keep detailed records of all conversations for quality assurance and reference.
• Spam detection: Identify spam calls and unwanted sales calls. (Note: Rosie’s spam detection only ends unsolicited calls sooner — but you are still charged for those minutes; plus, their blocking features aren't flexible. We’ll dig deeper into this later on.)

What sets Smith.ai apart

While these shared features cover some must-haves, they’re only the starting point to what your business needs to truly thrive. Once you look beyond the basics, you’ll see that Smith.ai goes above and beyond.

Professional, human assistance whenever your customers need it

AI can handle routine tasks, but for complex matters, human expertise makes the difference. Smith.ai combines cutting-edge AI technology with live, 24/7 receptionist backup — a service Rosie doesn’t provide.

While Rosie’s AI handles simple calls, answers FAQs, and takes messages, Smith.ai’s hybrid approach ensures every call is thoroughly handled with the utmost care and detail. When AI can’t resolve an issue, our highly trained receptionists step in to provide personalized support, ensuring your customers feel valued — and your reputation stays strong.

Live appointment booking

One of the main benefits of an AI answering service is appointment booking. However, Rosie does not directly handle scheduling; instead, it can send callers an SMS text link, putting the burden of scheduling on them. 

On the other hand, Smith.ai books appointments live during the call, so your callers have appointments confirmed before hanging up for complete peace of mind. Speedy appointment booking results in higher conversion rates. Smith.ai can book appointments using any calendar software that has a public, shareable link, so no new tools are required.

Reliable call routing and transfers 

Rosie only offers call transfers on their Scale, Growth, and Enterprise plans. 

With Smith.ai, every plan includes advanced call screening and routing to easily transfer and connect callers to the right person or internal department. You can even set unique transfer destinations for different caller types, so new leads can be transferred to Jane, while existing clients can be transferred to John, for example. Smith.ai understands the importance of giving customers direct access to you and your staff when needed. Rosie locks up this necessary feature at higher-level plans.

In-depth lead qualification

With our AI-driven lead qualification, we use strict criteria set by you to identify leads who are best aligned with your business. AI Receptionist efficiently handles lead capture, qualification, and intake, delivering the details to you via email, Slack, or Teams. Unlike Rosie, which solely offers “enhanced lead capture,” AI Receptionist features advanced options for screening and qualification.

For example, our yes/no custom qualification feature ensures only the most qualified leads reach you, while unqualified callers are politely filtered out, saving you time and effort. Rosie gathers essential information from callers — but then leaves it up to you to filter out the qualified from the unqualified. With Smith.ai, the heavy lifting is done for you, so you can focus on what matters most.

Advanced reporting and analytics

One thing you are guaranteed with Smith.ai is high-level quality assurance. We understand that call intelligence and analytics are vital for ensuring the continued improvement of AI call handling, so we offer real-time call data that includes information such as dispositions, call outcomes, and more. We help you stay in the know at all times, while this feature seems to be absent with Rosie.

Call quality ratings

Rosie doesn’t offer any mechanism to rate calls. They offer the option to “star” a call, but that’s it. With AI Receptionist, you can rate every call — red, yellow, or green — and leave us a note explaining your reasoning for the grade. Our call-quality team reviews every grade, rapidly assessing what action steps are needed to rectify calls that received a lower grade. Every plan gets this level of service. We want to know immediately if a call wasn’t perfect, and get to work on fixing it. Your input matters to us, and this feature is key to AI Receptionist being a reliable partner to your business.

Spam and sales call blocking

Rosie's “smart spam detection” likely reduces per-minute charges from spam calls, but you still pay for the time spent identifying and completing the call. If you receive multiple spam calls daily, those minutes add up quickly. 

You can further avoid some of these charges from spam and sales using their "block 1-800 numbers" feature, an “all or nothing” setting that doesn’t seem to include fine-tuning. If you need to allow specific 1-800 numbers, you’re likely out of luck. For more control over who can call your business, you’ll then need to use Rosie’s “blocked numbers list” to add or remove specific numbers you want blocked. Ultimately, you’re required to take extra steps to achieve the blocking and customization needed to save money and manage your calls effectively.

Smith.ai takes a simpler approach: Our system automatically blocks over 20 million known spammers by default before they ever reach AI Receptionist — so you’re never charged for those calls. Our account-level blocking is more flexible than Rosie’s “block 1-800 numbers” feature. With AI Receptionist, you can: block specific numbers, “never block” numbers, and send numbers to voicemail (when you don’t wish to completely block a number, but also don’t want to pay every time your vendor calls to “just check in”). You can also add numbers on a direct-transfer list, so when Mom calls, she gets your cell phone and skips the receptionist. We’ve thought about this a lot since Smith.ai started in 2015, and these features are a reflection of years of feedback to us from business owners and operators like you.

Pricing

Smith.ai prioritizes transparent, simple pricing. While Rosie’s per-minute pricing depends on the chattiness of your callers, our predictable per-call model offers consistency. No matter how long Bob takes to explain his roof leak, the call is charged at one simple price. Additionally, AI Receptionist pricing is comprehensive — all features are included in all plans; there’s no extra charge for add-ons like appointment booking. Rosie locks up key features like call transfers, appointment scheduling, and much more on their higher-tier Scale and Growth plans. 

Robust integrations and tools 

Another standout feature Smith.ai offers is native integration with top CRM systems and marketing tools like Salesforce, Hubspot, Clio, and more. This allows businesses to turn every call into an opportunity for growth by automating lead capture and follow-up tasks. We also offer 5,000+ integrations through Zapier and Make, whereas Rosie offers integrations through Zapier only. Advanced tools help businesses maximize efficiency. Rosie lacks the robust integrations that modern businesses need to thrive.

The Smith.ai reputation

For over a decade, Smith.ai has set the standard in call center services, earning thousands of five-star reviews online. Clients value our professionally trained virtual receptionists, dependable, friendly service, and innovative AI solutions that transform the way businesses communicate. With years of expertise under our belt, it’s plain to see that Smith.ai has the advantage over Rosie's very short time in the industry.

Rosie also has minimal online reviews, leaving potential users with little insight into their actual performance. With Smith.ai, you’re choosing a partner that’s proven, trusted, and committed to making every interaction a win for your business. With 5-star ratings on platforms like Clutch and G2, Smith.ai is a proven partner for exceptional customer interactions.

Closing the loop

If you’re looking for more comprehensive AI answering services, Smith.ai is the obvious choice. With superior AI technology, 24/7 human backup from North America-based receptionists, live appointment booking, and advanced integrations, Smith.ai empowers your business to succeed.

For growth-minded business owners who care about converting callers into leads and delivering a complete customer experience, Smith.ai surpasses Rosie as the smarter choice for your 24/7 AI answering service.

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