AnswerFirst’s virtual receptionist service charges per-minute (plus $20/month on all plans) but they are vague on their process. You’re charged per minute for setup (averaging 60-90 minutes), all post-call wrap-up time, calls from salespeople, wrong numbers, and spam — the minutes could really add up. Smith.ai charges per-call, which is easier to predict and can help you easily calculate ROI and overall value. Plus, we never charge for setup, cancellation, spam, sales calls, or wrong numbers.
Smith.ai’s receptionists are also backed by technology that allows them to personalize calls and give seamless service. AnswerFirst receptionists spend time looking up your business information (with the clock running), but Smith.ai’s receptionists are instantly fed your custom instructions — that way they can 100% focus on giving excellent service to your leads and clients.
Both Smith.ai and AnswerFirst have APIs and offer integrations, but Smith.ai integrates with more popular CRMs and scheduling platforms regularly used by solopreneurs and businesses of all sizes. AnswerFirst advertises that they can integrate with in-house solutions, which would likely be a very expensive setup and implementation — not ideal for smaller budgets and agile companies.
For predictable pricing, transparent processes, a free trial, free handling of spam, sales, and wrong numbers, popular integrations, and AI-assisted professional and friendly receptionists, businesses prefer Smith.ai to AnswerFirst.
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“I rely on Smith.ai to handle all of my firm's calls. Their intake process integrates with my practice management software, which saves me time. Plus, their professionalism means I pay a fraction of the cost of an in-house receptionist without sacrificing quality. I recommend Smith.ai to every attorney I see.”
“Having someone professionally answer our phones is essential to operating a business. We engaged with Smith about 3 months ago and have been extremely pleased with the service they are providing us. They are very flexible and their integration with technology has functionally made a huge difference for us. I receive a SMS message and an email within seconds of a call with all pertinent information regarding the call. They ensure critical calls make it through to me and sales calls are screened. This makes my day much more productive and we get a professional service answering the phones.”
"Smith.ai has been a major hack into improving my business flow. Playing phone tag with potential clients and constantly getting interrupted with sales calls was so tiresome. Smith.ai has completely alleviated this problem. They screen all calls that come into my main office number so only critical calls get through to me, and they schedule appointments with potential clients after having carefully screened them through my intake process. I now save so much time and only have quality appointments booked. Less stress, more appointments. It's a total win!"
“Having real, live people answering the phone has made a huge difference in the volume of my practice, and I'm all about Smith.ai's technology-driven approach. I can focus on my clients without interruptions from sales calls and spammers, yet I remain in the loop when I'm in court or a meeting thanks to their text summaries. I love that Smith.ai manages my web chats now, too! They're a total time-saver for a solopreneur like me.”
“Smith.ai has been integral to my business at CMIT Solutions of Morristown. Their service was extremely easy to set up and they have been extremely professional with their customer care. Having a live-answer service handle all my incoming calls gives my business a level of professionalism that it was missing and allows me to easily prioritize all of my call-backs. I highly recommend Smith.ai to any business looking for a live-answer service.”
"As small business owners, it is very important to have a professional image with a quick response to our phone calls. We are at ease knowing that our clients are being greeted with a professional, friendly and upbeat voice when they call our office. The message taking is very clear, concise and effective, and allows our contact with our clients to be frictionless, effective and progressive. The service quality and superior communication skills of the Smith.ai team makes them a true extension of our office."
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