For UK businesses · Prices checked October 2026

AI telephone answering service. Every call answered, day and night, for a flat monthly fee.

An AI telephone answering service is a virtual assistant that answers your business phone in your company's name, takes messages and books appointments, 24 hours a day. Ours costs from £200 a month, not per call or per minute, and we write, build and look after the call flow for you.

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Price: From £200 a month, flat. One-time setup. No per-minute charges.
Hours: 24 hours a day, every day, including bank holidays.
Busy moments: Every call answered at once. Nobody waits in a queue.
Done for you: We write, build and test your call flow, and look after it.
Honest with callers: Says it is a virtual assistant and that the call is recorded.
Your number: Stays the same. Calls forward when you choose.

On every call

What an AI answering service does when your phone rings

✓Answers in your business name, introduces itself as your virtual assistant and says the call is recorded.
✓Asks the questions you would ask, in the same order every time, from a call flow written with you during setup.
✓Books appointments into Google Calendar while the caller is on the line, on every plan. On Pro and Premier, links to CRM and practice systems are available on request.
✓Flags urgent calls and alerts whoever is on call, by the rules you set.
✓Puts callers through to your team in working hours when they need a person, or takes a message out of hours.

See it in your sector: trades, plumbers, dental practices and estate agents.

Per call or flat fee

How an AI answering service differs from Moneypenny and per-call answering

Traditional telephone answering services such as Answer.co.uk put a person on your line and charge for every call. Moneypenny now sells an AI receptionist alongside its answering service, priced on a tailored basis. Compare what each model publishes. Prices exclude VAT unless stated.

Model	Published price	How you are billed	Who does the work
Human answering service Answer.co.uk pay as you go	£2.20 a call for new customers, plus £5 to £10 a month for a UK number	Per call, no contract; £25 minimum credit	A person answers and takes a message
Pay-per-call AI Answer.co.uk AI receptionist	£10 a month plus £0.85 a call	Small subscription plus a charge for every call	Provider runs it; scope of setup not stated
Self-service AI app Fasthosts, IONOS, Hey Jodie and others	£19.99 to £349 a month on standard plans	Monthly plan with a minute or call allowance	You set up and maintain the call flow yourself
Managed AI service Moneypenny AI	Priced “on a tailored basis”; no pound price published	Quote	Managed by Moneypenny
Done-for-you AI service My AI Voice Agent	£200, £350 or £500 a month, plus £500, £750 or £1,000 one-time setup	Flat monthly fee with a call allowance; 50p per extra call	We write, test and look after the call flow

Prices checked October 2026. Answer.co.uk figures are from its pay-as-you-go page, read on 24 October 2026. Moneypenny information is from its guide to getting an AI receptionist, read on 24 October 2026. Self-service prices are from the provider pages listed on our 10-provider comparison. Plans change; confirm on the provider's page before you buy.

At your call volume

What each billing model costs a month

Work out the bill at your real call volume, not the entry price. Figures use the published prices above, ex VAT, excluding number rental and setup fees.

Calls a month	Human, £2.20 a call	Pay-per-call AI, £10 + £0.85 a call	My AI Voice Agent, flat fee
50	£110	£52.50	£200 (Starter, up to 250 calls)
200	£440	£180	£200 (Starter, up to 250 calls)
600	£1,320	£520	£350 (Pro, up to 750 calls)

At 50 calls a month, per-call answering or a self-service app costs less than ours, and we would point you to one. Above a couple of hundred calls, per-call charges add up and a flat fee keeps the bill the same each month within your allowance. Over the allowance each extra call is 50p, and we alert you at 80% so you can move up a plan. Read the full cost guide or estimate what missed calls cost you.

When a human answering service is the better choice

Judgement calls. Complaints, sensitive conversations and callers who need reassurance.
Long or unpredictable conversations that no script could anticipate.
Very low volume. If you take a handful of calls a week, paying per call may cost less.
Callers who insist on a person. Some customers simply prefer it.

Many businesses use both: the AI answers first and transfers the calls that need a person. Compare AI and human answering in detail.

Pricing

One flat fee a month. No per-minute meter.

Starter

Single-site businesses

£200/month

Up to 250 calls a month · £500 one-time setup

Pro

Multi-site or higher-volume businesses

£350/month

Up to 750 calls a month · £750 one-time setup

Premier

Groups (3+ sites) and complex flows

£500/month

Unlimited calls (fair use 2,000 a month) · £1,000 one-time setup

Prices exclude VAT. Prices checked October 2026. Month-to-month, 30 days' notice. We agree a written target before go-live; if it's missed in the first 30 days, your first month and setup are refunded. Full plan details → · Read the guarantee

Questions about AI telephone answering

What is an AI telephone answering service?

An AI telephone answering service is a virtual assistant that answers your business phone in your company's name, takes messages and books appointments, 24 hours a day. It follows call flows written for your business and passes calls that need a person to your team.

How much does an AI telephone answering service cost in the UK?

Self-service AI apps cost £19.99 to £349 a month on standard plans, pay-per-call AI starts at £10 a month plus £0.85 a call, and a done-for-you service like ours costs £200, £350 or £500 a month plus a one-time setup fee. Prices exclude VAT and were checked in October 2026.

Is an AI answering service cheaper than a human answering service?

Usually, once you take more than a few calls a day. Answer.co.uk's human pay-as-you-go service charges £2.20 a call for new customers, so 200 calls cost £440 a month. Our Starter plan covers up to 250 calls for £200 a month. At very low volume, paying per call can be cheaper.

Can callers tell they are talking to an AI?

Yes, and they should. Ours introduces itself as your virtual assistant at the start of every call and says the call is recorded. If a caller asks for a person, it puts them through in your working hours or takes a message.

Can I keep my existing phone number?

Yes. Your number stays the same. Calls are forwarded to the assistant when you choose: out of hours, when you are busy, or all the time.

Does an AI answering service work out of hours and at weekends?

Yes. It answers 24 hours a day, every day, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, and answers every call at once however many come in, so nobody waits in a queue.