Virtual receptionist service · 24/7
A virtual receptionist service that answers in seconds, 24/7
Every call, chat and message answered by an AI receptionist that knows your business, books your diary and passes callers to your team.
Start your free trial Watch a live demoPlans from £49 a month + VAT · 14-day free trial
Why switch
The virtual receptionist, without office hours
A traditional virtual receptionist service is a team of people answering for many businesses at once. It works, but the model has limits. Many charge per call or per minute, cover office hours with evenings and weekends extra, and only cover the phone: the website chat and the 9pm message are still yours.
Enquiva takes a different approach. One AI receptionist answers your phone, chat, forms and messaging channels at any hour, on a monthly plan with credits for usage. Your team watches live, takes over when they want, and gets a summary when a caller needs a person.
How it works
Live on your number in four steps
- Draft your receptionist from your website. Enquiva reads your pages and files, so the agent knows your services, prices and hours from the start. Website chat can be live in under 15 minutes.
- Point your calls at it. Forward your existing number for every call, or only when busy or closed. Or take a new local number, or connect a phone system such as 3CX or Teams Phone over SIP. UK numbers can need the carrier's ID and address checks first, which can take from hours to a few days.
- Set the rules. Departments, keypad options, each person's hours, what the agent may book, and when to transfer or take a message. It takes about 10 minutes.
- Let it answer and follow up. Calls are answered straight away, appointments go into your calendar, and leads are followed up by call, WhatsApp, text or email within your window.
What's included
More than a phone answering service
Calls answered 24/7
Routed by department, keypad option or reason, with live transfer to whoever is free.
Messages taken properly
Every call leaves a transcript and summary in your Inbox, with voicemails kept with the conversation.
Bookings and deposits
Appointments booked into your Google or Microsoft calendar during the call. Connect a card payment account and Ava can text, WhatsApp or email a secure link for a deposit you've set.
Chat and messaging too
The same receptionist works as an AI chatbot on your website and answers SMS, Telegram, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. Phone, website chat, forms, SMS and Telegram are available now. Messenger and Instagram are opening to all businesses once Meta finishes reviewing our app, and WhatsApp depends on Meta's checks on your business.
Your rules, your hours
Opening hours and Do Not Disturb are respected. AI disclosure is on by default and STOP replies are honoured everywhere.
Human virtual receptionist or AI receptionist?
| What matters | Typical human service | Enquiva 24/7 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Often per call or per minute, sometimes with a monthly minimum | A monthly plan plus credits, with every paid action's cost shown first |
| Hours | Often office hours, with evenings and weekends extra | 24/7 on every plan |
| Channels | Mostly phone | Phone, website chat, forms, SMS, Telegram and email, plus WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram as Meta approves them |
| Follow-up | A message passed on to you | Calls, then messages, until the lead books or says stop |
| Control | A script you send them | Watch live, take over and hand back |
For how the agent handles calls, see the AI receptionist page, or the 24/7 answering service page for overflow and out-of-hours cover.
Who it's for
Businesses that can't afford a missed call
Estate and letting agents
A viewing request lands at 8pm on a Sunday. Ava confirms the property and books the slot. See the estate agent demo.
Salons, clinics and gyms
Calls come in while staff are with clients. Ava books and reschedules, and sends a deposit link where you ask.
Trades and home services
Calls that come in while you're on a job are answered and booked, with the details in your Inbox.
Pricing
One monthly plan. Every channel included.
| Plan | Price a month | Credits a month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £49 + VAT | 4,000 | 1 AI agent, 1 phone number, 3 team seats. Every channel, call routing and live transfer, answered 24/7. |
| Growth | £149 + VAT | 13,000 | 3 AI agents, 2 phone numbers, 10 team seats. Adds outbound call-backs, call control, the Enquiva Phone app, lead ads and CRM connections. |
| Pro | £349 + VAT | 30,000 | 10 AI agents, 5 phone numbers, 25 team seats. Adds the Lead API, webhooks, Zapier and Make, up to 5 branch locations and priority support. |
Or pay yearly: £490, £1,490, £3,490 a year + VAT, two months free. Credits cost 1.15p to 1.5p each, depending on your plan or top-up pack. A chat or messaging reply uses 1, an AI call minute 30 and a text 12, and every paid action shows its cost before it runs. A transferred call minute uses 10. The 14-day free trial has Growth's features and 3,000 credits. A card is required and you can cancel any time before it ends. Compare plans and estimate your month.
Connected to your phone system and CRM
Forward calls from any phone system, or connect 3CX, Microsoft Teams Phone, RingCentral, Zoom Phone, Gamma Horizon, BT, Cisco, Avaya, Mitel or another SIP-capable system over a SIP trunk, and pass callers back to your desk phones.
Leads, calls and bookings go to your CRM or helpdesk on Growth and Pro, and to Zapier, Make or your own webhooks on Pro. See every integration and which are available today.
Virtual receptionist service FAQs
What is a virtual receptionist service?
A virtual receptionist service answers your business calls remotely, so you don't need someone at a desk. Traditionally that means people in a call centre working set hours. Enquiva's version is an AI agent that answers phone, website chat, messages and email at any hour and follows up leads, with your team able to watch and step in.
How is this different from a human virtual receptionist?
Many human services charge per call or per minute, cover business hours or charge more for nights and weekends, and only answer the phone. Enquiva answers around the clock on a monthly plan with credits for usage, and covers chat and messaging too.
Can the virtual receptionist transfer calls to my team?
Yes. On every plan the agent routes callers by department, keypad option or reason, respecting each person's hours, and transfers live to whoever is free. Growth and Pro add call control: ring everyone or in turn, ring times, voicemail and a whisper before you accept, plus the Enquiva Phone app.
Does it cover London and the rest of the UK?
Yes. Enquiva is run from Manchester and serves businesses across the UK. Your agent can answer on a new local number or on your existing number forwarded to it, and one Pro plan covers up to 5 branch locations.
What does a virtual receptionist service cost?
Starter is £49 a month + VAT, Growth £149 and Pro £349, with 4,000, 13,000 and 30,000 credits a month. Yearly billing gives two months free. Credits cost 1.15p to 1.5p each, depending on your plan or top-up pack. A chat or messaging reply uses 1, an AI call minute 30 and a text 12, and every paid action shows its cost before it runs. The 14-day free trial has Growth's features and 3,000 credits. A card is required and you can cancel any time before it ends.
Will the receptionist know about my business?
Your agent is drafted from your own website and files, so it knows your services, prices, hours and locations from the first conversation. You can edit what it says, add documents and set what it may do, such as booking or passing a pricing question to a person with a summary.
Every caller answered, day and night
Try it free for 14 days with Growth's features, or call our own agent and hear it answer.