An AI receptionist is software that answers your business calls and WhatsApp messages when you or your staff cannot, books appointments and passes the tricky conversations to you. For a small Indian business that lives on appointments, the useful questions are what it handles, what it costs with GST, and how to test one before you commit. This guide covers all three in plain terms.
What does an AI receptionist actually do?
Think of it as a front desk that is never busy and never off shift. Anssay's own pages describe the job in these parts, a fair picture of what to expect from a good AI receptionist:
- It answers phone calls, including missed calls that you forward when you are busy or not picking up.
- It replies on WhatsApp and, on the right plan, on website chat, including messages that arrive at midnight.
- It speaks the customer's language. Anssay covers English, Tamil and Hindi, and follows the customer if they switch halfway through a call.
- It books the visit, class or appointment into your calendar, and refills cancelled slots from a waitlist.
- It sends reminders to customers on WhatsApp.
- It hands over to you with full context when a question needs a person, such as prices, complaints or anything new.
If a customer asks whether they are talking to a person, Anssay says it is your virtual assistant. That is a good test for any product you consider: it should not pretend to be human when asked.
Which small businesses suit an AI receptionist?
The fit is strongest when most of your revenue starts with a phone call or a WhatsApp message and a booking at the end of it. Look at the list on the solutions section of the Anssay home page: clinics, dental clinics, PGs and hostels, tutors and academies, repair and home services, physio, consultants, and salons and spas.
A quick way to check whether you are in this group is to answer three questions:
- Do customers usually ask for a time slot, a visit or a demo class before they pay?
- Are your calls often missed because you are with a patient, in a class, on a job or asleep?
- Do the same ten questions (timings, fees, location, availability) come up again and again?
If you said yes to two or more, you have the kind of repetitive, time-bound enquiry traffic an AI receptionist is built for. If your calls are mostly long, one-off, high-judgement conversations, a person will serve you better.
What should an AI receptionist not do on its own?
A good one knows its limits, and so should you. The risk with any automated front desk is a confident wrong answer, so the control you want is simple: it answers only from what you have approved, and sends anything new to you.
Anssay states exactly this on its home and about pages: it answers only from what you have confirmed, you approve every answer, and anything new comes to you. You can take over any chat with one tap. For clinics, it says it never gives medical advice.
Decide in advance which topics stay with you. A sensible starting list:
- Final prices for custom work, discounts and negotiation.
- Complaints, refunds and anything emotional.
- Medical questions of any kind, and anything that sounds urgent.
- Any question you have not yet answered in writing for the assistant.
When the assistant meets one of these, you want it to say that you will get back to the customer, collect the details and notify you. Anssay also lets you reply once and tap Save, so the next time the same question arrives it can answer on its own. Over a few weeks, the number of conversations that reach you should shrink.
How much does an AI receptionist cost in India?
Pricing models differ across products: some charge per minute, some per call, some a flat monthly fee. Whatever you look at, ask for the monthly total in rupees including GST, and what happens when you cross the included limits.
Anssay's pricing page lists three monthly plans. All prices exclude 18% GST, so here is the working with GST added.
| Plan | Price per month (excl. GST) | With 18% GST | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | Rs 2,999 | Rs 3,539 | WhatsApp and website chat |
| Voice | Rs 4,999 | Rs 5,899 | Phone calls |
| Voice + Chat | Rs 6,999 | Rs 8,259 | Calls, WhatsApp and website chat |
The GST figures are rounded to the nearest rupee (2,999 x 1.18 = 3,538.82; 4,999 x 1.18 = 5,898.82; 6,999 x 1.18 = 8,258.82). If you claim input tax credit on GST as a registered business, your actual cost may differ, so check with your accountant. Registration and returns are on the official GST portal.
Anssay's pricing page also lists monthly allowances (for example, 300 call minutes on the Voice plan and 1,000 AI replies on the Chat plan) and prepaid add-ons if you go beyond them. Read those before you pick a plan, because the headline price is only part of the bill.
Chat, Voice or Voice + Chat: which plan fits you?
Match the plan to where your customers actually reach you, not to the cheapest line on the page.
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Choose Chat if your customers mostly message you on WhatsApp. PGs, hostels and tutors are the usual example. The Chat plan answers WhatsApp and website chat but does not answer phone calls.
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Choose Voice if your customers mostly call, as with clinics and repair services. It answers phone calls and includes missed-call WhatsApp plus callback. One detail to note on the pricing page: reminders go out on WhatsApp from the Anssay number, but Anssay chatting back on WhatsApp needs Voice + Chat.
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Choose Voice + Chat if you get both. It includes everything in the other two and, per the pricing page, costs Rs 999 less than buying both separately.
If you are not sure, look at your own phone for a week. Count how many enquiries came as calls and how many as WhatsApp messages. That count is a better guide than any sales page. The pricing page also covers extra branches and switching plans, so you can start on one plan and move later.
Is an AI receptionist worth the money? A worked example in rupees
The fair way to judge value is with your own numbers. Here is an example, using the default inputs from Anssay's own calculator on its pricing page. These are example inputs, not a promise of results.
Example inputs:
- 3 missed contacts a day
- Rs 700 average booking value
- 26 working days a month
- Assume you recover 1 in 3 of those missed contacts
The sum: 3 x 26 = 78 missed contacts a month. One in three recovered is 26 bookings. 26 x Rs 700 = Rs 18,200 a month.
Set that against the Voice + Chat plan with GST at Rs 8,259 a month, and the example works out to roughly 2.2 times the cost (18,200 / 8,259). Change any input and the answer changes. If your average booking is Rs 400 and you recover only one in five, the sum looks very different, and it is worth running that version too.
To get real inputs, count your missed calls for a week from the phone's call log, and note which ones were new enquiries. Our pricing page has the plan details to plug into the same sum.
How do you choose an AI receptionist? An eight-point checklist
Use this list for Anssay or any other product. Write the answers down and compare.
- Languages. Does it handle the languages your customers actually speak, including a mid-call switch? Test it, do not just read the feature list.
- Channels. Calls only, WhatsApp only, or both? Make sure the plan you are quoted includes the channel you need.
- Booking. Does it book into a calendar you use, and can you see every booking in one place?
- Handover. How does it reach you when a question needs a person, and how fast? Can you take over a live chat?
- Your number. Can you keep your existing business number and WhatsApp? Anssay says your number stays yours.
- Answers you control. Does it answer only from information you approved?
- Data. Where is data stored, who can see it, and can you delete a conversation? Anssay's privacy page says data is hosted in India and that the business can delete a conversation at any time.
- Trial and exit. Is there a free trial without a card, and can you cancel anytime? Anssay offers a 14-day trial with no card.
Also compare the total monthly cost in rupees with GST and the add-on rates.
What questions should you ask any AI receptionist vendor?
Take this list to every demo. A vendor who answers clearly and in writing is usually one you can work with.
- What exactly is included in the monthly price, and what is billed separately?
- What happens when I cross the call minute or message allowance? Do calls stop, or do I pay more?
- Who can see my customers' conversations, and are calls recorded? How long are recordings and transcripts kept?
- Where is my data hosted, and what happens to it if I close my account?
- If the assistant does not know an answer, what does the customer hear and what do I receive?
- Will it tell a customer it is an AI if they ask?
- How do customers stop receiving reminders? Anssay's privacy page says customers can reply STOP to any WhatsApp message to stop reminders and follow-ups.
- How long does setup take, and do I need a developer?
For reference, Anssay's privacy page says it collects call recordings, transcripts, messages and bookings to provide the service, and that it does not sell customer data. Read the page yourself, as you would for any vendor. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 covers consent and erasure of personal data.
The WhatsApp Business messaging policy says businesses must honor opt-out requests.
What should you test during a 14-day free trial?
A trial is only useful if you plan it. Anssay's pricing page says the free trial includes 50 call minutes, 200 AI replies and 100 WhatsApp messages, so you have enough to test properly but not enough to waste. Here is a plan that fits those limits.
- Day 1: set it up. Record the one-minute voice note about your timings, services and prices, and forward missed calls. Anssay says you can be live the same day.
- Day 1 to 2: call it yourself. Ring your own number from a second phone in each language you use. For example, ten test calls of about two minutes each would use roughly 20 of the 50 trial minutes. Try a mid-call language switch.
- Day 2 to 3: ask the hard questions. Ask about prices not on your list, a complaint, and something off-topic. Check that it hands over rather than guessing.
- Day 3 to 5: ask friends or staff to call. Different voices and accents show you things your own calls will not.
- Day 5 to 10: run it on real traffic. Let genuine missed calls and midnight messages reach it. Review each conversation the next morning.
- Day 10 to 14: count and decide. How many bookings did it make? How many conversations needed you? Which answers did you have to correct?
Anything it answered wrongly is a gap in what you told it. Fix it, tap Save and test the question again. If you can try it on your own number, start the free trial and use this plan.
What mistakes should you avoid when buying?
- Buying on the demo alone. Demos use clean audio and friendly questions. Test on your own number.
- Picking the wrong channel plan. A calls-only plan will not answer WhatsApp chats, and the reverse is also true.
- Skipping the handover rules. Decide in advance what always goes to you.
- Ignoring add-ons and GST. Work out the full monthly cost, not the headline.
- Never reviewing conversations. Read a sample every week for the first month. That is how you find gaps.
- Expecting it to fix a slow business. It answers and books. You still have to deliver the service on the day.
Where does Anssay fit in?
Anssay is an AI receptionist built by Softknack Technologies in Chennai for businesses that run on appointments. In short, it does these things:
- Answers calls and WhatsApp in English, Tamil and Hindi.
- Books into your calendar and sends reminders.
- Hands tricky conversations to you.
- Answers only from what you have approved.
It is not the right tool if most of your business is long, complex consultations that need a person from the first word. If your day is full of repeat enquiries and missed calls, the fastest way to find out is the free trial. You can read more about Anssay before you start.