AI chatbot vs AI receptionist: what’s the difference?
Updated · By Roman M., co-founder of AutomateX
Both are AI assistants trained on your business, and both answer customers at any hour. They are often mixed up, but they work on different channels and cost different amounts to run. This guide explains what each one does, what each costs in the UK and how to choose.
The short answer
An AI chatbot answers typed messages on your website, WhatsApp, Instagram or email. An AI receptionist answers your phone in a natural voice. Both can answer questions, book appointments and pass enquiries to you. Choose the one that matches how your customers contact you, or use both from the same assistant.
Side by side
| Feature | AI chatbot | AI receptionist |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and email | Your phone line |
| How customers use it | They type a message | They ring and talk |
| What it does | Answers questions, books appointments, collects lead details | Answers calls, books appointments, takes messages, texts you a summary |
| Best for | Customers who browse and message, often in the evening | Customers who ring, and businesses that miss calls while working |
| Running costs | Lower: billed by conversations | Higher: billed by call minutes, voice and phone line |
| Typical UK price (set up for you) | About £300 to £2,500 to set up, then £150 to £400 a month | About £250 to £2,500 to build, then £100 to £400 a month |
Prices are rough guides for done-for-you set-ups from published UK price guides (listed at the end), excluding VAT.
What an AI chatbot does
A chatbot sits on your website and messaging apps. It is trained on your services, prices and policies, replies in seconds, and answers only from your information. When someone is ready to book or buy, it takes their details or books them in, then sends the lead to you. If it is not sure of an answer, it hands over to a person instead of guessing.
Read more in our guide to what an AI chatbot costs in the UK.
What an AI receptionist does
An AI receptionist answers your phone in a natural voice, day and night, and can take several calls at once. It greets callers with your business name, answers common questions, books appointments into your diary and takes messages. After every call it texts or emails you a summary. You keep your number by diverting calls to it, for example when you are busy or after hours.
Read more in our guide to what an AI receptionist costs in the UK.
Which one does your business need?
Start with a chatbot if:
- Most enquiries come through your website or social media.
- Customers ask the same questions about prices, opening hours or availability.
- You want leads captured at night and at weekends, with their details filled in.
- You sell products and get “where is my order?” messages.
Start with an AI receptionist if:
- You miss calls because you are on a job, with a patient or with a client.
- Your customers would rather ring than type: trades, clinics, salons, solicitors, estate agents.
- A missed call often means a lost job, because the caller rings the next business.
- You want calls answered out of hours without paying an answering service per call.
Many businesses end up with both. Because they can share one set of answers, adding the second costs less than starting from scratch.
Chatbots and receptionists from AutomateX
We are a small UK team based in Cambridgeshire, and we build both. An AI receptionist starts from a £249 build fee plus £100 a month, and an AI chatbot from a £249 build fee plus £99 a month. Every plan includes a fair allowance of call minutes or conversations. The more you need and the more it does, the more it costs, so we confirm the price after a free call, before any work starts.