FAQs
How many callas are missed by a typical UK business?
About 30‑40% of incoming calls may be missed by a typical UK business during business hours — and nearly 100% outside of regular hours
What is the cost of an unanswered call?
When calls go unanswered, the cost can be significant: one study estimated UK businesses losing upwards of £50,000 annually from missed calls
Does that mean I miss sales?
In financial services, for example, approximately 49% of inbound calls to banks and lenders were missed in one study — about 20% of those missed calls were estimated to have converted into sales.
But shouldn’t a ‘real’ person answer my phone?
No, not any more, only around 61% of business calls are answered by a live person across many industries. People do not always expect, or indeed need, a real person at the end of the line.
Does AI actually help my business?
Research shows that use of AI receptionists can lead to large gains: businesses using AI‑powered reception report up to 300% increase in appointment bookings in first year
Is an AI receptionist actually better than a human?
AI receptionists can capture up to 97% of calls (or handle many more calls) compared to human teams, especially after hours. Great human receptionists are obviously very valuable, but an AI assistant can do things that their human counterparts cannot - like work 24/7.
Is it value for money?
Cost and efficiency benefits - AI reception solutions often reduce staffing and operational costs by 27‑90%, depending on business case, but it is likely to be significant especially for small businesses.
Does it help with lead capture?
Absolutely. Traditional voicemail systems may only get contact details from 20‑30% of callers, whereas AI receptionists can capture 85‑95%.
Also, around 30‑50% more leads can be captured simply by implementing 24/7 AI receptionist call handling, according to some vendor case studies.
Does every call count?
Businesses where every call could equal revenue, the evidence shows: if you're not answering the phone quickly (or at all), you're likely losing money — whether via missed bookings, lost leads, wasted marketing spend or brand damage. No one wants to call a business to get their call unanswered or answered ineffectively - it damages the brand and the business. Every call does (and should) count.