AI receptionist or answering service? What fits a small business in Canada

When the phone rings and you can't answer, three things can happen. It goes to voicemail. A person at an answering service picks up. Or an AI receptionist, sometimes called an AI answering service, answers. Here is what each one does for a small business in Canada, what it costs, and when a human service is still the better choice.

Quick summary

What other AI receptionists in Canada charge, each price copied from the company's own page with the date it was checked: our dated price comparison.

Voicemail: a message, if the caller leaves one

Voicemail is the default. It takes a message only when the caller chooses to leave one, and a caller who hangs up can call the next business in seconds. To see how many of your callers did, compare last month's missed calls in your call log with the voicemails you got. Our post on what missed calls cost turns that count into dollars.

Some voicemail services transcribe the message or text it to you. That saves you listening, but ask whether it also books the appointment: a transcript still needs a callback.

When voicemail is fine: for businesses where the typical caller is an existing customer who already knows you (your accountant, your lawyer). Those callers will leave a message and wait for a return call.

Human answering services for small business

A human answering service is a step up: a real person picks up in your company's name, follows a script you provide, and takes detailed messages. The good ones screen out telemarketers, capture caller info reliably, and forward urgent calls to your cell on a schedule you control.

Before you sign with one, ask:

• Can you see my calendar and book during the call?
• Do you know my prices and my services?
• Do you answer in English and French, at night and on weekends?
• How is a minute counted, and what does a month cost at my call volume? Answering services are often billed by the minute, so this is the question that matters most.

An answering service tells you "a Sarah called about a leaky kitchen tap." An AI receptionist tells you "Sarah is booked Thursday at 2pm."

AI receptionists: an answering service that books

An AI receptionist picks up, has a real conversation, checks your calendar, books the appointment and texts the caller a confirmation before they hang up. You get a text recap as soon as the call ends. The whole thing happens in one call.

What makes the modern generation different from the IVR phone trees you remember ("press 1 for hours, press 2 for…"):

• It actually listens. No keyword menu. The caller speaks naturally; the AI understands.
• It knows your business. At setup it reads your website and builds your list of services, hours and prices. When a caller asks "how much for a basic cleaning?", it reads back the price in your list or on your site. Check that list once at setup.
• It books during the call. Not a callback promise but a booked slot in Cedri's agenda, also copied to Google Calendar or Outlook if you connect one (beta), with a confirmation text on its way to the caller.
• It works in EN and FR. Switches mid-call if the caller does, which matters in Quebec and bilingual markets.
• It puts a caller through to a person on request. If a caller asks for someone, Cedri transfers them to the transfer number you set (Settings, then AI agent).

The price, instead of a quote

Cedri is one plan: $18.99 CAD a month, with 30 answered calls included, or $189.99 a year, which saves $38. Calls under 10 seconds don't count. Past 30, the line keeps answering, and extra calls come in packs on the web: 10 for $12.99, 25 for $29.99 or 50 for $49.99. On iPhone, the app sells its own packs through the App Store: 20 calls for $15 or 60 calls for $39. No per-minute charges and no after-hours surcharge. See pricing.

A human answering service sets its own price, often billed by the minute. To compare, take last month's number of calls and their length from your call log, and ask the service for the total for that month. For AI receptionists, the dated price comparison lists each company's entry plan with its source.

When a human answering service is the better choice

An AI receptionist is not the right answer for every line. A person is the better choice when:

• The caller needs judgement a script cannot give. Whether a symptom can wait, whether a legal problem is worth a consultation, or what price to agree on during the call. On a medical clinic's or a law office's line, Cedri is told never to give medical or legal advice: it takes the reason for the call and offers to book them in.
• Someone has to dispatch or triage. If every urgent call must be sorted and sent to the right technician or crew at any hour, a person or an on-call team does that job. Cedri can put a caller through to the one number you set, or take an urgent message; it does not choose between your technicians or send a crew.
• A rule says callers must reach a person. When your licence, a contract or your own policy says a person answers every call, a human service meets it and an AI does not. Cedri says on every call that it is an AI, and a caller who asks for a person is put through to your transfer number. That helps when someone is free to pick up, and it is not the same as a person answering every call.

For the rest, the calls that end in a booking, a question about your hours or a request for a quote, an AI receptionist does the job day and night on one monthly plan.

Which one is right for your business?

Use voicemail if…

Your callers are existing customers, you have low call volume, and your business doesn't depend on speed-to-respond. Accountants, lawyers with a tight book, B2B vendors.

Use a human answering service if…

Your calls need a person's judgement on the spot, someone has to dispatch them between your staff, or a rule says a person answers (see above).

Use an AI receptionist if…

You run a service business where missing a call is missing a job. Plumbing, dental, salon, auto repair, HVAC, cleaning, wellness, and anywhere else the typical inbound call is "I need to book something."

Hear Cedri for yourself. Call the demo line at (437) 475-4321, say what kind of business you run and ask for an appointment, or tap the orb on the homepage to talk to it in your browser. No sign-up needed.