Which calls use up an AI receptionist's minutes?

Three different things, depending on the provider. Smith.ai's AI receptionist plans include a number of calls, with a charge for each call over¹. Rosie's plans include a number of minutes each month⁶, and Dialzara's include minutes with a per-minute charge once you go over⁷. Goodcall counts neither: its plans allow a number of unique customers a month, and each extra customer is billed⁴.

The unit matters more than the headline price, because it decides which calls are expensive. A long call costs more under minutes. A short call costs the same as a long one under per-call billing. A customer who calls five times costs once under a unique-customer count. Prices change often, so check each provider's own pricing page on the day you compare.

Unwanted calls are a big enough problem that stopping illegal robocalls is the FCC's top consumer protection priority⁵. Business numbers get them too, along with wrong numbers and sales pitches. Under minute billing a robocall that hangs up after ten seconds uses ten seconds. Under per-call billing it may count as a full call. Under a unique-customer count, each new spam number may count as a new customer.

Whether a provider charges for these calls is a rule you have to ask about. If its pricing page does not say, ask in writing which calls are excluded and how it spots them. You can also cut spam before it reaches the receptionist: the FCC tells people to ask their phone company about call blocking tools⁵, and it has allowed phone companies to block suspected illegal calls⁵.

Often, yes. When an AI receptionist transfers a caller to you, its line may stay on the call until someone hangs up, and the meter can keep running. Ask the provider exactly when billing stops: when the transfer starts, when the person you transferred to answers, or when the line drops. A transfer that rings for a minute before anyone picks up is a minute you pay for under minute billing.

Your phone company may charge too. If you forward your business number to the receptionist, Verizon bills forwarded calls under your plan when you don't have unlimited minutes², and AT&T bills forwarded calls for the length of the call³. So one forwarded call can show up on two bills. Our conditional call forwarding guide covers how to forward only the calls you miss.

Count a real month before you choose a plan. Your phone company's call log or your current answering service can give you three numbers: how many calls came in, how many different numbers called, and roughly how long the calls lasted. Then count the month the way each plan counts it.

The table shows one made-up month for a small business: 300 calls from 220 different numbers, lasting 2.5 minutes on average, with 30 of those calls being spam or wrong numbers that lasted about 20 seconds each. The same month is 750 minutes, 300 calls or 220 callers depending on the unit. Swap in your own numbers, and add a margin for your busiest season.