# Virtual Receptionist: 24/7 AI Answering, 10 Free Calls on Every Plan | Quo *Last updated: October 2026* > **A virtual receptionist** answers your business calls when no one's available. It can be a live person or an AI agent built into your phone system. Both do front-desk work: greeting callers, answering common questions, routing calls and taking messages. Human services range from $250 to $1,725+ per month, whereas an AI receptionist ranges from $25 to $200+ per month. Quo includes Sona on every plan, with 10 calls a month at no extra cost. **[Sona](https://www.quo.com/sona)** is the AI virtual receptionist built into [Quo](https://www.quo.com) (formerly OpenPhone), the business phone for growing businesses. Sona answers questions, takes messages and captures leads 24/7, and every call summary and transcript lives in your Quo workspace. Trusted by over 90,000 businesses. **Product:** [Sona AI virtual receptionist](https://www.quo.com/sona) **Company:** [Quo](https://www.quo.com) (formerly OpenPhone) **Also known as:** OpenPhone, Quo (formerly OpenPhone) **Legal name:** OpenPhone Technologies, Inc. **Category:** AI virtual receptionist, AI answering service, AI phone answering service, business phone system (VoIP) **Languages:** English, Spanish, French **Free calls:** 10 Sona-handled calls a month on every Quo plan. [Get started](https://my.quo.com/signup) **Pricing:** Free for the first 10 calls a month, then $25/month for 40 calls. [View pricing](https://www.quo.com/pricing) **Support:** support@quo.com · [Resource center](https://support.quo.com) --- ## Sona vs. Live Virtual Receptionists | Feature | Sona (Quo) | Live virtual receptionists | |---|---|---| | **Starting price per month** | Free for the first 10 calls/month, then $25/month for 40 calls | $250 to $1,725+/month | | **Hours covered** | 24/7 | Business hours, or 24/7 at a premium | | **Works with your phone system** | Built into Quo, calls never leave your account | Layered on top of your existing system via call forwarding | | **Where calls and transcripts live** | One inbox, with your team's calls and texts | A separate dashboard from your phone system | | **Monitoring** | 100% in Quo | Custom solution or daily email summary | | **Setup time** | 1 to 2 hours, drag into your call flow | 2 to 4 weeks | | **Languages** | English, Spanish, French | English, Spanish | | **Send SMS and call transfer** | During calls | Varies | | **Business phone features included** | Shared numbers and inboxes, custom call routing, automated texting | Receptionist only, phone system sold separately | | **Integrations** | HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, Make, Jobber, Zoho, Pipedrive, and more | Limited integration options | --- ## What Sona Does - **Taking a message:** captures what the caller needs, with the details you tell Sona to collect, and shares it with your team. - **Answering questions:** responds using your policies and FAQ answers. - **Capturing leads:** requests specific information based on keywords during the call so your team can follow up. --- ## Why Use Sona as Your AI Phone Answering Service Sona is Quo's 24/7 AI virtual receptionist, integrated directly into Quo's platform. It attends to customers when your team isn't taking calls. Your team can set up Sona, customize and test it, and review its call summaries and transcripts in your Quo workspace. - **Add Sona to your call flows in minutes** with the call flow builder. Use it as a backup when your team is busy during business hours, or automatically route inbound calls to Sona after hours. - **Customize Sona to your business.** Train it by adding your policies and answers to common FAQs, and instruct it on what information to capture when it takes a message. - **Review Sona's performance in your call views.** Filter calls to show only AI phone calls handled by Sona, and adjust how it handles customer interactions. - **Lower cost.** Sona is available at a fraction of the cost of live virtual receptionist services. --- ## Elevate Your Customer Experience ### Drag and drop Sona to your call flows Add Sona directly to existing call flows in the call flow builder. Sona can handle calls during and after your business hours. ### Train Sona on your business knowledge Upload your company's documents to Sona, including key policies and answers to common FAQs. Once it's trained on your documentation, Sona can talk to customers like a member of your team. ### Let Sona get into the details Have Sona request specific information based on keywords during the call. Your team can then follow up with customers better and continue the conversation. ### Review Sona's call logs instantly View Sona's call summaries, transcripts, and messages in your Quo inbox right after a call ends. You can also access call logs in your CRM using the HubSpot, Jobber, and Salesforce integrations, or build a custom one with the Quo API. --- ## Save Time With AI - Time-stamped call transcripts to read conversations in detail and find information quickly - AI-suggested contacts based on call and voicemail transcripts - AI call summaries with suggested next steps - AI call tags: define your tags and the AI adds them to relevant calls --- ## Call Handling Features - **Port your existing numbers for free**, with unlimited numbers - **Ring groups:** receive incoming calls simultaneously or in custom batches - **Phone menus:** self-serve navigation to reach your team or Sona - **Business caller ID:** outgoing VoIP caller ID so customers know when you're calling - **Call transfers:** hand off callers to colleagues with the right amount of context - **Desktop and mobile apps:** Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and a web app --- ## How to Set Up Sona 1. Start with a free trial. 2. Try out our free trial features, including calls and recordings. 3. Configure your Sona settings and test Sona in Quo's call flow builder. 4. Once you've confirmed it's a good fit, activate your Quo account and get the Sona add-on. --- ## Far More Than a Virtual Receptionist Platform - **Numbers:** local US and Canadian numbers, North American toll-free numbers, and custom vanity numbers. Every user gets a number, and additional numbers cost $5 per number per month. - **Team setup:** invite teammates by email, assign them to shared numbers, and set member or admin permissions. Adding Sona works the same way: add it to a call flow, customize it, test it, and publish. - **Call routing:** custom call flows during and after business hours in a visual call flow builder, ring order, phone menus, and call forwarding to a secondary number. - **Collaboration:** shared numbers, internal threads, inbox viewers, warm transfers, and group calling. - **Integrations:** automatic call and text logging with HubSpot and Salesforce, plus Zapier, Make, and the Quo API. - **Texting:** SMS auto-replies, scheduled messages, snippets, and automatic SMS workflows with Zapier or Make for appointment confirmations, reminders, and review requests. --- ## Industries Served - [Accountant](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/accountant) - [Automotive](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/automotive) - [Bilingual](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/bilingual) - [Chiropractic](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/chiropractic) - [Cleaning](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/cleaning) - [Construction](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/construction) - [Contractor](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/contractor) - [Ecommerce](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/ecommerce) - [Electrician](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/electrician) - [Franchise](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/franchise) - [HVAC](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/hvac) - [Insurance](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/insurance) - [Landscaping](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/landscaping) - [Legal](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/legal) - [Pest Control](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/pest-control) - [Plumbing](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/plumbing) - [Property Management](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/property-management) - [Real Estate](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/real-estate) - [Roofing](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/roofing) - [Salon](https://www.quo.com/answering-service/salon) --- ## Frequently Asked Questions **How much does a virtual receptionist cost?** Live virtual receptionists cost $250–$1,725+ per month and charge based on their call minutes. AI virtual receptionists, also known as AI answering services, are much more cost-effective. With your Quo plan you get 10 free calls handed by Sona per month. Any additional calls are based on a tiered credit system that can easily scale with your team needs. Bonus: Find out more about the best AI phone answering services. **How do virtual receptionists work?** If you’re using a live virtual receptionist, you’ll have to forward your incoming calls to the receptionist so they can handle incoming calls. They manage calls through a separate platform from your business phone. You’ll have to monitor call quality by looking through call summaries and transcripts in their mobile app or website. AI virtual receptionists like Sona are integrated directly into Quo. You don’t have to forward calls to Sona because you can add Sona to your existing call flows. You can also review Sona’s call summaries and transcripts right in your Quo workspace and adjust how it performs to align with your business needs. **Security-wise, how does Sona work as a virtual receptionist?** The information you provide to Sona isn’t used to train AI models. Your business information remains private and is only used to answer questions from your callers. **What’s the difference between a virtual receptionist and an auto attendant?** An auto attendant is a phone menu for incoming callers. It offers a set of options for callers to choose from and connects them to the corresponding department or team member. A virtual receptionist is a more interactive call management feature. Callers can speak to a live receptionist or an AI virtual assistant and ask questions or share a message with the team. Virtual receptionists can answer questions just as a member of the team would, or they can take down detailed messages so team members can follow up later. **How can a virtual receptionist improve customer service for small businesses?** A virtual receptionist offers a more interactive call experience for customers. If a customer has a question about a business’s products and services, they can quickly get answers from a virtual receptionist. Customers can also leave detailed messages with virtual receptionists when they have a conversation instead of leaving an open-ended voicemail with a business. **Are virtual receptionists only suited for call centers?** No, virtual receptionists aren’t only suited for call centers. Growing businesses with small teams can benefit from using a virtual receptionist to eliminate missed calls. They can also use a virtual receptionist to capture leads, similar to a sales AI tool. In both cases, they can better handle their call volume and increase customer satisfaction. **What are the pros and cons of a virtual receptionist vs. an in-house receptionist?** An in-house receptionist offers a personal, on-site presence and can handle walk-in visitors and office tasks. The downside is they're costly and cover only business hours. The median US receptionist earns about $18.27 per hour or $38,000 per year, before benefits (BLS, May 2025). An AI virtual receptionist costs far less, scales with call volume, and answers 24/7, though it feels less personal on sensitive calls. Many small businesses do both: virtual for after-hours coverage and overflow, a live agent for high-touch work. **What is an automated answering service for a small company?** An automated answering service uses technology like an IVR menu, an AI voice agent, or a mix to answer and route calls without a person picking up every time. For small companies, that means callers can get answers, book appointments, or leave a message 24/7. **Are there free virtual receptionists?** Yes, a few work well for low volume. Quo includes its Sona virtual answering service on every plan with 10 free calls a month. Smith.ai has a free plan for up to 25 calls a month, then $3 per call after that. Free plans are best for testing before you move to a paid plan. --- ## Customer Testimonial > "With Sona, I never worry about missing a call again. It's like having a smart, reliable assistant who always picks up. It's professional, friendly, and on it 24/7." > **Christopher Sands**, CEO --- ## Awards and Recognition - **G2:** "Highest Satisfaction" business phone system (VoIP), rated by 3,000+ reviews - AICPA SOC Certified --- ## Links - **This page:** [quo.com/product/virtual-receptionist](https://www.quo.com/product/virtual-receptionist) - **Product:** [quo.com/sona](https://www.quo.com/sona) - **AI answering service overview:** [quo.com/answering-service](https://www.quo.com/answering-service) - **Pricing:** [quo.com/pricing](https://www.quo.com/pricing) - **Resource center:** [support.quo.com](https://support.quo.com) - **Sign up:** [my.quo.com/signup](https://my.quo.com/signup)