An AI receptionist for small businesses
A small business does not have a switchboard or three shifts of staff. An AI receptionist fills the gap: it answers what people always ask, at any hour, on the site where the customer already is.
What an AI receptionist is
An AI receptionist is an assistant that serves the customer when there is no person on the other side at that moment. Some products answer the phone. Hostly is the AI receptionist for the chat on your website.
She reads the business profile: hours, prices, services, instructions. If it is not written down, she says so. She does not invent an opening or a price. You see every conversation in the inbox.
Why a small business looks for one
The questions repeat. Outside opening hours, nobody is there. Hiring a person just for that does not pay. The AI receptionist filters the simple ones and leaves you the conversations that need judgement.
She does not replace your people. If you reply, the AI stays quiet. You can switch her off for the whole place, or by schedule: the AI at night, you during the day.
Why Hostly: the AI, or WhatsApp with the owner
The customer chooses. They talk to the AI in the chat on your website: hours, price, a booking if you turn it on. Or they tap the button and open your WhatsApp: there you reply, the owner, not a model.
That suits a small business better than a receptionist who only takes calls, or an AI dropped into WhatsApp. The automatic part stays on your page. The human part stays on your WhatsApp. They do not mix. You turn on one, the other, or both.
What Hostly does in a small business
- One line of code on your website. The chat appears on your page, not in someone else’s app.
- Answers from your profile and the catalogue. PDFs or photos once the product has indexed them.
- Optional bookings: the engine offers free times. A name does not list appointments.
- A complaint marked in the chat: you get an email. It does not replace official complaint forms.
- From 29,90 € a month, VAT not included. The plan sets the usage cap.
What this AI receptionist is not
Hostly does not answer the phone. It is not a switchboard. It does not put an AI inside WhatsApp. The button, if you turn it on, opens your WhatsApp and you reply yourselves.
WhatsApp is a Meta brand. Hostly does not use that name as a product. Someone looking for an AI receptionist for a small business on Hostly is looking for the chat on their website.
How you install it
You create an account, fill in the profile and paste the snippet. You can try it in the demo before you pay. Documentation. Try it on your website.
Questions about an AI receptionist for small businesses
What is an AI receptionist for a small business?
An assistant that serves the customer when there is no staff. On Hostly it is the chat on your website: it reads your profile, does not invent, and you see the inbox.
Does Hostly take calls like a telephone receptionist?
No. Hostly handles the chat on your website. It is not a switchboard and it is not a phone answering machine.
How much does an AI receptionist cost on Hostly?
From 29,90 € a month, VAT not included. The plan sets the cap on conversations and AI replies. Bookings are turned on in the dashboard.
Can I switch the AI receptionist off?
Yes. For the whole place, by schedule, or in one thread. If you reply, the AI stays quiet.
Does the customer talk to the AI or to the owner?
To both, if you turn them on. The AI in the website chat. The owner on WhatsApp. The AI does not enter WhatsApp.
More about Hostly: Chatbot and AI receptionist: how they help small businesses, An AI receptionist for local businesses, See plans.