Virtual receptionist
AI virtual receptionist
An AI virtual receptionist, in the chat on your website: she answers what you teach her and stays quiet when you take the thread. She is not a call centre and she is not an AI inside WhatsApp. The Counter plan is 29,90 € a month, VAT not included.
What it is, in this product
Hostly is the receptionist of one specific business. The visitor writes on that same website, not on someone else’s number. The AI uses the profile: hours, address, phone, prices, services and the instructions you have approved. If the question is not there, she says she does not know and offers a person or the phone number. She does not invent euros, durations or openings.
She is not a general assistant. A poem, a diagnosis or a topic that is not about the venue is refused, or left as “I don’t know”. She does not answer phone calls. She does not enter WhatsApp: the optional button opens yours and you reply yourselves. She does not sync Google Calendar or Outlook. The calendar, if you turn bookings on, is Hostly’s, or Beauty Calendar if you connect it.
How a normal day works
You paste a script tag copied from the dashboard. The chat appears on your domain. Someone asks if you are open, or what a service costs. The answer comes from the profile. If you turn bookings on, the chat checks the calendar and only suggests times the engine returns. Booking does not require an account. To view or cancel the appointment later, you need the same chat or a code sent to the email on that booking.
You see the thread in the inbox, on a computer or on a phone. You take over, or you hand it back. If you reply, the AI stays quiet in that thread. For the whole business the mode is on, off or hybrid. With the place closed and hybrid mode on, she sticks to hours, prices, the address and bookings. A complaint marked in the chat goes to a person and emails the address in Settings, up to five times an hour. It does not replace official complaint forms.
You can upload a PDF or a photo of the menu. The chat does not read the raw file. It uses what you review and approve. If there is no written cancellation rule, it does not invent a deadline or a surcharge.
Which trades
The same virtual receptionist changes with the profile. In a hair salon she talks about services and appointments. In a clinic or a physiotherapy practice, about hours and openings, with no diagnosis and no health data in the profile. In a restaurant, about the menu and tables, with the deposit off until you turn it on. In a shop, about prices, hours and how to order or collect.
Hair salon chatbot · Clinic chatbot · Restaurant chatbot · Shops
Language, privacy and price
The AI replies in the language the visitor writes in and translates the profile as she answers. She does not convert prices. The chat window is in Spanish. This marketing site can be read in other languages from the menu. The business dashboard is separate.
The business is responsible for its customers’ messages. Icaro Nutrition SCP is the processor: there is a data processing agreement. The database and the files are in the European Union. OpenAI generates the replies and, if it does not respond, Gemini may step in. In both cases the message and the profile are processed outside the EU. One business cannot see another’s chats. Rights requests go to info@hostly.org.es.
Counter: 29,90 € a month, VAT not included, 600 conversations and 1,800 replies, one person on the dashboard. Reception 49,90 €, Hall 99,90 €, Headquarters 200 €. Pay-as-you-go: 10 €, VAT included, for 500 replies, with no fee. A monthly plan starts when you pay. There is no free subscription month. The demo uses your business’s website for 24 hours, one try a day, and then deletes it. If the plan hits the cap, the visitor sees that a person will review the message. hostly.org.es uses this same receptionist: it is the product on its own website, not a customer case study.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI virtual receptionist?
On Hostly it is the chat on your own website. She handles hours, prices and, if you turn them on, bookings with real times. She reads the business profile. You see every conversation in the inbox and you can take over.
Is it an answering machine or a generic chatbot?
She is not a phone answering machine and she is not an AI inside WhatsApp. She does not answer just any topic either: if the question is not in the profile, she says she does not know. The WhatsApp button, if you add it, opens your chat and you reply yourselves.
Which languages does the virtual receptionist reply in?
The reply follows the language the visitor writes in. She translates the profile as she answers and does not convert prices or durations. The chat window is in Spanish. The business dashboard is separate from the language of this website.
How much does it cost, and what happens if she does not know?
From 29,90 € a month, VAT not included, on the Counter plan. If she does not know the answer, she says so and offers a person or the phone number. She does not invent prices or openings. A monthly plan starts when you pay. The demo lasts 24 hours.