AI Receptionist vs. Virtual Receptionist vs. Hiring In-House: Which Is Right for Your Business?

You've decided your business needs better phone coverage. Maybe you're missing too many calls while working on jobs. Maybe your current receptionist is overwhelmed. Or maybe you're a solo operator who's tired of interrupting client work to answer the phone.

Whatever brought you here, you're facing the same question every growing service business asks: What's the best way to handle incoming calls?

In 2026, you have three main options: hire an in-house receptionist, use a virtual receptionist service, or deploy an AI receptionist. Each has distinct advantages, costs, and trade-offs. Let's break down exactly what you're getting with each option so you can make the right choice for your business.

Option 1: Hiring an In-House Receptionist

The traditional approach: bring someone onto your team to sit at a desk and answer phones during business hours.

What You Get

• Dedicated human attention — A real person who becomes deeply familiar with your business
• Multi-tasking capability — Can handle walk-ins, filing, scheduling, and other admin work
• Personal relationship building — Regular callers get to know them by name
• Immediate escalation — Can physically find you or another team member when needed
• Cultural fit — Becomes part of your team and represents your brand in person

The Real Costs

Here's where most business owners underestimate the investment:

And that's just the monetary cost. You also need to factor in:

• Hiring time: 2–6 weeks to find, interview, and hire the right person
• Training period: 2–4 weeks before they're fully effective
• Turnover risk: Average receptionist tenure is 1–2 years, then you start over
• Sick days and vacations: Who answers when they're out?
• Limited hours: No coverage nights, weekends, or holidays without overtime

Best For

Businesses with a physical location where someone needs to greet walk-in customers AND answer phones, typically with 50+ daily interactions that benefit from in-person service. Think medical offices, law firms with client meetings, or retail establishments.

Option 2: Virtual Receptionist Services

A team of remote human receptionists who answer calls on your behalf. You get a dedicated phone number or forward your existing line, and their team handles incoming calls using scripts you provide.

What You Get

• Human voice and judgment — Real people handling complex or emotional situations
• Extended hours — Many services offer 24/7 coverage
• No HR headaches — They handle hiring, training, and management
• Scalable capacity — Can handle call spikes without overwhelming a single person
• Basic message taking and transfers — Standard across most services

The Real Costs

Virtual receptionist pricing typically follows one of these models:

Hidden Limitations

• Script limitations: Receptionists follow scripts; complex questions get forwarded to you
• Variable quality: You might get different receptionists each call with varying familiarity
• Hold times: During peak hours, callers may wait before reaching someone
• No calendar integration: Most basic plans require you to handle scheduling separately
• Limited customization: Changing how calls are handled often requires plan upgrades
• Overage anxiety: Busy months can result in surprise bills

Best For

Businesses that receive primarily straightforward calls (appointment requests, basic questions), want human interaction, and have predictable call volumes that fit within package limits. Professional services like accounting firms or consultants often find good value here.

Option 3: AI Receptionist (Like Greet)

An AI-powered system that answers calls, has natural conversations, schedules appointments, answers FAQs, and routes urgent matters to you—all automatically.

What You Get

• 24/7/365 coverage — Never misses a call, never takes a day off
• Unlimited concurrent calls — Handles 10 calls at once as easily as 1
• Consistent experience — Every caller gets the same professional treatment
• Calendar integration — Books appointments directly into your schedule
• Customizable personality — Matches your brand voice and knows your business
• Instant scalability — No training needed when your call volume grows
• Detailed transcripts — Every call documented automatically
• Smart routing — Identifies urgent calls and contacts you immediately

The Real Costs

Considerations

• Not human: Some callers prefer talking to a person (though AI quality has improved dramatically)
• Complex situations: Very unusual or highly emotional calls may need human follow-up
• Initial setup: You'll spend time customizing FAQs and business information
• Technology comfort: You need to be comfortable with app-based management

Best For

Service businesses that miss calls while working on jobs, need after-hours coverage, want to capture every lead, and value cost predictability. HVAC contractors, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, salons, dental offices, and similar businesses see the biggest impact.

The Complete Comparison

Let's put all three options side by side:

Real-World Scenarios: Which Option Wins?

Scenario 1: Solo HVAC Contractor

Situation: You're on a roof replacing an AC unit when your phone rings. You can't answer. By the time you call back 2 hours later, the customer has already booked with someone else.

Best option: AI Receptionist. At $99/month, Greet answers immediately, schedules the service call, and texts you the details. You never miss a lead, and the ROI on a single captured job pays for months of service.

Scenario 2: Growing Dental Practice

Situation: You have a front desk staff member, but she's overwhelmed during peak hours and can't answer every call. You need backup, not a replacement.

Best option: AI Receptionist as backup. Forward overflow calls to Greet. Your in-house receptionist handles walk-ins and complex situations while AI catches everything else. Total cost: your existing salary + $99–$199/month.

Scenario 3: Boutique Law Firm

Situation: Your clients expect to speak with a person, and many calls involve sensitive or complex situations requiring human judgment.

Best option: Virtual receptionist. The human touch matters here, and the per-call cost is justified by client expectations. Consider AI for after-hours initial intake only.

Scenario 4: Multi-Location Service Business

Situation: You run 3 plumbing locations with different service areas and need consistent phone coverage across all without tripling staff.

Best option: AI Receptionist. One Greet setup handles all locations with location-aware routing and scheduling. Would require 3 in-house receptionists ($140,000+/year) or complex virtual receptionist arrangements ($2,000+/month).

Questions to Ask Yourself

Before you decide, honestly answer these questions:

1. How many calls do you miss each week? If the answer is more than 5, you're likely losing thousands in revenue.
2. Do callers need to speak with a human for their first contact? For most service businesses, they just need to book an appointment or get a question answered quickly.
3. What's your busiest calling time? If it's when you're doing your actual work, you need something that doesn't require your attention.
4. Do you get calls outside business hours? Nights and weekends are when many customers try to reach service businesses.
5. What's your average customer lifetime value? Compare that to the annual cost of each option. Usually, capturing just a few extra customers pays for AI many times over.

The Bottom Line

There's no universally "right" answer—only the right answer for your business.

Choose in-house if you have a physical location with walk-in traffic, can afford the full cost of an employee, and value having someone who's physically present as part of your team.

Choose virtual if your callers genuinely need human conversation for complex or emotional situations, and you have predictable call volumes that fit within package pricing.

Choose AI if you're a service business owner who misses calls while working, wants 24/7 coverage without the cost, needs unlimited scalability, and values capturing every potential customer at a predictable monthly rate.

For most small service businesses—contractors, salons, clinics, and professional services—AI receptionists like Greet offer the best combination of coverage, capability, and cost. You get enterprise-level call handling at a fraction of what you'd pay for human alternatives.

The question isn't whether you can afford a better phone solution. It's whether you can afford to keep missing calls.

Greet — AI-powered call handling that costs less than a single missed customer. Start capturing every opportunity today. 📞