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Talk to it like a real caller would. Interrupt it. Ask something Sayora can't know. Ask whether you're talking to a robot: Sayora will tell you.
Virtual receptionist service
An AI virtual receptionist that answers every call.
A virtual receptionist answers your business calls for you, without sitting in your office. Sayora is the AI kind, and tells new callers so. Sayora answers day and night, learns your business from your website, books your diary and sends the lead by text or email. One flat £49 a month.
Built in Edinburgh Free to tryKeep your numberCancel anytime
Hear it first
Don't take our word for it. Ring it.
Nobody should buy a receptionist off a web page. There are two ways to hear Sayora before you decide, and both are free.
Your own receptionist
Build yours, then ring that
Give Sayora your business name. Sayora reads your website and builds your receptionist in minutes. Then call it and hear Sayora answer for you. No card, no commitment.
Build yours free The job
What does a virtual receptionist do?
Whoever does it, the job is the same: greet the caller in your business name, find out what they need, take a message or book an appointment, and pass it on to you. Some services use people, some use AI and some use both. You might know it as virtual reception, or as a remote, outsourced or telephone receptionist. Here's how Sayora does it.
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Answers in your business name
Day and night, bank holidays included. A real, warm British voice that tells new callers it's AI and gets on with helping.
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Finds out what the caller needs
Name, number, what they need and how urgent it is, plus up to three details you choose. The questions you'd ask, asked properly.
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Answers the questions you get every day
Hours, areas you cover, rough prices, what you do and don't do. Sayora learns them from your website.
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Screens the cold callers
Sayora ends calls that are selling to your business or playing a recorded message. Test it alongside genuine enquiries to check how Sayora tells them apart.
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Books straight into your diary
With your calendar connected and bookings set up, Sayora sees your real availability, offers the slot, books it mid-call and texts the customer a confirmation.
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Takes the message and sends it to you
A structured summary by text, email or both when the call ends, with the recording and transcript in your Sayora app.
09:31
Sayora
Text message
This morning
📞 New call · 8.12am
Priya Shah · 07700 900321
New customer, found you on Google. Dripping kitchen tap and a slow-draining bath, not urgent. Booked her in for Thursday at 2pm and sent the confirmation.
Listen: sayora.ai/c/k7q2p1
Just now
📞 New call · 9.27am
Dave Norris · 07700 900654
Wants a quote to replace the radiator in his back bedroom. Mornings suit him for a visit, and he's expecting your call.
Listen: sayora.ai/c/m3x8r4
Finding the right fit
Human or AI? Start with your calls.
The useful difference is what your caller needs to happen next. Sayora is our AI service. A human or hybrid service is the stronger choice when a caller needs a person during the conversation.
| What matters | Human or hybrid | Sayora (AI) |
|---|---|---|
| Questions and judgement | A human can discuss an unusual request within your brief. Agree what the receptionist may decide and what needs your team. | Sayora uses your business information for routine questions and enquiries. AI can make mistakes, so test important answers before forwarding customer calls. |
| A person during the call | Choose a plan with call transfers or staffed AI fallback. Confirm who takes over and what happens if they're unavailable. | Sayora has no live transfer or staffed fallback. Sayora captures the request and sends a text or email summary for your team to follow up. |
| Hours and cost | Human services can offer 24/7 cover too. Compare included hours, your expected usage, transfers and any extra charges. | 24/7 answering is included in the £49 plan, with unlimited minutes under fair use. Your team still needs to act on the enquiry. |
Service features checked 15 September 2026: ReceptionHQ publishes 24/7 human answering and transfers; Moneypenny describes AI with human fallback. Confirm the selected plan's cover and charges. Our provider shortlist explains the options, and Sayora's pricing page sets out fair use.
Before diverting real calls, try an ordinary enquiry, a question outside your brief and a request for a person. Check the final message and who takes the next step. Use the trial checklist to record what happens.
For a decision based on your own call types, use the human, AI or hybrid worksheet.
Who you're dealing with
We're early. Here's who you're dealing with.
This is where a company usually puts its reviews. We haven't earned ours yet, so here's something more useful: the people, and the rules we build inside.
A note from the foundersEdinburgh
We don't have a wall of reviews to show you yet. We're early, and we'd rather say so than pretend.
What we do have is a number you can ring right now, and two people who read what happens on it. Jacob reads every early-access call transcript. Bran makes sure Sayora picks up when your phone rings. If something isn't right, email hi@sayora.ai and one of us replies, not a ticket.
We build Sayora in Edinburgh because we think AI should be earning its keep for British small businesses, not just the big ones. We started with the phone because that's where the next job goes missing.
Ring the demo. Then decide.
Ofcom compliant
Proper caller ID
Sayora presents compliant UK caller ID on every call. Your business shows up as your business, not an 'unknown number' that gets screened.
No pretending
AI disclosure up front
Sayora tells new callers it's AI, right at the start, then gets on with helping them. A caller Sayora recognises is welcomed back.
Plain English
UK GDPR, spelled out
Call recordings, transcripts and caller details are handled under UK GDPR, with retention and rights written in plain English on our data page.
UK native
Built for how Britain phones
UK numbers with local area codes, clear £ pricing, and a real, warm British voice that greets callers the way Britain expects.
Sayora Ltd is registered in Scotland, company number SC888928. The full data detail lives on how we handle your data, and the rest of the story is about us.
What it costs
One price. Every call included.
Sayora Early access · one plan
- Dedicated UK landlineyour area code, Ofcom-compliant CLI
- Every call answeredstraight away, day and night
- Unlimited minutesno per-minute charges, no overage
- Trained on your businessreads your website, learns your prices
- Lead summary by text or emailsent as the call ends
- Calendar bookingreal availability, booked mid-call
- Customer textsconfirmations sent in your business's name
- Spam screeningcold callers politely turned away
- Returning-caller memorygreets repeat callers by name
- Recordings and transcriptsevery call in your Sayora app
Total £49/month
No setup fee · no contract
Why flat matters
The bill shouldn't follow your phone.
Most human virtual receptionist services bill by the call or by the minute. Transfers can be charged on top, and some plans round every call up to a whole minute. A busy month costs more than a quiet one, and you find out afterwards.
Sayora is £49 a month whatever happens. A quiet month and a mad one cost the same. The only thing that changes is how many jobs Sayora booked.
See full pricingComparing other UK services
We've put published prices from UK services side by side, and worked out the bill at the same call volumes, in the telephone answering service cost guide. It also shows which services only give their full price on a quote. To price your own month, use the cost calculator.
Weighing up a particular provider? See how Sayora compares with Moneypenny, AnswerConnect, JAM and alldayPA, or start from the shortlist of UK answering services.
Setting up
Built in minutes. Live today.
No onboarding call, no script to write, no waiting for a team to be briefed.
- 01
Build it from your website
Give Sayora your business name. Sayora reads your site and builds a receptionist that knows your services, areas, hours and prices. Free, no card.
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Ring it yourself
Call your receptionist and put it through its paces. Ask what your customers ask. Correct any wrong answers in your Sayora app, then ring again.
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Claim it and divert your number
Start your 7-day trial: you add a card, and nothing is charged until the week is up. Point the calls you can't pick up at your new UK landline, busy or after hours, or send every call there from a mobile. Your number stays yours.
The honest bit
Sometimes you should pay for a person.
If your callers routinely need long, delicate conversations, or the first hello involves negotiation, discretion or a judgement call, a good human answering service earns its money. Several UK firms do it well, and we've compared them honestly, contract terms and all.
Compare human servicesWhat Sayora doesn't do
- Make calls. Sayora is inbound only. Sayora answers your phone and never rings anyone for you.
- Put callers through. Sayora takes the details and sends them by text or email within seconds, without transferring a live call to your mobile.
- Pretend. Sayora is AI and tells new callers so. AI can get things wrong, which is why every call is recorded and transcribed for you to check.
- Run a call centre. Unlimited minutes means ordinary use by one business, not a switchboard.
Fair questions
Virtual receptionists, in plain English.
What is a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist answers your business calls without being on your premises. The service may use human receptionists, AI, or a combination. Sayora is an AI receptionist that works from your business information and sends enquiries by text, email or both.
Is a virtual receptionist the same as a remote or outsourced receptionist?
Near enough, when the job is answering your phone. Virtual reception, a remote receptionist, an outsourced receptionist and a telephone receptionist are all names for the same arrangement: your business calls answered by someone, or something, outside your premises. A telephone answering service is the same idea. What matters is the job: who answers, what they can do during the call, and what reaches you afterwards.
What is an AI virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist where AI answers the call instead of a person. The AI holds a conversation with the caller, so there's no phone menu asking them to press one. Sayora is one, talking to callers in a natural voice, working from the information you give about your business and telling callers it's AI when they first call.
Is Sayora a real person?
No. Sayora is AI and tells callers so when they first call, then gets on with helping them. Sayora speaks in a real, warm British voice you choose, handles interruptions and tangents, and asks the questions you would ask.
How do virtual receptionist services charge?
By the call, by the minute, or as a monthly plan with an allowance. Sayora is £49 a month flat, with unlimited minutes and 24/7 cover included. Our telephone answering service cost guide sets out published prices from UK services and works out the bill at the same call volumes.
Can a virtual receptionist take messages?
Yes, it's the core of the job. Sayora finds out what the caller needs, flags anything urgent and asks up to three extra details you choose, like a postcode. When the call ends you get a summary by text, email or both, with the full details in your Sayora app.
Can a virtual receptionist book appointments?
Sayora can. Connect Google Calendar or Cal.com, choose what callers can book, and Sayora sees your real availability, offers a slot, books it during the call and texts the customer a confirmation in your business's name.
Do I need a new number or new equipment?
No. Sayora gives you a dedicated UK landline in your area code, and you divert the calls you can't pick up to it, whether you're busy or it's after hours. From a mobile, you can send every call straight there instead. Customers still ring the number they know, and your number stays with your current provider.
What happens if Sayora can't answer a question?
Sayora is instructed to say so when the answer isn't in your business information, and to capture the question for you to follow up. You can review the recording and transcript. AI can make mistakes, so test your important questions before diverting customer calls.
Is it really 24/7?
Yes. Nights, weekends and bank holidays, with no extra charge and no rota. That's the point of an AI receptionist.
What if two people ring at once?
Both get answered. Sayora isn't one person with one phone, so the second caller doesn't wait for the first to finish.
How does the free trial work?
Build your receptionist free, no card needed, and ring it to hear Sayora handle your calls. When you claim it for your business, your 7-day trial starts. You add a card then, but nothing is charged until the week is up. Cancel before then and pay nothing.
Is there a contract?
No. Month to month, cancel anytime. Early-access customers keep the £49 price as we grow.
Where do the call recordings go?
Into your Sayora app, alongside the transcript and the caller's details. They're handled under UK GDPR, and our data page sets out retention and your rights in plain English.
Keep comparing
Best answering services UK
The human services compared honestly, with prices and contract terms.
AI receptionistWhat an AI receptionist is and how it works, in plain English.
Call handlingWhat Sayora does on a call, and the full story you get afterwards.
Telephone answering serviceThe wider category: who answers, what it costs, what happens to the lead.
Meet the receptionist who never rings out.
Build it from your website, ring it, then decide. Free to try, no card.
£49/mo. Unlimited minutes. Cancel anytime.