AI receptionist: your front desk on the phone and on WhatsApp, 24/7
Natalia answers your customers' calls, understands what they need, handles common questions and transfers to the right person with the context. If the caller would rather type, the conversation carries on over WhatsApp. On-site visitors and the executive's calendar stay outside its scope.
24/7 on the phone and on WhatsApp
€0 setup fee
48 h to pilot on your calls
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist, also called a virtual receptionist or AI front desk agent, is a voice agent that answers the company phone in place of a front desk person and handles routine requests on its own. It greets the caller, understands the request in natural language, answers simple questions, then transfers the call to the right team or takes a complete message. At Natalia, the same agent also replies on the company's WhatsApp number.
It suits companies whose front desk is swamped at peak times, or that have nobody to answer in the evening and at weekends. It does not replace in-person reception: it does not greet visitors and does not manage the executive's calendar or inbox.
Published October 22, 2026. Updated October 22, 2026.
What the AI receptionist does, and what it doesn't
Its scope is greeting your customers on the phone and on WhatsApp. The rest of the front desk job stays with you.
What it does
- Answer inbound calls at any hour, including when several customers call at once
- Understand the request and answer common questions from your information: opening hours, address, services, documents
- Transfer the call to the right person or number, with a summary of the conversation
- Take a complete message and alert the right person by email, SMS or WhatsApp
- Carry the conversation over to WhatsApp when the caller would rather type
- Log the request in your CRM or business tool, if it has an API
What it doesn't do
- Greet visitors on site: no kiosk, no badges, no visitor log
- Manage the executive's calendar, inbox or personal tasks
- Act as an internal executive assistant
- Create content: no posts, no visuals, no articles
- Settle a sensitive complaint or a negotiation: it hands over to someone on your team
For calendar management and executive support, a personal assistant or a dedicated person is still the right choice. Natalia focuses on what your customers ask you on the phone and on WhatsApp.
A call with the AI receptionist, step by step
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1
It picks up
The caller hears the first message you wrote, in the voice chosen in the console. No keypad menu.
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2
It listens and asks
The caller explains in their own words. It asks what matters: name, reason, urgency, callback number.
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3
It answers or routes
Common question: it answers. Request for a team: it transfers the call to the right number, or offers to continue on WhatsApp.
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4
Your team gets the request
Summary, transcript and recording are in the console. The right person is alerted by email, SMS or WhatsApp.
The front desk tasks it takes on
The ones that keep a receptionist busy all day, on the phone and on WhatsApp.
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Answer without a wait
At peak times, every call is picked up instead of ringing out. The plan puts no limit on simultaneous calls.
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Route to the right team
Sales, after-sales, accounts, on-call: you describe who does what, it transfers based on the request and your hours.
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Take messages
When nobody is available, it notes who called, why and when to call back, then alerts the person concerned.
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Reply on WhatsApp
The same agent replies on the WhatsApp number Natalia provides, with no Meta account to create. A call can move to WhatsApp without the customer repeating the request.
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Cover evenings and weekends
After hours, it takes requests and passes them on. The next morning, the console's Home shows what it handled.
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Keep you in control
From the console, you can take over a call in progress: the agent stops and transfers the call to the number you chose.
Receptionist, voicemail or IVR, AI receptionist: what's the difference?
Three ways to run a phone front desk. Each has its place.
| Criterion | Receptionist | Voicemail or IVR | Natalia AI receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | Working hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Several calls at once | One call at a time | Queue or voicemail | Yes, no limit in the plan |
| Understands the request | Yes | No: keypad or recorded message | Yes, in natural language |
| Answers common questions | Yes | No | Yes, from your information |
| Transfers with context | Yes | No | Yes, with a summary |
| Depends on your setup | No | Yes, same agent | |
| Greets visitors on site | Yes | No | No |
| Sensitive complaint, negotiation | Yes | No | No: transfer to a person |
The AI receptionist does not replace the person who greets visitors on site. It takes the calls that person cannot take, and the ones that come in when nobody is there.
Which businesses is it for?
Wherever the phone rings while the team is busy elsewhere.
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Real estate agency
Calls from buyers and tenants during viewings, requests passed to the right agent.
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Accountants
Client questions in tax season, messages for the right colleague.
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Home renovation
Quote requests taken while you're on site, with the address and the job.
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Insurance
Routing between claims, policies and sales, without a keypad menu.
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Restaurants
The phone answered mid-service: the request is noted and passed on, without replacing your booking tool.
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Travel and tourism
Travellers' questions at any hour, in French or English.
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Natalia's public prices, excluding VAT, with no setup fee.
Voice agent, Essential plan
700 minutes of conversation (about 350 two-minute calls), 1 number, unlimited simultaneous calls, 20 WhatsApp handoffs included.
Chat agent, Essential plan
For written reception on WhatsApp: 50 WhatsApp conversations included, then €0.30 per conversation.
Setup
No installation fee. 12% off with an annual commitment.
Public prices excluding VAT, checked on October 22, 2026. Beyond the Voice plan: €0.20 per minute. Pro (€249) and Enterprise (€499) plans for higher volumes. See plan details
Setup: a pilot on your calls within 48 hours
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1
Your number
You keep your usual number and forward it to the agent, or Natalia provides one. No change of phone carrier.
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2
Its instructions
You write its first message and instructions, pick its voice and say who to transfer to for each kind of request.
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3
The pilot
You try it in the console, then on real calls. You widen its scope once you're happy with the results.
AI receptionist FAQ
Can an AI receptionist replace a front desk person?
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Can I keep my phone number?
What happens when a request is beyond the AI?
Does the caller know they are talking to an AI?
Which languages does the AI receptionist speak?
Can it book appointments?
How is this different from automated phone reception?
What happens to the conversations?
Learn more
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AI secretary
Phone and WhatsApp secretarial cover for small businesses: messages, callbacks, urgent calls
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Automated phone reception guide
Classic switchboard, IVR, outsourcing or AI: the detailed comparison
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AI voice assistant
Everything the Natalia voice agent does
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AI WhatsApp agent
Answer your customers on WhatsApp, 24/7
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Pricing
Voice, Chat, Mail and Analytics plans
Try the AI receptionist on your calls
A 30-minute demo on your cases, then a pilot on your real calls within 48 hours.