Summary
Making the right choice when you compare AI receptionist vs human can make or break your business. These AI receptionists offer 24/7 availability, faster responses and save costs. But human agents can bring empathy, personalization and solve complex problems. Through this blog we will compare pros and cons of AI vs human receptionists.
Introduction
A role of receptionist might look like an usual person taking care of a smaller portion of responsibilities. But it isn’t just about this. From answering visitors, setting appointments and scheduling staff calendars, there are plenty of tasks to be done by them.What kind of receptionist would be best for your company?
These days there is a rise in technology which is driving the development of AI receptionists. So which one is the best? Comparison of AI receptionist vs humans can help you get an answer. AI receptionists can complete tasks easily, enhance efficiency and increase productivity but humans can handle complex tasks and processes such as finances.
Through this blog we will compare between AI and human receptionists through their pros and cons. By the conclusion, you’ll know what kind of receptionist your company requires.
What is the role of a receptionist in a business?
A receptionist’s role is crucial for administrative tasks to occur smoothly. They serve as your company’s initial point of contact for any clients or guests. These people handle front desk operations and ensure to leave a positive impact on the customer’s mind. Also ensuring optimal organization workflow is the task of these receptionists. No matter if we talk about human or AI receptionist both answer calls and provide information to customers.
1. Create a positive impact
As both human and AI receptionists will serve as the first point of contact for either a customer or client they have to make sure customers are treated with proper care. Hence this can leave a long lasting impression on their mind.
2. Administrative support
If you have an in-house receptionist, they are responsible to manage the calls that come, answer them, divert them to appropriate agents, track supplies in the office and schedule calendars.
3. Security check-ins of customers
An AI based front desk receptionist is responsible for verification of identity of any person visiting the business such as visitor badges or identity cards. Hence it ensures only authorised people can enter the organization.
4. Communication support
Receptionists have a task to facilitate communication among departments, deliver responses to customers and provide information to clients. Hence in this way they facilitate a human answering manner to ensure smooth communication within business.
Human receptionists: comparing pros and cons
Human receptionists have been the backbone of Customer Interaction Management and their personalized touch has made a vast difference. They are even capable of dealing with complex cases. However, they are unable to serve clients beyond business hours.
Pros of human receptionists
- Personalized experience: Human receptionists are skilled at providing tailored responses for customer engagement as per their preferences and purchasing habits. As a result, they can adjust to the communication style that suits your company.
- Deal with complex cases: These human agents can handle complex cases while maintaining calm and empathy. Later they can address issues and provide apt solutions.
- Understanding sentiments: An in-house receptionist is capable of understanding the emotions of customers and their needs. Hence can tailor responses accordingly for better customer experience.
- Adapt to unexpected changes: There are high chances of arrival of any unexpected changes. A human assistant can adapt to them faster and smartly provide solutions.
- Better sales and revenue: Well trained human receptionists can explain about their products in a better way. It can increase chances of sale which generates revenue.
Cons of human receptionists
- Bound to shifts: The in-house receptionists only work for their shift. Which means your business cannot provide round the clock assistance to your customers and clients. Also the opportunities are missed on holidays and weekends. It creates a huge gap in customer service and reduces satisfaction.
- Higher costs: Having a full time staff needs to be heavy on your pocket for maintenance. It includes both salaries and bonuses plus they need a physical infrastructure to work in. You will also have to provide them physical training or workshops for better communication and organization skills.
- Might create errors: It is human nature to make mistakes. So human receptionists are also bound to lead to errors at certain times. It can be either inaccuracies or miscommunication. It could further impact customer experience or business growth.
- No show cases: Many times human receptionists might not be available at their shift times. It could lead to missed customer calls. Hence creating issues for business operations and customer service.
- Staff shortages: Humans get sick, have to attend a function or might take a leave for any reason. Hence leading to shortage of staff. It could leave your customers unattended and leads can escape through these loopholes.
PRO TIP
AI receptionist: comparing pros and cons
There are plenty of benefits that these AI receptionists can offer. Being available round the clock and maintaining consistency of output with each customer is their most strong part. This growing AI receptionist is even developing a thought that “ will AI replace human agents?” But when we compare AI assistants vs humans, these AI based assistants do have some cons.
Pros of AI receptionists
- 24/7 Availability: Unlike human agents, AI is never on leave and unhealthy. Your clients can therefore benefit from round-the-clock availability, including on weekends and holidays, when you use AI receptionists. No worries if your customer reaches out to you after working hours.
- Cost effectiveness: Virtual receptionists eliminate a need for hiring a completely dedicated team for front desk tasks. You also need not have any additional business equipment. The cost of AI receptionists is much lower than hiring experts. Also they cut your expenses such as monthly salary, bonuses and additional expenses for training.
- Better productivity: These AI receptionists handle multiple tasks at once including providing timely responses to customers. Further it reduces wait times for sales growth and productivity.
- Multiple language support: AI receptionists are capable of understanding and delivering responses in multiple languages. Hence they can provide customer support in their native languages. It eliminates language barriers and adds to their positive experience.
- Omnichannel communication: Customers these days want to contact businesses through their preferred platform. Hence to address this concern, AI call assistant have a feature of omnichannel support that retains context across different platforms.
- Effective data management: AI can help manage and store customer data effectively. It helps you have a look at the interactions of customers, their choices and provide personalized services.
- Automated workflows: You can automate repetitive tasks such as booking an appointment, sending a follow up message or booking a test drive through an AI assistant.
- Scalability: These AI receptionists are capable of growing with your business. Hence they can store huge amounts of data and handle any volume of tasks without an extra staff.
- Integration with systems: AI virtual receptionists can integrate efficiently with the systems that your business has. It can enhance visibility into your business and gain analytics or reports.
Cons of AI assistants
- Lack of human touch: One thing that AI receptionists might lack is human touch. They might fail at deeply understanding human emotions and provide extremely personalized responses. Yet it is now possible at some level for AI to understand sentiments through sentimental analysis.
- Limited problem handling: An AI virtual assistant is capable of solving basic and limited cases. Hence it cannot deal with complex problems and processes efficiently.
- Highly technical: As we know AI is completely based on technology, it might need maintenance and updates at particular times.
- Implementation cost: Although there is no need for training costs for virtual assistants, you will have to spend money on initial implementation costs.
Which is the right choice among AI receptionists vs human receptionists?
| Factor | AI Receptionist | Human Receptionist |
| Availability | 24/7, no breaks | Limited to shifts & leaves |
| Cost | Low, subscription-based | High, salaries & benefits |
| Accuracy | Consistent, no fatigue | Error-prone, mood dependent |
| Scalability | Handles unlimited calls | One call at a time |
| Customer Touch | Fast, professional | Empathetic, personal |
Your 24/7 receptionist is just one click away
Get startedWhy is Botphonic the right choice for your business?
Botphonic isn’t just another provider in the market, it is built to overcome the problems with human receptionists and generic call systems. We offer 24/7 support, multilingual capacity, and ability to handle any amount of calls at once. Botphonic makes sure that you never miss on a lead, query or customer.
In short, Botphonic ensures your business always welcomes clients and customers with wide open hands by being responsive and one step ahead.
Conclusion
Receptionists might seem to be a non-essential component, but choosing the right one can make or break your business. They are a core element responsible for handling front desk operations and other administrative works. They receive incoming calls, interact with customers, manage their data, and perform other tasks that arise.
Consider them to be the initial point of contact for any customer who comes into your establishment. The above comparison of AI receptionist vs human has made it clear that both have their advantages and disadvantages. While AI is introducing the power of automation to your business, human receptionists can provide a personal touch.
Botphonic AI is one of the best solutions if you are eager to hop on AI receptionists. We help you get a powerful AI assistant that makes your front desk and administrative tasks look simpler. Book a free demo now to know how our AI assistant will make a difference for you!
