How to choose an AI receptionist: 10 questions to ask before you sign
Before you sign, ask whether it says it is an AI, whether it answers only from your information and admits what it doesn’t know, whether you keep your number and your team can answer first, which channels and languages it covers, where data is stored and whether calls are recorded, how pricing and overage work, how long the contract is, how it hands over and books, and whether you can try it first. Below, each question with why it matters and how Zatio answers it.
The 10 questions
| Question | Why it matters | How Zatio answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Does it say it is an AI? | It builds trust, and in the EU the AI Act requires it, with rules due to apply from 2 August 2026. | Yes, at the start of every conversation. |
| 2. Does it answer only from your information, and say when it doesn’t know? | You want answers you would stand behind. | It is set up to answer only with your business’s information and, if it doesn’t have something, to say so and let your team know. |
| 3. Do you keep your number? | Customers already have it: on your website, invoices and van. | Yes: you forward calls to your Zatio number. |
| 4. Can your team answer first? | When someone is free, many businesses want a person to pick up. | Yes, with “When Zatio answers”: during your hours your phone rings first for 10 to 40 seconds; out of hours Zatio answers straight away. |
| 5. Which channels and languages? | Customers message on WhatsApp and your website as well as calling. | Phone, WhatsApp and website chat on every plan. British English, plus Polish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish. If the caller switches language, Zatio switches too. |
| 6. Where is data stored, and are calls recorded? | It shapes what you tell callers and what goes in your DPA. | In the European Union (Stockholm). Calls are transcribed, not recorded, and every customer has a DPA. |
| 7. How is it priced, and what if you go over? | Per minute, per call or per conversation can mean very different bills. | By plan with included minutes, from £69 a month excluding VAT. Extra minutes £0.10 each; email alerts at 80% and 100%, and calls are never cut off. |
| 8. How long is the contract? | A short term lets you see results before committing. | Month to month, no minimum term. Annual billing: pay 10 months, get 12. |
| 9. How does it hand over and book? | What you want is a booking or a warm handover, not just a message. | Transfers the call to your team, books into Microsoft Bookings, Calendly or Cal.com and leaves a summary. Leads reach your CRM through a signed webhook with Make, Zapier or n8n, or by CSV. |
| 10. Can you try it first? | Hearing it with your own business information is the best test. | Free 14-day trial with no card, including 30 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations. Your phone number arrives when your plan starts, and you connect WhatsApp yourself from your dashboard. |
Good signs in a provider’s answers
Clear prices in writing
Published prices, what each plan includes and what an extra minute costs.
A real trial
You can test it with your own information before paying, or at least hear it on a call.
Straight answers about data
Where it is stored, who processes it and a DPA you can read.
Easy to leave
No long minimum term and a simple way to take your data with you.
How Zatio does it
Everything on one page
Prices, channels, languages, data and what Zatio does not do, in one fact sheet.
How it works
It reads your website, drafts the assistant and you review it before it goes live. It answers, books and hands your team whatever needs a person.
Price
From £69 a month excluding VAT, with 400 voice minutes, plus WhatsApp and website chat.
Questions
How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Zatio is £69, £129 or £259 a month excluding VAT, with 400, 1,000 or 2,000 voice minutes plus WhatsApp and website chat included. Always compare what each fee includes.
Is it better to pay per minute or per call?
Per minute, you pay for how long each call lasts; per call is easier to predict if calls are all a similar length. Ask how usage is counted and what happens if you go over: Zatio counts by the started minute and an extra minute is £0.10.
Is there a minimum contract?
Zatio is month to month with no minimum term. Paying for the year, you pay 10 months and get 12.
Can I try it before I sign?
Yes. Free 14-day trial with no card, including 30 voice minutes and 100 chat conversations. Your phone number arrives when your plan starts, and you connect WhatsApp yourself from your dashboard.
Does it connect to my CRM?
Zatio sends every lead through a signed webhook that you connect to HubSpot, Pipedrive or Zoho CRM with Make, Zapier or n8n, and it also exports CSV. There is no direct connection, so ask any provider what they offer.
Zatio in your industry
How Zatio works in each industry: what it asks, what it books and what it passes to your team.
Hear how Zatio would answer your phone
Leave your mobile and Zatio rings you within seconds.
- Keep your number
- No annual commitment
- 60-day guarantee
Rather talk to a person? Book a 20-minute demo.