What Is the Best AI Receptionist for Zoom?

The best AI receptionist for Zoom depends on what you need answered first. For Zoom Phone, compare Zoom’s option, Sera from $49/month, and Smith.ai at $300/month for 30 calls.

I wrote this for local business owners who already use Zoom Phone, or who are deciding where to put an AI receptionist. I judged each choice on five practical questions:

• Can it work with Zoom Phone or your current number?
• Can it answer after hours?
• Does it capture why the person called?
• Is pricing clear before you talk to sales?
• Can an owner test it without hiring an installer or spending days configuring it?

TL;DR: If you already manage Zoom Phone and have admin time, test Zoom’s own AI receptionist first. If you want clear pricing and a fast test, compare Sera and Smith.ai before changing your phone system. If you need live humans, Smith.ai is the obvious fit.

Option	Best for	Starting price	Channels	After-hours coverage	Best fit	Main limitation
Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist and Concierge	Businesses already using Zoom Phone	Not published	Phone	Published review says 24/7	Best when a Zoom admin can set it up	Zoom’s community guide does not list price
Sera by Twig	Owners who want fast AI coverage	$49/month	Phone, SMS, website chat, email, WhatsApp	24/7	Best when missed calls and website inquiries are the problem	Booking and live transfers start on Growth at $499/month
Smith.ai with Zoom Phone	Owners who want humans	$300/month for 30 calls	Phone, web chat available	24/7 live staffed	Best when every call should start with a person	Per-call pricing and add-ons can rise with volume

How Should You Judge an AI Receptionist for Zoom?

Judge an AI receptionist by what happens on a normal Tuesday afternoon, not by the longest feature list. A useful setup answers the call, gets the caller’s reason, sends urgent calls to a person, and leaves your team with a clear note.

Here is the test I would run before moving your main number:

Test	What to check	Passes if
Business hours	Open and closed hours	The right greeting plays
Routine caller	Estimate or appointment request	The note has name, need, and callback number
Urgent caller	Emergency or angry customer	A person gets the call or note fast
After-hours call	Call at night or weekend	The caller is not sent to dead voicemail
Staff review	CSR or owner reads the note	The next step is obvious

I would test the line that gets routine estimate and scheduling calls first. I would not start with emergency calls or the owner’s direct number.

Is Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist Best for Zoom Phone?

Zoom’s option may fit if your business already uses Zoom Phone and wants Zoom to handle the answering setup. A published review says Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist can work with phone systems other than Zoom Phone, but Zoom’s community guide does not list a price.

A Futurum Group review says Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist is a standalone AI solution for existing phone systems, not only Zoom Phone. The same review says it uses conversational AI, live transcription, multilingual interactions, and 24/7 reception.

Zoom’s community guide explains the Zoom Phone setup path. It starts with one Auto Receptionist, then connects a voice agent after the agent is created and tested.

Best for: Businesses already using Zoom Phone, especially if an office manager or IT person owns the Zoom admin portal.

Watch out for: Someone must configure it in Zoom. The Zoom guide says the Add Virtual Agent button attaches an existing agent; it does not create a new one.

Pricing: Zoom does not publish a price on its community guide.

Here is the starter greeting I would use:

Thanks for calling [Business Name]. Please describe in a few words how I can help you today.

I would use that instead of a vague “How can I help you?” It pushes the caller to give enough detail for your staff to act.

Is Sera by Twig Best for a Small Business?

Sera is best if your real problem is missed calls across phone, text, and your website, not just Zoom Phone settings. Sera answers calls, texts, and website chats 24/7 and qualifies the caller; appointment booking and live transfers start on the $499/month Growth plan.

At Twig, we call this an AI front desk. Sera remembers the conversation when a customer moves between phone, text, website chat, email, and WhatsApp.

Most businesses are live in under 30 minutes by forwarding a phone line or adding the website chat. That matters if you are testing after-hours calls this week, not planning a phone project next quarter.

Best for: Local service businesses that miss calls during jobs, lunch, weekends, or after 5 p.m. Sera also fits owners who want self-serve signup and no sales call.

Watch out for: If your team wants every phone setting managed in Zoom, Zoom’s own option may feel cleaner.

Sera sends questions outside her approved information to a person, using rules set by the business. Twig is SOC 2 Type II certified, but Twig is not HIPAA compliant and does not sign BAAs.

Pricing: Sera pricing starts at $49/month on Starter. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial, voice included, and no credit card. Appointment booking, missed-call text-back, live transfers to a person, and multi-language conversations are included on Growth at $499/month and above.

Every conversation is logged with a full transcript. Notes can go to email or a CRM such as Gmail, HubSpot, Salesforce, or Slack.

If you want to hear it before you sign up, call Sera’s live demo line at (650) 795-7838.

Is Smith.ai With Zoom Phone Best for You?

Smith.ai is best if you use Zoom Phone but want real people answering, not only AI. Smith.ai says you can forward Zoom Phone calls to its receptionists, who answer 24/7, qualify callers, schedule appointments, take payments, and transfer callers based on your instructions.

Smith.ai’s Zoom Phone page says the connection works by forwarding calls from your Zoom phone number. It also says Smith.ai can handle Zoom Scheduler and Zoom Meetings scheduling through calls.

Best for: Lawyers, home services, professional services, and owners who want a trained human voice on every call.

Watch out for: Per-call pricing is simple, but it can rise fast if you get many short calls. Smith.ai’s pricing page lists appointment booking at $1.50 per call, text and email follow-up at $0.50 per call, and call recording and transcription at $0.25 per call.

Pricing: Smith.ai’s pricing page lists Starter at $300/month for 30 calls, Basic at $810/month for 90 calls, and Pro at $2,100/month for 300 calls. It lists Enterprise as custom.

Smith.ai is not the cheapest option here. It is the clearest choice when you want humans and are willing to pay per call.

Is Zoom Auto Receptionist Enough Instead?

Zoom Auto Receptionist may be enough if callers only need a simple menu, such as sales, service, billing, or hours. It is not an AI receptionist, but it can be the right answer if you do not need conversation, call summaries, or booking.

The Zoom community guide describes Auto Receptionist as the front door of Zoom Phone. Callers hear menu options, press a number, and get sent to the right person, queue, or voicemail.

Best for: Small teams with simple call reasons and someone available during business hours.

Watch out for: A press-1 menu tells you almost nothing about why people called.

Pricing: Zoom does not publish a price for Auto Receptionist in the community guide.

If nearly every caller only needs your hours or one department, a plain menu may be enough. Do not buy AI just because it is new.

What Would I Pick for a Real Small Business?

For most small businesses, I would not start by changing the whole phone system. I would pick one phone number, write one greeting, test five common call reasons, and measure whether callers got a useful answer or a booked time.

Here is a real-world pattern I see often.

A plumbing company uses Zoom Phone. Calls spike every Tuesday afternoon because one CSR is doing invoices and the owner is in the field. The calls are usually emergency service, estimate requests, job status, billing, and vendor calls.

Call type	Who should handle it	What the receptionist should collect	Good answer
Emergency service	On-call tech or owner	Name, address, issue, callback number	Transfer now
Estimate request	Office or sales	Job type, ZIP code, best time	Book or send details
Job status	CSR	Customer name, job address	Send note to office
Billing	CSR	Invoice number, callback number	Send note to office
Vendor call	Office	Company, reason, callback number	Take message

My recommendation:

• Choose Zoom Virtual Agent if you already have a Zoom admin and want the AI inside Zoom.
• Choose Sera if missed calls and website inquiries are the problem, and you want to test this week.
• Choose Smith.ai if you want humans answering and can afford per-call pricing.
• Keep Zoom Auto Receptionist if a simple menu already solves the problem.

If you are still comparing categories, read our related breakdown of AI phone receptionist options and virtual receptionist pricing.

How Should You Choose a Zoom AI Receptionist?

Choose the option that matches your staff, not the option with the longest feature list. A good receptionist setup should answer the caller, collect the right details, get urgent calls to a person, and leave your team with a clear transcript or note.

Ask these questions before you buy:

1. Who changes the greeting when hours change?
2. What happens when the caller is angry?
3. Can it transfer urgent calls to a person?
4. Does it cover after-hours calls without extra setup?
5. Is the price public, or do you need a quote?
6. Can you test one line before moving your main number?
7. Where do transcripts or call notes go?

If you are using Sera with Zoom Phone, the practical path is simple. Forward a test line, write rules for urgent calls, make five test calls, and then decide whether to use it on your main number.

How I Chose These Options

I included choices a Zoom Phone user might consider. They cover Zoom’s own tools, a human answering service, and Sera as an outside AI option.

I checked each vendor’s product and pricing pages and marked a price “not published” when the vendor did not list one. I did not include products where I could not verify the basic Zoom fit from a reliable page.

Last verified: November 2026.

If you want a fast next step, call your business after hours tonight. If voicemail answers, pick one test line and try an AI front desk before you change the rest of your phone setup.