For solo attorneys and small to mid-size law firms. Five questions decide whether an AI receptionist earns its keep in a trade, then an honest table of 8 products with each figure as its maker published it on 2026-09-05.
A caller in trouble will ask what to do. Ask how the receptionist takes the facts, the practice area and the callback details without giving legal advice or suggesting an attorney-client relationship exists.
Before anyone talks substance, the firm needs the names of the other parties. Ask whether the receptionist collects them so your conflict check can run before the consultation.
An arrest, a hearing tomorrow or a served complaint cannot wait for Monday. Ask how urgent calls are flagged and who is told.
Calls carry privileged and sensitive details. Ask where recordings and transcripts live, who can open them, and how long they are kept.
Ask whether each call lands on a contact and a potential matter in a system the firm already uses, with the next step written down.
| Product | Describes itself as | Entry price · included | CRM | Stored |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Front Desk Company | An industry receptionist — 27 industries, each with a name, a face and that trade's vocabulary | $49 · 250 inbound minutes (Starter), $0.15/min over, up to a cap you set | The full EngageSuite360 CRM in every plan — contacts, companies, deals, tasks, calendar, reports — shaped for your industry | Starter: one sentence per call, no recording, no transcript. AI Front Desk ($397): transcripts and recordings |
| Rosie | AI answering service for home services and small businesses | $49 · 250 minutes | None — Zapier triggers only | Transcripts and recordings on all plans |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | AI and human receptionists for your front office | $150/mo + $2.00 per call; free tier of 25 calls/mo (card required) | Integrations only — Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio, Zapier | Recorded and transcribed; summary after every call |
| Goodcall | AI phone calls made easy | $79 per agent · unlimited minutes, 100 unique callers, $0.50 per caller over | Integrations only — Zapier, Sheets, GoHighLevel | Summaries; transcripts and recordings not stated |
| Dialzara | The AI receptionist who never misses a call | $29 · 60 minutes, $0.48/min over | Integrations only — Zapier, Make, webhooks | Yes, plus an SMS/email summary |
| My AI Front Desk | Agentic AI for every stage of the customer journey | $20 Basic takes no calls; first calling plan $99 · 200 minutes, $0.25/min | Built-in CRM, plus HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Zapier | Recordings and post-call notifications |
| Upfirst | AI receptionist that answers calls while you run your business | $24.95 · 30 calls, $1.50 per call over | Integrations only — HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, GoHighLevel, Zapier | Yes, with instant summaries texted or emailed |
| Reception by ElevenLabs | AI receptionists that answer every call | $22 · 60 minutes, $0.40/min over | Google Calendar, Zapier, webhooks only | Yes, on all plans |
Figures as published on 2026-09-05; each product links to its own comparison page with the source.
Victoria answers in your trade's words and writes every call on the customer's record in EngageSuite360. Starter plans take the message; the AI Front Desk adds texting and booking. Meet Victoria →
Intake without advice, Conflict details, Urgent matters, Confidentiality, Where the call ends up. Put each one to every vendor as a question and compare the answers, not the headlines.
Of the 7 products in our table, none describes itself that way on its own site; all of them describe a general small-business receptionist. The Front Desk Company gives each industry its own receptionist; for law firms that is Victoria.
On the Starter plans the receptionist takes the name, the callback number and what the caller needs, writes it on the CRM record and emails you; it does not book or text. The AI Front Desk plan ($397) adds transcripts, recordings, texting and booking on the same number and CRM.
Every rival figure is as published on that product's own pricing page on 2026-09-05; each has its own comparison page with the source. If a figure has changed, tell us and it will be corrected.