AI answering machine for business: when voicemail is not enough

Answering machine, voicemail, answering service or AI answering machine: what is the difference

All of them answer the phone when you do not. The difference is what happens next — for the caller and for you:

An AI answering service is the same idea as an AI answering machine: the call is answered by an AI agent, not by a recording or by a hired person. A voicemail box costs least and asks nothing of you, but it moves the work onto the caller and the clock — the cost of that is worked through in How many calls do small businesses miss — and what does a missed call cost? Everything Cindy does as a receptionist, from answering calls to calling for you, is on her page: AI receptionist for small business.

What an AI answering machine does instead of taking a message

• Greets the caller in your business name and says she is the AI agent answering calls for the business. A returning customer is recognised by their number.
• Answers the question from your business profile — what you do, hours, address, services and terms — with your answers to frequent questions given word for word.
• Quotes only your own prices. If something is not on your price list, she says she will check and get back to the caller rather than invent a figure.
• Books into genuinely free time: your working hours, minus the orders already booked, minus the busy times in your calendar. If the day is full, she offers the nearest opening.
• Takes the whole order — who, what, when, where, the agreed price — and records it before saying goodbye.
• Texts a confirmation of what was agreed, once the caller says yes. The sender is “Weyvox”, and the text opens with your business name.

She speaks over 40 languages: an incoming call starts in the language of the caller's country, judged by the number (or in your own language when the number doesn't tell), and moves to the caller's language as soon as they speak another. How one call runs from the first ring to the note is described step by step in Can AI answer phone calls for my business?

When it picks up: on a job, after hours, or straight away

Turn on “Agent auto-answer” in Settings → Cindy and choose how long your phone rings for you first: “Immediately”, or 10, 20, 30 or 40 seconds; 20 is recommended. With a delay, you still hear the call and can answer it yourself; if you do not, Cindy answers instead of a beep. Decline the call and she answers at once, without waiting for the timer. With “Immediately”, your phone does not ring at all.

Auto-answer works the same inside and outside your working hours, so the evening call that would once have reached the answering machine reaches Cindy. She answers on Weyvox's servers, not on your phone, so it works when the phone is off, asleep or without a connection. Each delay is described in the documentation.

No voicemail to listen to: a note in the chat

After every call she handled, Cindy writes a short note — who called, what was found out, what was agreed — in the chat with that number, in the language you write to the agents in (your app language until you have written to them), whatever language the call was in. Important arrangements, such as a booked visit, are reported to you separately, so they do not get lost in a longer text.

• The order is already there. What the caller agreed to appears in your orders as “Not confirmed” until you check it and tap Confirm; Marc can turn it into an invoice from your own templates.
• No audio is kept. Weyvox stores no call audio: the conversation is transcribed for Cindy's note, and after an incoming call the note is what remains. Only the text of a call placed from the chat is kept for 24 hours, so you can ask about the details.
• Nothing slips. In Results, “Needs your attention” lists missed calls nobody has returned yet.

If you keep a classic answering machine: what a business greeting should say

Not every line needs an AI, and plenty of businesses keep a recorded greeting on their carrier's voicemail. If you record one, a few things make it work harder:

1. Say who they reached — the business name first, so the caller knows they dialled the right number.
2. Say why nobody is answering and, if it helps, your hours.
3. Ask for exactly what you need to call back: name, number and the reason for the call.
4. Say when you will call back — and then do it.
5. Keep it short. The caller is waiting to speak, not to listen.

A sample script: “Hello, you've reached Martin Plumbing. We can't take your call right now — we're on a job. Leave your name, your number and what you need, and we'll call you back today before 6 pm.”

With Cindy there is no recorded greeting: she greets each caller live, in your business name, and says she is an AI agent.

Keep the number your customers know

• A Weyvox operator number, bought in the app: Settings → Cindy → “Buy a phone number”. Some countries require a document check first; meanwhile you can take a temporary number for a one-time 200 credits, which works until the main number is approved, for up to 25 days.
• The number you already have. Switch on call forwarding with your carrier, from your business number to your Weyvox number, and connect it in the app (“Connect a business number”). Connecting costs nothing; your carrier bills the forwarding at its own rates, so a Weyvox number from the same country keeps it cheap. Weyvox cannot switch forwarding on for you — that lives with your carrier — so the app gives you instructions.

More on choosing and buying a line: Virtual phone number for business.

The caller knows it is an AI

At the start of every call Cindy says she is the AI agent answering calls for your business and that the call is recorded for a call note — it is transcribed as text, and no audio is stored. This is a product rule, not a setting, and it cannot be turned off. It follows the transparency rules for AI systems in Article 50 of the EU AI Act, and Weyvox applies it on every call, everywhere; this describes our approach and is not legal advice. A number blocked at weyvox.com/optout gets no calls or SMS from Cindy; a call from it that auto-answer would have taken is rejected instead, and with auto-answer off it rings for you as usual. The legal side is covered in Are AI phone calls legal?

What an AI answering machine costs

Weyvox prices are in credits: 1 credit = €0.01 excl. VAT. Plans are monthly — Start €25 excl. VAT with 2,500 credits, Business €110 with 11,000, Professional €250 with 25,000 — and Cindy's work comes out of the plan credits first, then out of extra credits.

• A minute of Cindy on a call: about 21 credits — 12.5 for the voice and the conversation plus the agent's work — and on top of that the operator line, which depends on the country.
• A call of up to 2 minutes: the cost simulator on the pricing page counts ≈ 50 credits — an estimate; a real call is billed by its minutes and the line.
• An SMS confirmation: ≈ 8 credits per segment, depending on the country.
• The line: an operator number has a monthly fee by country and number, shown before you buy; connecting your own number on top costs nothing.

A worked month. Cindy takes 40 calls you could not answer and sends 25 confirmations: 40 × ≈ 50 = ≈ 2,000 credits, plus 25 × ≈ 8 = ≈ 200 — about 2,200 of the Start plan's 2,500 credits, which leaves about 300 for the number's monthly fee and the other agents' work; anything beyond the plan credits comes from extra credits. A month in which Cindy answered nothing costs nothing in agent minutes. Every unit price and each country's line rate are on the pricing page.

Honest limits

• No credits, no answer. When your plan credits and extra credits are both used up, or your subscription is not active, Cindy does not pick up: the call rings on your phone as an ordinary call, and the app tells you why.
• Only when it is on. With auto-answer off, or with Cindy switched off, calls simply ring for you.
• Not a person. A complaint or an unusual request needs you: while Cindy talks, the call sits in the app as a mini card — listen in, take the conversation over or end it.
• Only your facts. Prices, times and terms come from your profile, price list and calendar; an empty profile means she cannot speak for your business.
• No money decisions. She never marks anything as paid: a payment is recorded only on your word.
• Not for emergencies. Weyvox may not be able to reach emergency services; keep another way to call them.

Cindy, the AI receptionist — on her own or with the other agents

An answering machine ends where the message ends. Cindy is the AI receptionist in Weyvox; everything she does, from answering calls to calling on your behalf, is on her page: AI receptionist. You can use her on her own: the other Weyvox agents switch on in the same app when you need them, and an agent you switch off costs nothing. What they share keeps her work moving — one business profile, price list and customer list. An order Cindy takes on a call goes to Marc, the AI manager, for the invoice; Leo, the AI coordinator, reminds you on time and, on the Business and Professional plans, can take on a goal such as “fewer missed calls”; Alice, the AI marketer, quotes in your posts the same prices Cindy gives on the phone. Cindy also calls people for you — and if she reaches someone's voicemail on such a call, she leaves no message and hangs up.

Questions people ask

Hear Cindy answer instead of a beep

If you choose Cindy when you sign up, the introduction includes a test call at no cost: she rings your own phone (up to two calls, each up to 6.5 minutes), tells you by voice how she will work for your business and answers your questions — before you choose a plan. Weyvox is available for iPhone and Android.

Cindy, the AI receptionist · Plans and prices · All guides

Free trial at registration: the agents you choose show their work on your own business at no cost, within set limits; then you choose a plan.