7 Best My AI Front Desk Alternatives in 2026
My AI Front Desk, now called Frontdesk AI, bundles calls, texts, web chat and a CRM into one $99 plan. It’s a lot for the money, until you run past 200 voice minutes, or decide you don’t want another CRM. Its Trustpilot score sits at 3.3 out of 5, and one recent reviewer says they were charged $299 on day 8 of a trial and denied a refund.
The quick answer: Carly is the best My AI Front Desk alternative if your team already works in Gmail, Outlook or HubSpot. It answers your calls, books on your real calendars, and puts calls, texts and email in one team inbox, on top of the apps you already use. Copy one prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, grab a number, and you’re live. To try an AI receptionist free, Smith.ai covers 25 calls a month.
US list prices from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked October 30, 2026. Trustpilot scores read the same day.
My AI Front Desk’s plan, for reference
| Business-in-a-Box | |
|---|---|
| Price | $99/mo, or $79/mo billed annually |
| Voice | 200 minutes, then 25 credits a minute (25 cents) |
| Also included | 400 texts, 100 chats, 500 email drafts |
| Trial | 7 days, card required; no free plan |
| Trustpilot | 3.3 out of 5 |
More in My AI Front Desk: pricing and reviews.
My AI Front Desk alternatives compared
| Alternative | Books on your calendar | Charges by | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Yes, round robin across your team | Plan | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo |
| Smith.ai | Yes | Call | Free for 25 calls; Pro from $150 |
| Rosie | From $149 | Plan with minutes | $49/mo for 250 min |
| Goodcall | Yes | Unique caller | $79/mo for 100 callers |
| Dialzara | From $99 | Talk time | $29/mo for 60 min |
| Abby Connect | Per your script | Minute | $164/mo for 50 min |
| Ruby | Per your script | Minute | $250/mo for 50 min |
1. Carly
Carly is reliable and endlessly customizable. What to ask, who to book and when to hand off, written once in plain English and followed on every call. And it works in the tools your team already has open, so nobody learns a new CRM.
- Books while the caller’s on the line, on real Google or Outlook calendars, across your whole team.
- Answers 24/7, or only when your team doesn’t pick up. Spanish callers get Spanish.
- Transfers to the right person, through ring groups or a phone menu.
- Calls new web leads within about a minute, then texts and emails if they miss it.
- Texts and WhatsApp from your number, plus a text back on every missed call.
- Sorts your email too. Every inbox labeled and filed by your rules, which a phone bot can’t touch.
- Fits your stack. Written back to HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own CRM, and connected to thousands of apps.
- Runs from ChatGPT or Claude. Build the agent, place a call or text a customer from your chat (how it works).
Anything without AI, like a review request after a visit, runs as a free Zapier-style workflow.
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.
# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app
> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.
MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)
## Setup
Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.
1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/account (API key under Carly Teams) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.
2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.
3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.
4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.
## Email, calendars and workflows
Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.- Best for: teams that want the phone handled without moving to a new system.
- Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
2. Smith.ai
Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist qualifies callers, books and logs to your CRM, with live receptionists available from the same company.
- Best for: trying an AI receptionist for free.
- Pricing: free for 25 calls a month, then $3 a call. Pro starts at $150 for 75 calls.
- Limitations: per-call billing climbs on a busy line. See Smith.ai alternatives.
3. Rosie
Rosie is one of the simplest AI answering services to start with, in English or Spanish.
- Best for: owners who mostly want messages and spam filtered.
- Pricing: $49 a month for 250 minutes, $149 for 1,000, $299 for 2,000.
- Limitations: real calendar booking starts at $149. See Rosie AI alternatives.
4. Goodcall
Goodcall bills per unique caller, so a regular who calls five times counts once.
- Best for: shops with lots of repeat callers.
- Pricing: $79 a month for 100 unique callers, $129 for 500, $299 for 2,000.
- Limitations: a 2.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, mostly over billing. See Goodcall alternatives.
5. Dialzara
Dialzara undercuts Frontdesk on entry price and bills by talk time.
- Best for: very low call volume.
- Pricing: $29 a month for 60 minutes; $99 for 220 with calendar sync.
- Limitations: the $29 plan has no calendar sync or warm transfers. See Dialzara alternatives.
6. Abby Connect
Abby pairs live receptionists with AI, and says you get double the minutes when you choose AI.
- Best for: businesses that want a person available.
- Pricing: $164 a month for 50 minutes, $329 for 100, $599 for 200, $1,380 for 500.
- Limitations: about $3 a minute at the entry level.
7. Ruby
Ruby is the best-known live receptionist service.
- Best for: firms where every caller must reach a person.
- Pricing: $250 for 50 minutes up to $1,725 for 500.
- Limitations: about $5 a minute on the entry plan. See Ruby alternatives.
How to pick
- Want the phone handled inside the tools you already use? Go with Carly.
- Count your minutes. Pull last month’s calls. 200 minutes is about 65 three-minute calls.
- Read the trial terms. Whichever you try, put the cancellation date on your calendar.
- Want a human? Abby or Ruby, at a much higher price.
For the full field, see best AI receptionist for small business.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to My AI Front Desk?
Carly, for teams that want calls, texts and email handled inside Gmail, Outlook and their own CRM. Smith.ai is the best free way to try an AI receptionist.
Is My AI Front Desk the same as Frontdesk AI?
Yes. It renamed itself in 2026, and the site is still myaifrontdesk.com.
Is there a cheaper alternative to My AI Front Desk?
Dialzara starts at $29 a month and Rosie at $49, and Smith.ai’s AI is free for 25 calls. Carly: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
Does My AI Front Desk have a free plan?
Its pricing page says no: a 7-day trial, then $99 a month. Reviewers on Trustpilot warn that the trial needs a card, so watch the date.
Can I keep my business number?
Yes. With Carly you can forward your existing line, for every call or only the ones you miss.
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
