7 Best Reception.ai Alternatives in 2026
Reception.ai is ElevenLabs’ AI receptionist for small businesses, launched September 16, 2026. The voices are excellent and setup really is about five minutes. The gaps are in everything around the call: texting, Outlook calendars, and what happens to the lead once you hang up.
The quick answer: The best Reception.ai alternative is Carly. It answers your line, books callers on your real Google or Outlook calendars during the call, texts both ways from your business number and calls new leads back within a minute, the same way on every call. It connects to thousands of apps, so a booked call can update your CRM and ping your team without anyone touching it. Set it up on carlyassistant.com in minutes, or ask ChatGPT or Claude to set it up for you.
Where Reception.ai falls short
Reception is too new for a real review record. As of November 4, 2026 it has no Trustpilot page, so everything below comes from Reception’s own documentation and FAQ.
- Texting needs your own Twilio account. A Reception number in the United States can’t send texts at all. To send confirmations and reminders, you connect a number from your own Twilio account.
- It doesn’t text back. When a client texts your number, Reception logs it on their timeline. Its docs say plainly that the receptionist does not reply to text messages conversationally.
- Outlook calendars run through Zapier. Built-in booking covers Google Calendar, Calendly and Cal.com. For Outlook, Reception reads your existing events through Zapier, not your open slots, so two callers can take the same time, and it can’t move or cancel an event.
- Callbacks become messages. When a caller wants a callback, Reception records a message with a priority level, and your team makes the call.
- One call at a time on the entry plan. Basic handles one call at once, and Basic and Plus cover one location. Multi-location starts on Premium.
- Not HIPAA compliant yet. Reception’s own FAQ says so, which rules it out for most clinics taking patient calls.
- The trial stops answering. Trial credits are a hard cap. When they run out, the receptionist stops picking up until you upgrade.
What it does well: natural ElevenLabs voices, more than 70 languages, a booking page and website widget, and a setup that builds itself from your website. Plans run $29 to $199 a month.
How we ranked them
Every AI receptionist costs money, so we ranked on what decides whether callers actually get helped:
- Setup. Minutes, or a week of wiring up integrations.
- Booking. Whether it books a real slot during the call, on the calendar your team already uses.
- Follow-up. Texts, lead callbacks and CRM updates after the call, without someone doing it by hand.
- What customers report. The most recent 1- and 2-star reviews on Trustpilot.
Reception.ai alternatives compared
| Tool | Setup | Books during the call | What customers report | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Minutes, on the site or by asking ChatGPT or Claude | Yes, on Google and Outlook calendars | Follows your rules the same way on every call | Every call booked and followed up |
| Reception.ai (baseline) | Paste your website, about 5 minutes | Google Calendar, Calendly or Cal.com; Outlook through Zapier | Too new for reviews | Multilingual callers on Google Calendar |
| Smith.ai | Self-serve, tested in its Quality Studio | Through your scheduling tool | AI that re-asks questions, hard cancellations (4.3/5) | Law firms on Clio |
| Frontdesk AI | Self-serve, forward your number | Google, Outlook or Calendly | Slow or missing support (3.3/5) | Owners with no CRM yet |
| Rosie | Trains on your Google profile and website | Higher plans; the entry plan texts a link | No Trustpilot reviews yet | Solo owners who want messages taken |
| Goodcall | Self-serve, free demo agent | Through integrations you set up | Price changes without notice (2.5/5) | Shops with lots of repeat callers |
| Dialzara | Self-serve, editable prompt | From its mid-tier plan | Hard to reach support (4.2/5) | Very low call volume |
| ElevenAgents | Build it yourself in ElevenLabs | Through tools you wire up | Built for developers | Teams that want ElevenLabs voices with full control |
Trustpilot scores and reviews checked November 4, 2026.
1. Carly: best overall
Carly runs your business line with an AI that’s reliable and endlessly customizable. You write how calls should go in plain English, and it follows those rules on every call instead of improvising.
Setup takes minutes. Start on carlyassistant.com, or paste Carly’s setup prompt into ChatGPT or Claude and it sets everything up, phone number included. No Twilio account and no onboarding call. Keep your current number and forward the calls you miss, or grab a new number in the chat.
Where it picks up from Reception:
- Two-way texts and WhatsApp from your business number, with a text back on every missed call. Customers can text, and Carly answers.
- Books on Outlook and Google calendars during the call, checking real open slots across your team.
- Calls new web leads back within about a minute of a form fill (how it works), then texts and emails if they miss it.
- Knows who’s calling. Callers already in your CRM are greeted by name, and every call, transcript and text lands in HubSpot, Salesforce or Carly’s own CRM.
- Rings your team first in business hours and hands callers to a person through ring groups or a phone menu.
- Speaks English and Spanish, picked from how the caller talks.
- Signs a BAA on Enterprise plans for practices taking patient calls (book a call).
It connects to everything. Carly connects to thousands of apps, so a booked call can create the job in your field-service app, update the deal and post a summary in Slack. You set it up the way you’d say it, and it runs as free Zapier-style workflows on every call.
It runs from your AI chat. Add the Carly connector in Claude or the Carly plugin in ChatGPT to build the receptionist from a chat, place calls, send texts and steer a live call (see how). The same Carly also works your Gmail and Outlook inboxes, so the phone is one part of the front desk it runs.
Best for: Any small business that wants calls booked, texted and followed up without babysitting a phone system. Get started, or watch the 2-minute video.
2. Smith.ai
Smith.ai sells an AI receptionist alongside its human receptionists. You test the AI in a “Quality Studio” before going live, and it connects to tools like Clio and Zapier. Its Trustpilot score is a strong 4.3, but the recent 1-star reviews are about the AI and about leaving.
What customers report:
- A July 2026 reviewer says the AI receptionist kept asking questions callers had already answered, then they were charged another month after cancelling.
- A June 2026 reviewer says clients weren’t understood by the AI and it cost them bad reviews.
- In October 2026, a customer had been trying to cancel for over a week.
Best for: Law firms on Clio, and businesses that may want human receptionists later. See Smith.ai alternatives.
3. Frontdesk AI (My AI Front Desk)
Frontdesk AI bundles calls, texts, web chat and its own CRM in one plan, and books on Google, Outlook or Calendly. It covers the texting gap Reception leaves open, at the cost of one more system for your team to check.
What customers report:
- In October 2026, a new customer couldn’t create an account through errors and failed password resets, with no human support.
- A trial user’s emails to support went unanswered for the whole trial, which required a card.
- Another says features were taken away and offered back for an extra monthly fee.
Best for: Owners with no CRM yet who want one tool. See My AI Front Desk alternatives.
4. Rosie
Rosie trains itself on your Google Business Profile and website, answers 24/7 in English or Spanish, filters spam and texts you a summary of each call.
- Watch for: on the entry plan, callers get a link to book themselves. Calendar booking and live transfers sit on higher plans.
- Best for: solo owners who mostly need messages taken. See Rosie AI alternatives.
5. Goodcall
Goodcall bills by unique caller instead of by minute, so long and repeat calls don’t cost more. You can build and test a demo agent before adding a number.
- What customers report: a June 2026 reviewer says their price moved from $59 to $99 to $130 a month without notice, and billing emails went unanswered.
- Best for: busy shops with lots of repeat callers. See Goodcall alternatives.
6. Dialzara
Dialzara is a simple AI receptionist with a self-editable prompt and message taking. Its 4.2 on Trustpilot is one of the better scores in the category.
- Watch for: calendar sync and warm transfers start on its mid-tier plan, texting is an add-on, and an October 2026 reviewer says getting a response from support is really hard.
- Best for: very low call volume. See Dialzara alternatives.
7. ElevenAgents (build your own)
ElevenAgents is the ElevenLabs platform Reception is built on. Instead of a ready-made receptionist, you build the agent yourself: outbound and batch calling, WhatsApp, your own tools, and a BAA for eligible customers. Same voices, much more control, and a lot more work.
- Watch for: it’s a developer platform, so booking, texting and CRM updates are things you wire up.
- Best for: teams with a developer who want ElevenLabs voices with full control. Compare Retell AI, Vapi and Synthflow, or see AI voice agents.
How to pick
- Do your customers text you? Reception’s US numbers can’t text without your own Twilio account, and it won’t reply. If texting matters, go with Carly.
- Is your team on Outlook? Reception books Outlook only through Zapier, without seeing open slots. Carly books Outlook and Google calendars directly.
- Who calls the lead back? If the answer is “us, tomorrow,” pick a receptionist that calls web leads back within a minute.
- Taking patient calls? Reception isn’t HIPAA compliant yet. Carly signs a BAA on Enterprise plans.
- Need dozens of languages? That’s Reception’s real strength. Test any receptionist with a real call in the language you need.
For the full field, see the best AI receptionists.
How to switch from Reception.ai
- Set up Carly first. It’s one prompt, below. Grab a number in the chat, or keep your own.
- Point your forwarding at Carly. If your business line forwards to Reception, swap the forwarding number to Carly’s with the same carrier codes.
- Check your Reception number. If customers already dial the number Reception gave you, sort that out before you cancel: Reception releases numbers 14 days after a plan ends.
- Cancel in Reception. Settings, then Billing, then Manage Subscription. Service runs to the end of your billing period.
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.Get started, or watch the 2-minute video.
FAQ
What is Reception.ai?
Reception, or “Reception by ElevenAgents,” is ElevenLabs’ AI receptionist for small businesses, launched September 16, 2026. It answers calls 24/7 in more than 70 languages, answers questions from your website and files, and books on Google Calendar, Calendly or Cal.com. Plans start at $29 a month after a 14-day trial.
What is the best alternative to Reception.ai?
Carly. It books callers on Google and Outlook calendars during the call, texts both ways from your business number, calls new leads back within a minute and connects to thousands of apps. Set it up in minutes on the website, or ask ChatGPT or Claude to do it.
Can Reception.ai send text messages?
It sends confirmations and reminders by text, but in the US only from a Twilio number you connect yourself, and it doesn’t reply to texts conversationally. Carly texts and answers texts from your business number, with no Twilio account needed.
Does Reception.ai work with Outlook?
Only through Zapier. Reception reads the events on your Outlook calendar and can add one, but it can’t see open slots, move or cancel events, and its docs warn that two callers can book the same time. Carly books directly on Outlook and Google calendars.
Is Reception.ai HIPAA compliant?
Not yet, according to its own FAQ. ElevenLabs’ wider ElevenAgents platform offers BAAs to eligible customers. Carly signs a BAA on Enterprise plans; book a call to set one up.
Can I keep my phone number if I switch?
Yes. Forward your existing number to Carly, for every call or only the ones your team misses.
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"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."
