Zoom AI Receptionist: Pricing, Review and Alternatives
Zoom’s AI receptionist, officially Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist, greets callers, answers questions from your website and FAQs, books appointments and transfers calls with context. Since July 2026 it’s sold on its own and works with any phone system, not just Zoom Phone.
At $25 a month it’s one of the cheapest names in the category. It’s also one of the smallest allowances.
The quick answer: Zoom’s standalone AI receptionist is $25 a month billed annually for 100 minutes, roughly 50 two-minute calls, with add-on minutes beyond that. On Zoom Phone it’s bundled from 25¢ a minute plus the cost of Zoom Phone. It books into Zoom Scheduler, Google, Microsoft and Calendly calendars, texts reminders and links, and speaks English, Spanish and 10+ other languages. If you want an AI receptionist that rings your team first, calls new leads back within a minute and logs every call to your CRM, Carly does that from one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude.
Prices from Zoom’s AI Receptionist page, checked October 21, 2026.
Zoom AI Receptionist pricing
| Standalone | Zoom Phone + AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $25/month billed annually | From $0.25/minute billed annually, plus Zoom Phone |
| Minutes | 100 a month, add-on minutes available | Per minute |
| Phone system | Any; Zoom gives you a dedicated number | Zoom Phone |
| Calendars | Zoom Scheduler, Google, Microsoft, Calendly | Same |
| Texting | Reminders and links during calls | Plus Zoom Phone business SMS |
| Languages | English, Spanish and 10+ more | Same |
| Trial | Free trial | Free trial |
What it does well
- Works with your current phones. You don’t have to switch to Zoom Phone.
- Learns from what you already have: web pages, FAQs and support articles.
- Hands off with context, transferring by name with a summary of the call.
- Many languages, with live transcription included.
Where Zoom’s AI receptionist falls short
- 100 minutes goes quickly. At two minutes a call that’s about 50 calls a month, and Zoom’s page doesn’t list the add-on minute price.
- On Zoom Phone, it’s per minute. The bundle starts at 25¢ a minute on top of Zoom Phone seats, so a busy line costs more every month.
- It answers, it doesn’t call out. Phoning a new web lead back isn’t on the feature list.
- Texting is reminders and links. Two-way conversations by text are a Zoom Phone feature, not a receptionist one.
- Setup runs through Zoom Virtual Agent, Zoom’s contact-center bot builder, so changing how calls go means working in that wizard.
- Calls don’t land in a CRM on the standalone plan’s feature list.
Why Carly is the better pick
Carly answers your business line on your rules, every call the same way, and keeps working after the call.
- Live from one prompt. Paste Carly’s setup prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, describe your calls in plain English, and grab a number. Or forward just the calls you miss.
- Your team rings first. In business hours Carly rings your people and answers only when nobody picks up. After hours it answers on the first ring.
- New leads get a call within about a minute of a form fill, then a text and an email if they miss it (how it works).
- Real two-way texting from your business number, with a text back on every missed call.
- Every call in your CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365 or Carly’s own CRM.
- Ring groups and phone menus with up to nine options.
- Books across every calendar you and your team use, Google and Outlook alike, and connects to thousands of apps.
- Change it by asking. Tell ChatGPT or Claude “after 6pm, take a message for anything that isn’t an emergency” and Carly runs it that way from the next call (see how).
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/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) 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.Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
Zoom AI Receptionist vs Carly
| Zoom AI Receptionist | Carly | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $25/mo for 100 minutes, or 25¢/min with Zoom Phone | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month |
| Setup | Zoom Virtual Agent wizard | One prompt in ChatGPT or Claude |
| Calls new leads back | Not listed | Within about a minute |
| Texting | Reminders and links | Two-way, plus missed-call text back |
| CRM logging | Not listed on standalone | HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Carly CRM |
| Languages | English, Spanish, 10+ more | English and Spanish |
| Email and calendar | Calendar booking | Every Gmail and Outlook inbox and calendar |
Other Zoom AI receptionist alternatives
- Carly: answering, lead callbacks, texting and CRM in one assistant.
- RingCentral AIR: RingCentral’s AI receptionist. See RingCentral AI receptionist.
- Nextiva XBert: $99 for 100 interactions on a Nextiva plan. See Nextiva AI receptionist.
- Upfirst: per-call billing for small businesses. See Upfirst AI.
More in best AI receptionist.
FAQ
How much is Zoom’s AI receptionist?
The standalone version is $25 a month billed annually for 100 minutes, with add-on minutes available. With Zoom Phone it starts at 25¢ a minute plus your Zoom Phone plan.
Do I need Zoom Phone for Zoom’s AI receptionist?
No. Since July 2026 the standalone version works with any phone system and comes with a dedicated number.
Can Zoom’s AI receptionist book appointments?
Yes, into Zoom Scheduler, Google, Microsoft or Calendly calendars, and it can text reminders. Carly also books across your whole team’s Google and Outlook calendars and calls new leads back.
What’s the best Zoom AI receptionist alternative?
Carly if you want answering plus lead callbacks, two-way texting and CRM logging. RingCentral if you want a full phone system with AI built in.
Ready to automate your busywork?
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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."
