The four options, compared
| Voicemail | Forward to your cell | Answering service | AI receptionist (Autorys) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Nobody | You | A person from the service | The AI, with your business name |
| Cost | $0 | Your time and your sleep | Usually per minute or per call | $149 USD a month with 500 minutes |
| Books the appointment | No | If you are awake | Depends on the service | Yes, in your CRM calendar |
| What you see in the morning | Voicemails, if they left one | What you remember | Usually a message | Summary, recording and transcript of every call |
How to set up after-hours answering with an AI receptionist
Forward unanswered calls
With your carrier’s code, forward the calls you don’t answer to the number Autorys gives you. At night nobody answers, so every call reaches the AI.
Choose your transfer hours
Decide when the AI may pass calls to you or your team. Outside those hours it does not wake anyone: it takes the message and books.
Give it your after-hours information
Your opening hours, what to tell callers about next-day visits, and what counts as urgent for your business.
Read the summaries in the morning
Each call is in your CRM with the summary, the recording and the transcript, so you call back with all the details.
What happens with urgent calls at night
Some calls can’t wait until morning, like a burst pipe or a lockout. You decide whether to accept transfers at those hours and to whom. If you don’t, the AI takes all the details and books the first available slot.
Real emergencies are different: if someone reports a gas smell, a fire or an injury, the receptionist tells them to hang up and dial 911, and never transfers that call.
Why after-hours calls matter
People call when they have the problem, not when you are open. Evenings and weekends are often when customers finally have time to call. If nobody answers, they can call the next business on the list, and you may never know they called.