AI Receptionist

An AI receptionist for your inbox.

It reads what arrives in the shared inbox and your chat channels, answers the questions you've answered a hundred times, books the appointments and routes the rest. It doesn't answer the phone; what arrives in writing is its job.

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300 free credits to start. Live in two minutes.

Andy · iMessage

Andy · 8:15 AM

what came in overnight

Cicada · 8:16 AM

Eleven in the shared inbox. Four booking requests: three got the next open slots from the calendar and two of those have confirmed; one wants Saturday, which you don't do, so I offered Friday 5:30 and she's thinking. Two asked about whitening prices, answered from the price list. One is about a bill, from Marta, passed to you with the thread; I didn't reply. Four were spam, filed.

Overnight inbox · Tuesday

Sheet · 11 rows · who, what, status

Open

Andy · 8:20 AM

tell the saturday one we can do 7:45 friday, we open early that day. i'll take the bill one

Cicada · 8:21 AM

Sent. She's taken 7:45 Friday; it's on the calendar with her number. The bill thread is marked yours, nothing more from me on it.

iMessage · one-to-one · the inbox worked overnight, the summary at 8

The short answer

What is an AI receptionist?

An AI receptionist is an agent that handles what arrives: it reads the shared inbox and the chat channels, answers the common questions from your hours, prices and policies, books and reschedules appointments on the calendar, and routes anything else to the right person with the thread attached. Cicada's works in Gmail or Outlook, Intercom, Zendesk and Gorgias, and reports to you in iMessage, WhatsApp or Slack. Until you trust it, every reply waits for your 👍; then you can let it answer the routine ones on its own.

What it does

What your AI receptionist does.

Triages the shared inbox

Reads hello@ and info@ as mail arrives, answers what it can, routes what it can't to the right person with the thread attached, and files the spam. Nothing sits unread.

Answers the common questions

Hours, prices, directions, parking, what to bring: from the handbook or the price list you give it, in the tone you set. It never guesses at a price it doesn't have.

Books and reschedules

Offers the next open slots from Google Calendar or Calendly, confirms, sends the details, and moves the appointment when someone asks. The calendar is the source, so it only offers slots that are free.

Routes the rest

A complaint, a quote request, a question only a person can answer: it goes to the right teammate in Slack with a two-line summary and the thread, and the sender hears it's in hand.

Covers the chat channels

Intercom, Zendesk and Gorgias conversations get the same treatment as email: the routine ones answered, the rest handed over with context.

Keeps the log

A sheet of everything that came in and what happened to it, and a text at 8 with the overnight picture. Reports land on the minute.

Who it's for

Who hires an AI receptionist.

Dental and medical practices

Bookings answered while you're with a patient

Requests get the next open slot, questions get the price list, the complaint gets to you first.

Salons and studios

The inbox after closing

Tomorrow's bookings confirmed and tonight's questions answered before you open.

Home services companies

Quote requests routed, not lost

Each inquiry logged with the address and the job, sent to the right crew lead, and the customer told when to expect a reply.

Law firms

Intake without the backlog

New inquiries acknowledged, the intake questions asked, the matter summarized for the right attorney. It never gives legal advice.

Real estate teams

Showings booked from the inbox

Viewing requests matched to the calendar, confirmed, and the listing details sent.

Agencies and consultancies

Every inquiry answered the same day

New-business emails acknowledged, the brief questions asked, the lead logged in the CRM for a person to pick up.

Setup

Set up in three steps.

Say what the job is
Describe the role in a sentence when you sign up, or tell the agent in the chat. It writes its own brief, which you can read and change any time.
Connect the apps it needs
One click for most apps. Each one can be Full, Ask first or Read-only, for every agent in the workspace.
Link your phone, or don't
Scan a code and it's in your iMessage or WhatsApp. Or keep it in the app, Slack and email. Hand it the first job in the same message.

Works withGmailOutlookGoogle CalendarCalendlyIntercomZendeskGorgiasSlackiMessageHubSpotand 1,000+ more

Control

Nothing goes out without your yes.

Nothing goes out without your yes

Anything that can't be undone, and any message to another person, waits for your OK. Approve with a 👍 in the chat, or set a role to full autonomy once you trust it.

Read-only is a real lock

Make any app read-only and the agent can look but never change a thing. It applies to every agent in the workspace, from their next run.

Every step on the record

Each run shows what it read, what it did and what it sent, step by step, in the Activity tab. Corrections you make stick.

What it won't do.

Won't pretend

If it couldn't confirm something, it leaves it out and says so. A number without a source doesn't go in a message.

Won't go around you

It never messages anyone on your behalf unless you asked, never spends money, and never makes a judgment call about money on its own.

Won't answer the phone

A ringing phone still needs a person or your phone system. What arrives by email, chat and form is its job, and it tells you what it couldn't handle.

Compared

Three ways to handle what arrives

Task	Doing it yourself	An auto-reply and a booking link	An AI receptionist
A booking request	Answered when you get a minute	They pick from your link, if they find it	Answered with the next open slots, confirmed, on the calendar
A question about prices or hours	The same reply, again	A canned reply that may not fit	Answered from your price list, in your tone
A complaint	Found late	Gets the auto-reply	Routed to you at once with the thread; no reply sent
Reschedules and cancellations	A back-and-forth	Cancel and rebook via the link	Moved on the calendar from one message
Spam and vendor pitches	Deleted by hand	Not covered	Filed, never answered
The end-of-day picture	Scroll the inbox	Not covered	A sheet of everything and a text with the summary
Where it happens	Your inbox, all day	Their web page	Your shared inbox; reports in iMessage, WhatsApp or Slack

Try it

Things to ask your AI receptionist.

01
"Read hello@ as mail arrives. Answer hours, prices and booking requests from the calendar; anything about billing comes to me."
You get: The routine mail answered under your rules, bookings on the calendar, and billing threads passed to you with a summary.
02
"What came in overnight and what did you do with it?"
You get: A short message: who wrote, what they wanted, what it answered, what's waiting on you, plus the sheet.
03
"Marta wants to move Thursday's appointment. Offer her the next two slots after 3 and confirm whichever she picks."
You get: The two slots offered from the calendar, the appointment moved when she answers, the confirmation sent.
04
"Any inquiry about a new project goes to Priya in Slack with a two-line summary, and the sender gets a reply saying she'll be in touch today."
You get: Each new-business email routed with the summary and the thread, the acknowledgment sent, the lead logged.
05
"Every day at 6, send me the day's inbox: bookings made, questions answered, anything still open."
You get: A message at 6 on the minute, built from the log, with the open items named.

Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Where do I talk to it?

iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email or the web app. It works the shared inbox in the background and reports to you in the thread you ask in. In a group chat it stays quiet until someone names it.

Does it reply to customers on its own?

You decide. At first every reply waits for your 👍 in the chat. Once you trust its answers, give it full autonomy for the routine ones: hours, prices, bookings. Anything outside what you've told it still comes to you.

Does it answer the phone?

No. It handles what arrives by email, chat and form. It can also place a call for you (paid plans, US, Canada and UK), to confirm a booking for example, but a ringing phone still needs a person or your phone system.

How does it know our prices and hours?

From the price list, the handbook or the page you give it, and from what you tell it in the chat. It keeps a memory of your rules that you can read and edit in the app, and it never guesses at a price it doesn't have.

Which inbox does it read?

A shared one, like hello@ or info@, connected once for the workspace in Gmail or Outlook. Your own inbox stays under your own login and is never read unless you connect it yourself.

Can it book appointments?

Yes. It offers the next open slots from Google Calendar or Calendly, confirms, sends the details and moves the appointment when someone asks. The calendar is the source, so it only offers slots that are free.

What won't it do?

It won't answer a question it has no answer for, won't message anyone outside the rules you set, and won't state a price or a time it couldn't confirm. If it isn't sure, it hands the thread to you.

Can my team use it too?

Yes. The receptionist agent routes to teammates in Slack, and every person in the workspace gets their own agent as well. Shared apps are connected once; personal inboxes stay personal.

What does it cost?

Every workspace starts with 300 free credits. You add a card at sign-up and nothing is charged until you run low; then it's $25 for 200 credits, with no subscription. A quick reply is about 5 credits and a typical run under 20; plans start at $99 a month.

Often hired together

One teammate. The output of a team.

Works nights, remembers every decision, answers in the thread. Start free with 300 credits.