BT Business / New service
BT Launches AI Receptionist for UK Businesses: How It Works and Who It’s For
The new call-handling service can answer routine enquiries and make bookings while a team is busy or closed. Its value depends on the calls a business actually receives.
The short answer
BT Business launched AI Receptionist on 1 October 2026. It answers incoming calls, responds to common questions, captures enquiries and can arrange appointments. It can work with a business’s existing UK number and phone system, so a company does not have to switch its broadband or mobile network to try it.
The service is most relevant to small teams that miss calls while serving customers, travelling between jobs or working outside opening hours. BT offers a product demo and quote; its public page does not show a standard monthly price.
How it works
From an incoming call to a useful next step
BT says the business can set up the assistant in a self-service portal using its website, FAQs or uploaded documents. That material gives it the details needed to answer routine questions such as opening hours, services and location. The business can set a personalised greeting and decide when the service answers.
BT’s launch announcement says the booking function integrates with Outlook and Google Calendar. It also describes call transcription and interaction insights. These features depend on how a business configures its information, calendar and handover process; a demonstration is the sensible way to see them with its own call types.
Who it suits
Best for repeat enquiries and missed calls
BT pitches the service at businesses where a missed call can become a missed booking or lead. The useful test is whether a meaningful share of calls can be answered from reliable written information or routed quickly to a person.
Capture a new job enquiry while the owner is driving between appointments or working on site.
Answer opening-hour, menu, stock or booking questions while staff are serving customers.
Record buyer or tenant details and help arrange a viewing when agents are unavailable.
Handle routine appointment requests and direct callers to the right team member.
Keep a clear human route
Test what happens when a caller’s question is unusual, sensitive or urgent. Staff should know which calls are handed over and how quickly captured enquiries are followed up. This is a practical buying check, not a claim that the assistant can resolve every case.
BT says customer data remains private and is not used to train AI models. Because conversations can be captured and transcribed, a prospective customer should also ask BT to show its retention, access and caller-notice settings in the demo.
Cost and setup
How the minute-based contract works
BT’s product FAQs describe a monthly rolling contract. It sells inbound AI call time in 100-minute increments, with packages ranging from 100 to 14,000 minutes a month. Minutes are for time handled by the assistant, rather than a fixed number of calls.
BT is advertising 50% off its 100- and 300-minute packages for six months for orders during its 2 October to 20 November 2026 offer window. The page does not show the undiscounted price, so ask for the full monthly cost after the offer, the overage rate and any other charges in writing.
BT’s estimate that UK small businesses lose £3.7 billion annually through missed calls is based on its commissioned survey and modelling of self-reported losses. It is an indicative estimate, not a measured saving that a business should expect from this product.
The takeaway
BT AI Receptionist is a flexible way to handle routine incoming calls without replacing an existing number. It looks most useful where calls often go unanswered and the team has a clear process for bookings and human follow-up. Check the quote against your actual monthly call minutes.
Quick answers
BT AI Receptionist FAQs
01Do I need BT broadband to use AI Receptionist?
No. BT says the service works across UK fixed and mobile networks and can keep an existing business number and phone system.
02Can BT AI Receptionist book appointments?
Yes. BT says it can schedule appointments, send confirmations and integrate with Outlook and Google Calendar once the business has configured the service.
03What happens when the included minutes run out?
BT says the service stops at the allowance limit unless the business buys more minutes or has enabled overage. Overage is off by default, and administrators receive usage alerts at 80% and 100%.
04How much does BT AI Receptionist cost?
BT does not show a standard monthly price on its public product page. It offers 100-minute bundles and asks businesses to request a quote. An optional one-hour setup session is listed at £150.
Hasnaat MahmoodBroadband and telecoms writer