Menu or conversation
Automated Phone Answering System: Menu or AI Receptionist?
An automated phone answering system can mean two different products. A menu (auto attendant) plays options and routes the call. An AI receptionist holds a conversation and finishes the task. Choose by what most of your callers need.
Updated · Published by Revo
Published by Revo, which sells an AI receptionist for home service businesses. Reviewed November 4, 2026.
Menus route, they do not resolve
A menu works when callers know where to go: billing, a specific technician, an existing job. Many business phone plans include one. The limit is that someone still has to answer the routed call, or it ends in voicemail.
AI receptionists handle the request
A homeowner with a leaking water heater does not want option three. An AI receptionist asks what happened, collects the address and books the visit under your rules. Revo does this 24/7 on every plan, with SMS follow-up and a call summary.
A simple test before you buy
Take 30 recent calls and mark each one "knew where to go" or "needed help". If most needed help, a menu adds a step before the same problem. Many businesses use both: a menu for existing customers and an AI receptionist for new requests.
Frequently asked questions
Is an auto attendant the same as an AI receptionist?
No. A menu routes calls; an AI receptionist converses and completes tasks such as booking.
Can Revo transfer to my team?
Yes, on Crew and Fleet. See plans.
Sources and current terms
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