Beside is an AI receptionist built for small businesses that handles incoming calls, books appointments, answers frequently asked questions, and routes callers to the right person. Plans start at $29/month, making it one of the more affordable AI phone solutions on the market. It’s best suited for service-based businesses that miss calls regularly and want a 24/7 front desk without the overhead of a human receptionist.
Key Takeaways
- Beside handles inbound calls with natural-sounding AI that can answer questions, book appointments, and take messages 24/7.
- Pricing starts at $29/month for basic call handling, with higher tiers adding appointment scheduling and CRM integration.
- Setup takes about 30 minutes. You upload your business info, set call routing rules, and forward your phone number.
- Beside works best for service businesses (salons, clinics, contractors) that get 20-100+ calls per day and can’t afford to miss leads.
What Beside AI Receptionist Does
Beside answers your business phone when you can’t. A caller dials your number, the AI picks up with a greeting you’ve customized, and it handles the conversation from there. It can answer questions about your hours, pricing, services, and location. If a caller needs to schedule an appointment, Beside checks your calendar and books it directly.
Every call generates a transcript and summary that gets sent to your phone or email. You can review what was discussed, flag calls that need follow-up, and track patterns in what callers are asking about.
The AI voice sounds conversational and natural. It pauses at appropriate moments, handles interruptions, and adjusts its tone based on the conversation. Callers generally realize they’re talking to AI, but the experience is smooth enough that most don’t mind.
Core Features
Call Handling and Routing
Beside picks up calls instantly with no hold time. You define routing rules: sales calls go to one number, support questions go to another, and after-hours calls get handled entirely by the AI. If a caller explicitly asks for a human, Beside transfers them immediately.
You can set different greetings and behaviors for business hours vs. after hours. During the day, the AI might try to transfer first and fall back to AI handling. After hours, it handles everything and sends you a summary to review in the morning.
Appointment Scheduling
Beside integrates with Google Calendar, Calendly, and several other scheduling tools. When a caller wants to book an appointment, the AI checks availability, offers open slots, and confirms the booking. The caller gets a confirmation text, and the appointment appears on your calendar automatically.
For businesses that run on appointments (salons, dental offices, consulting firms), this feature alone justifies the cost. A missed call that would have been a $200 appointment is a $200 loss. At $29-$79/month, Beside pays for itself if it captures just one extra booking.
Knowledge Base and FAQ Handling
You upload your business information (services, pricing, hours, policies) into Beside’s knowledge base. The AI references this during calls to answer questions accurately. When it doesn’t know the answer, it says so honestly and offers to take a message or transfer the call.
The knowledge base is editable anytime. Changed your hours for the holidays? Update the knowledge base and the AI reflects it on the next call. No downtime, no re-training needed.
Call Transcripts and Summaries
Every call is transcribed and summarized automatically. Summaries include the caller’s name (if provided), their question or request, what the AI told them, and any follow-up needed. You can search past calls by keyword, date, or caller number.
For teams, this creates a shared record of every customer interaction. No more “I think someone called about that yesterday” situations.
How Beside Compares to Other AI Receptionists
Beside is one of several AI receptionist options for small businesses. Here’s how it stacks up:
Beside vs. Rosie: Rosie is more established and has deeper integrations with home services software (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro). Beside is simpler to set up and slightly cheaper. If you’re a plumber or HVAC company, Rosie is probably the better fit. For general service businesses, Beside’s simplicity is an advantage.
Beside vs. Smith.ai: Smith.ai uses a hybrid model with AI + human agents. It’s more expensive ($97.50+/month) but offers a human fallback for complex calls. Beside is fully AI. Choose Smith.ai if caller experience is paramount and you’re willing to pay more.
Beside vs. Goodcall: Similar price range and target market. Goodcall has a slightly better setup wizard. Beside has better appointment scheduling integration. Both are solid choices for small businesses trying AI phone answering for the first time.
For a detailed comparison of all options, see our AI receptionist head-to-head comparison.
Pricing
Beside offers three plans:
- Starter ($29/month): Basic call answering, FAQ handling, message taking. Up to 50 calls/month included. $0.50 per additional call.
- Professional ($79/month): Everything in Starter plus appointment scheduling, CRM integration, custom voice. Up to 200 calls/month included.
- Business ($149/month): Unlimited calls, multi-location support, advanced analytics, priority support, custom integrations.
For context, a part-time receptionist costs $1,500-$2,500/month. A traditional answering service runs $200-$500/month. Beside’s pricing makes AI phone answering accessible even for solo practitioners and very small teams.
Setting Up Beside
Setup takes about 30 minutes:
Step 1: Create your account and enter your business information (name, address, hours, services, pricing).
Step 2: Set up your call routing rules. Define when calls go to AI, when they forward to your phone, and how after-hours calls are handled.
Step 3: Connect your calendar if you want appointment scheduling. Link your Google Calendar or Calendly account.
Step 4: Forward your business phone number to the Beside number. This takes 2 minutes through your phone carrier’s settings.
Step 5: Run 5-10 test calls to make sure everything works. Adjust your knowledge base and routing as needed.
Who Should Use Beside
Good fit: Service businesses with steady call volume (salons, dental offices, law firms, contractors, consultants). Businesses that miss calls during busy periods or after hours. Solo operators who can’t answer the phone while working with clients.
Not ideal for: Businesses with complex call flows requiring multiple transfers. High-volume call centers (100+ calls per day). Businesses where callers have very technical or specialized questions that go beyond a knowledge base.
Limitations
Beside is relatively new, and there are some gaps:
- Limited language support (English only, with Spanish in beta).
- No outbound calling capability. Beside only handles incoming calls.
- Integrations are growing but not as extensive as Rosie or Smith.ai.
- The AI occasionally struggles with heavy accents or noisy environments.
These are typical growing pains for a newer product. The core call handling and appointment scheduling work well for the target market.
How AI Scale Labs Can Help
We help small businesses evaluate, set up, and optimize AI receptionist tools like Beside. Our AI setup service includes comparing options for your specific needs, configuring the system, writing your knowledge base content, and testing the setup before going live. Book a call to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Beside handle multiple calls at the same time?
Yes. Unlike a human receptionist who can only take one call at a time, Beside handles concurrent calls without any of them going to voicemail. During busy periods, every caller gets an immediate answer.
What if a caller gets frustrated with the AI?
Beside is designed to detect frustration signals (raised voice, repeated requests for a human). It offers to transfer to a real person or take a detailed message for callback. You set the escalation rules.
Does Beside work with my existing phone number?
Yes. You keep your current business number and forward calls to Beside. Callers dial the same number they always have. No changes needed on their end.
Can I customize what the AI says?
Yes. You control the greeting, the personality tone, the knowledge base, and the closing message. You can make it formal or casual depending on your brand.
