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Features

Everything a front desk does, handled by one AI receptionist

Frontivo.io answers phone calls, website chat and voice, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email with the same knowledge, books appointments on your real calendar, qualifies leads and brings in your team when a person is needed. Each feature below has its own page with a plain definition, how it works, what it can't do and the plans that include it.

All features

Frontivo.io features, defined

One-paragraph definitions of each capability. Every definition also opens the feature's own page.

What is an AI phone receptionist?
An AI phone receptionist, also called an AI phone answering service or AI answering service, is software that answers a business's incoming phone calls with a real-time AI voice instead of voicemail or a human answering service. It understands what the caller says, replies in natural speech, answers questions using the business's own information, collects the caller's details, books appointments and transfers or takes a message when a person is needed. Frontivo.io's AI phone receptionist does all of this on your existing business number, 24 hours a day.
What is an AI website chat widget?
An AI website chat widget is a small chat window embedded on a business's website that answers visitors automatically using artificial intelligence, instead of a scripted menu or a human agent. Frontivo.io's widget goes further than text: visitors can also talk to it by voice in the browser. It answers from the business's own knowledge base, captures leads, books appointments and hands the conversation to a person when needed.
What is AI text messaging for a business?
AI text messaging for a business is software that reads incoming SMS messages sent to a business's phone number and replies automatically using artificial intelligence, instead of leaving them for someone to answer later. It understands what the customer is asking, answers from the business's own information, collects contact details, books appointments and passes the conversation to a person when needed. Frontivo.io's text messaging does this on the same number that answers your calls, and can also send automatic texts such as missed-call text-backs, appointment reminders and review requests.
What is an AI receptionist for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger?
An AI receptionist for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger is software that reads direct messages sent to a business on those apps and replies automatically using artificial intelligence, instead of leaving them unread until someone has time. It understands the question, answers from the business's own information, collects the customer's details, books appointments and hands over to a person when needed. Frontivo.io does this on all three platforms with the same AI receptionist that answers the business's phone, website chat and text messages.
What is an AI email assistant for a business?
An AI email assistant for a business is software that reads the emails customers send to the business and replies automatically using artificial intelligence, instead of leaving them waiting until someone checks the inbox. It understands the question, answers from the business's own information, collects the customer's details, books appointments and passes the conversation to a person when needed. In Frontivo.io it is the same AI receptionist that answers the business's phone, website chat, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, so every channel gives the same answers.
What is AI appointment booking?
AI appointment booking is when an AI receptionist schedules an appointment for a customer during a conversation, instead of sending them to a booking link or taking a message for someone to call back. The AI checks the business's calendar for open times, offers them to the customer, books the chosen slot and confirms the details, all within the same phone call or chat. Frontivo.io's AI appointment booking works on every channel it answers and syncs both ways with Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar, so it offers only times that are open on your calendar.
What is AI lead qualification?
AI lead qualification is when an AI receptionist asks a new caller or message sender a set of questions during the conversation, such as what they need, their timeline, how urgent it is and their location, and records the answers along with the person's contact details. The result is a lead that tells the business who the person is, what they want and how soon, before anyone on the team picks up the phone. Frontivo.io qualifies leads on every channel it answers and saves each one with a transcript and an AI summary.
What is human handoff in an AI receptionist?
Human handoff is the moment an AI receptionist stops handling a conversation itself and passes it to a person on the business's team. It happens because the customer asks for a human, because the conversation reaches a situation the AI shouldn't handle alone (an angry caller, a billing or legal question, an emergency), or because a rule the business set has matched. In Frontivo.io a handoff is either a live call transfer with a short brief for the person picking up, or a detailed message with an instant alert, and for chats and texts the team can take over directly from the inbox.
What is an AI receptionist knowledge base?
An AI receptionist knowledge base is the private collection of business information (services, prices, hours, policies, FAQs, documents and website pages) that the AI is allowed to answer from. Instead of relying on whatever a general AI model happens to know, the receptionist looks up the relevant pieces of this knowledge base before every reply, a method called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). In Frontivo.io that means answers come only from what you have entered, updates take effect the moment you save, and questions the knowledge base can't answer are flagged for you instead of guessed.
What is a unified inbox for an AI receptionist?
A unified inbox is a single view that gathers a business's customer conversations from every channel (phone calls, website chat and voice, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger and email) in one place, instead of a separate app for each. In Frontivo.io every conversation the AI receptionist handles appears there with a full transcript, a short AI summary, the customer's details and its current status, and team members can read, take over, assign and search from the same screen.
What are AI receptionist integrations and automations?
AI receptionist integrations are the connections between the receptionist and the other software a business runs on: its calendar, CRM, team chat, spreadsheets, email marketing, online store and messaging platforms. They let the AI act on real data (open appointment times, order status) and push what it learns (new leads, booked appointments) into the tools the team already uses. Automations are the follow-up messages the system sends on its own, such as appointment reminders and review requests. Frontivo.io includes both, set up from the dashboard with no code, plus a REST API for developers.

Frontivo.io vs voicemail, an answering service and in-house staff

What each option gives you, side by side.

  • Voicemail

    Cost
    Free
    Hours
    24/7
    Books on your calendar
    No
    Knows your urgent calls
    No
    Channels
    Phone only

  • Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai)

    Cost
    Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls
    Hours
    24/7
    Books on your calendar
    Often (Calendly or Google Calendar)
    Knows your urgent calls
    Follows your script
    Channels
    Phone; live chat or texts with some providers

  • In-house receptionist

    Cost
    About $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits)
    Hours
    Business hours
    Books on your calendar
    Yes
    Knows your urgent calls
    Yes
    Channels
    One call at a time

  • Frontivo.io

    Cost
    From $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included
    Hours
    24/7
    Books on your calendar
    Yes
    Knows your urgent calls
    Yes
    Channels
    Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon)

Swipe the table sideways to see every column →

OptionCostHoursBooks on your calendarKnows your urgent callsChannels
VoicemailFree24/7Phone only
Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai)Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls24/7Often (Calendly or Google Calendar)Follows your scriptPhone; live chat or texts with some providers
In-house receptionistAbout $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits)Business hoursOne call at a time
Frontivo.ioFrom $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included24/7Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon)

Sources: Ruby and Smith.ai pricing pages (checked September 28, 2026); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Receptionists (2025 median pay) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026, benefits 30% of compensation). US prices from the sources above; other providers and countries vary. Frontivo.io prices exclude tax.

Frontivo.io hands off to your own team when a person is needed; it doesn't provide live human receptionists.

Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. See which plans include which features, or read the AI receptionist guides.

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