Line

Small UK businesses lose work in the gap between a customer calling and someone being free to pick up — on a job, with a client, or simply outside office hours. Line addresses that with two things bundled together: a real UK number (mobile, local or national) and an AI receptionist sitting behind it that answers every call, takes a message, captures the caller's details and routes the ones that need a human to the right person. The number is a proper line rather than a forwarding trick, so it handles SMS as well as calls, and a shared inbox keeps messages visible to a small team instead of trapped on one person's handset. The practical benefit is not that the AI replaces a receptionist; it is that no call goes to voicemail with nothing recorded. For trades, clinics, letting agents and small agencies, a missed first call is usually a lost customer who rings the next name on the list, and the receptionist at least captures who called and why. Keeping business calls on a separate number also means a personal mobile stops being the company switchboard. The limits are worth stating plainly. It is a paid service, so it only makes sense once missed calls carry real cost. The AI handles enquiries, bookings-style messages and routing well, but complex or emotive calls still need a person, and callers who dislike automated answering will say so. It is also UK-focused, which makes it a poor fit if your customers are elsewhere.