What is a virtual receptionist?
A virtual receptionist answers and handles a business's calls without sitting at its front desk. The term covers two different things: a remote human receptionist employed by a service such as Ruby or Smith.ai, and an AI receptionist such as Prisma Voices. Both greet callers, take messages and book appointments. The human version is billed by the minute or the call; the AI version is billed as software.
Human or AI: which fits?
If your callers need a person on the line, a human service is the right fit and its price reflects the staffing. If what you need is calls answered, qualified and booked at any hour, an AI receptionist does that as software. You can also run both: AI answers first and transfers to a person on request. See Prisma Voices vs Ruby for a worked example with current prices.