# AI Answering Service: features, integrations, and pricing > Canonical: https://dialzara.com/solutions/ai-answering-service > Summary: Professional 24/7 call answering powered by AI, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional service. ## Overview An AI answering service handles your business phone like your best employee — picking up instantly at any hour, including nights, weekends, and holidays. It manages every incoming call even during peak hours without putting callers on hold, and costs far less than a per-call human answering service. > **Category:** AI-Powered Phone Answering ## Who it's for - Small businesses with after-hours and overflow call volume - Service businesses that cannot afford missed calls - Teams replacing a costly per-call answering service ## What it does - **24/7 availability:** Picks up instantly at any hour, including weekends and holidays. - **Unlimited concurrent calls:** Handles every incoming call instantly, whether one or a hundred at once. - **Appointment scheduling:** Callers book directly into your calendar; the AI checks real-time availability and confirms the slot. - **Smart message taking:** Captures caller name, number, reason, and urgency, with notifications via text, email, or CRM. - **Spam protection:** AI-powered call screening identifies and blocks robocalls and telemarketers. - **Call transfers:** Intelligent routing sends urgent matters to the right person based on rules. - **5,000+ integrations:** Zapier connectivity for Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Google Sheets, and more. - **Lower cost than human staff:** Flat monthly plans with included minutes and no per-call fees. ## How it works 1. **Add your website:** Dialzara scans it automatically to train the agent on your business, services, and FAQs. _(2 min)_ 2. **Test & refine:** Chat with your agent and adjust until it sounds right. _(10 min)_ 3. **Go live:** Forward your existing number or get a new one. _(Instant)_ ## Integrations - Zapier - Google Calendar - Salesforce - HubSpot - Slack - Microsoft Teams ## Pricing - **Starting price:** $29/month - **Model:** Flat monthly tiers with included minutes - **Notes:** Plans include 60 to 1,000 minutes a month depending on tier, with per-minute overage. ## Related solutions - [AI Receptionist](https://dialzara.com/solutions/ai-receptionist) - [AI Call Screening](https://dialzara.com/solutions/ai-call-screening) - [AI Appointment Scheduling](https://dialzara.com/solutions/ai-appointment-scheduling) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is an AI answering service? An AI answering service is software that answers your business calls with a natural-sounding voice AI. It can answer common questions, book appointments, take detailed messages and transfer calls to you, 24 hours a day. ### How much does an AI phone answering service cost? Dialzara's plans are $29/month (60 minutes), $99/month (220 minutes), $199/month (500 minutes) and $349/month (1,000 minutes), with overage from $0.35 to $0.48 per minute depending on the plan. Live answering services usually sell minute bundles at higher per-minute rates; for example, PATLive listed 200 minutes for $349/month on October 22, 2026. ### Do spam or wrong-number calls use up my minutes? No. Spam, robocalls and wrong-number calls don't count against your plan minutes, so you only pay for real conversations. ### Is there a free AI answering service? Some tools offer free tiers with limited features. Dialzara isn't free, but every plan starts with a 7-day free trial, with no contract, so you can test it on real calls first. ### How does an AI answering service work? You forward your business number to the service. When a call comes in, the AI greets the caller with your script, understands what they need, and answers, books, takes a message or transfers the call based on your rules. You get a summary and the recording after each call. ### What is the best AI answering service? It depends on your call volume, budget and whether you need human backup. We compare 12 options, including Dialzara, in our guide to the best AI answering services for small business. ### Can it take messages and transfer calls? Yes. It takes messages with the custom questions you choose and sends them to you by email or SMS. Blind transfers are included on every plan, and warm transfers are on Business Pro and above. ### Can it answer more than one call at a time? Yes. Every plan handles unlimited simultaneous calls, so callers don't get a busy signal during a rush. Your plan's minutes are talk time, not a limit on lines. ### Can I keep my existing phone number? Yes. You can forward your existing business number to Dialzara, or get a new local or toll-free number. ### Does it answer in Spanish? Yes. Every plan answers in 10 languages, including English and Spanish, and detects the caller's language automatically. ### How do I switch from my current answering service? Set up and test your Dialzara agent first, then forward your number when you're ready. You can keep your current service running until you're happy with how the AI handles your calls.