A virtual receptionist that answers every call on your business number
Every missed call is a customer deciding you were too busy for them. A virtual receptionist fixes that without hiring anyone: your number is answered professionally every time, callers are routed to the right person’s mobile, and a message is taken when nobody can pick up.
ONSIM offers it two ways: a classic auto attendant - "press 1 for sales, 2 for support" - or an AI receptionist that actually speaks with your callers, configured for your business. Both route calls to ordinary mobiles at network level. No apps, no desk phones, no office.
Auto attendant (IVR menu)
A recorded greeting and a keypress menu in front of your number. Callers choose a department and the network routes them: to one mobile, to a hunt group where several mobiles ring at once, or into a queue with hold music until someone is free. Menus, greetings and destinations are self-served in the dashboard, and time rules let the same number behave differently out of hours. The proven option - a two-person firm sounds like a company with departments.
AI receptionist
Instead of a menu, callers speak to an AI configured for your business. It greets them naturally, asks what they need, routes the call to the right person or team, and takes a proper message - name, number, reason for calling - delivered straight to your email when nobody is available. No "press 3" frustration, no voicemail black hole. Configured with ONSIM around your greeting, your team and your routing rules, and refined as your business changes.
Why it works: the phone network does the routing
Most "virtual receptionist" products are VoIP apps: they work while the app is logged in, the Wi-Fi is up, and the battery-saver has not killed the connection. ONSIM is a UK mobile network, so the receptionist and the routing live in the network itself. Your team receives ordinary mobile calls on the phones already in their pockets - on the M6, on a roof, in a basement stock room on 4G. The receptionist answers on your landline number or Landline SIM number, and callers never know the "switchboard" has no building.
It also plays properly with the rest of your setup: unanswered routes can fall back to voicemail-to-email, calls can be recorded for training or compliance, and everything is managed in one dashboard.
Honest comparison: automated vs human answering
A human answering bureau charges per call - typically £1 to £3 each - and shines when callers must speak to a person who takes detailed, judgement-heavy messages. An automated receptionist costs a fixed monthly amount however many calls arrive, answers instantly on the first ring at any hour, and never has all its operators busy. Most small firms’ calls are "can I speak to someone about X" - exactly what routing solves. If you truly need humans, we will tell you so; if you need every call answered and routed reliably, this does it for a fraction of the cost.
Customer case study
QLine IT sees every customer call - recorded, transcribed and dashboarded
A 15-person UK IT support provider replaced ordinary VoIP with ONSIM Landline SIMs and hosted telephony, gaining real-time transcripts of every call and the data to prove issues get resolved.
Team on ONSIM
Order to go-live
Call visibility
Read the case study
Virtual receptionist questions
What is a virtual receptionist?
Anything that answers your business number professionally when a human receptionist would be too expensive or simply not there. The term covers two different things: automated systems (a greeting and menu that routes the call, or an AI that speaks with the caller) and outsourced humans in a call centre. ONSIM provides the automated kind - configured for your business, answering every call identically at 9am and 9pm, for a fraction of the cost of a person.
Is this a human answering service?
No, and we would rather say that plainly than let you find out after signing up. ONSIM’s virtual receptionist is automated: a professionally configured greeting and menu, or an AI receptionist that converses with callers. If you specifically need humans answering with your company name, you need an answering bureau - a different product with per-call pricing. Many businesses find the automated version answers faster, never calls in sick, and costs a fixed amount monthly.
What can the AI receptionist actually do?
It answers your number, greets callers naturally, and handles the conversation: finding out what the caller needs, routing them to the right person or team, and taking a message with the caller’s details when nobody is available - delivered to your email. It is configured with ONSIM for your business: your greeting, your team structure, your rules for what goes where.
How do calls reach my staff?
At network level, on the ordinary mobiles your team already carries. The receptionist can ring one person, a hunt group so several mobiles ring at once, or a call queue when everyone is busy. No apps to stay logged into, no VoIP handsets - if the mobile has signal, the call arrives.
Can it behave differently out of hours?
Yes. Pair the receptionist with timed call routing and the same number can offer the full menu in office hours, a message-taking flow in the evening, and an emergency route at the weekend. Callers always get an answer; you decide what kind.
What does a virtual receptionist cost?
The classic auto attendant (IVR menu) is a paid add-on to Landline SIM (£10/user/month + VAT) or Virtual Landline (from £5/month + VAT). The AI receptionist is configured per business, so pricing depends on what you need it to do - request a quote and we will spec it with you. Everything is monthly rolling with no contract.
Never miss the main number again
Tell us how your calls should flow and we will configure it - menu or AI, office hours and out of hours, who rings first and what happens when nobody answers. Monthly rolling, no contract.