Books the appointment. Not just a message.

Yes and yes. The assistant states it is an AI in its first sentence, every call. It never pretends to be human — that's a hard rule, not a setting.

Some will, usually the ones who wanted a person. That is why it says it is an AI straight away, answers in your business's name, takes the job in about a minute and hands anything urgent to the person you name. The fair comparison is not an AI against you picking up. It is an AI against voicemail or a missed call, when the caller rings the next firm instead. Ring the demo line and judge it yourself, or read our buyer's guide comparing AI and human answering services.

Live prices are always on the pricing page — they vary by country and every price is shown before checkout, never after. The receptionist is a monthly rolling plan with AI call minutes included; the website is a one-time build. There is no setup fee and no notice period — cancel the monthly plan any time.

Same day. There is no hardware and no app to install. You tell us about your business on one short form (or we fill it in with you on a call), and you sign a short pilot agreement — about a minute, from a link we email you. We then check exactly what the assistant may and may not say before anything is switched on. Once both are recorded, your number and voice agent are provisioned in minutes, and the last step is yours: dial a short code to divert your existing line, which takes about a minute. We hold the whole thing until your signature and our check are both recorded — deliberately, so nothing goes live answering your customers in words you have not seen.

Same day, we confirm your business details. For the website: we build it, you approve the preview, and it is published only after approval and payment are both recorded. For the receptionist: we configure the assistant from what you told us, you sign the pilot agreement, and we check the wording before anything is switched on. Then you divert your line and it starts answering.

No. You keep your published number. Your phone diverts to your RingQuay line only when you can't answer (or for all calls, if you prefer) — a dial code on your handset, takes under a minute.

Yes - the built-in diary books a confirmed slot from day one - the caller gets a text and a calendar invite, and you get an email with the appointment to add to your own calendar. It keeps its own diary, which cannot see appointments you make elsewhere, so block those times by text (BLOCK MONDAY) or in your workspace. It confirms a time only after the slot is checked free, and you can cancel any booking from your workspace. If the slot is unavailable or the calendar cannot be reached, it records a callback request instead.

Not yet. RingQuay sells in the United Kingdom today. The United States, the European Union and India are built and priced, but each stays closed until its own legal and telecoms checks are finished — so checkout will decline outside the UK rather than take money for something we cannot yet serve properly. If you are outside the UK, email us and we will tell you honestly where that market stands.

By design: it won't quote binding prices, diagnose problems, invent availability or take payments. It captures who called and why, books only a calendar-verified appointment, and hands anything urgent or sensitive straight to a human.

Emergency-sounding calls stop routine intake immediately and are escalated to the out-of-hours contact you nominate. RingQuay is an answering and message-taking service, not an emergency service — a caller with a genuine emergency should always be told to ring 999.

The receptionist is monthly, cancel anytime — no notice period, no exit fee. The website is yours once published. The only thing that recurs is the domain: the first year is included, then £25 a year from year two, and we tell you 30 days before it is due. You can move the domain to your own registrar whenever you like, free, and we start the transfer within 14 days.

The RingQuay application keeps the minimum structured callback details — name, number, reason and preferred time — for 30 days, then automatically deletes them. It does not copy call audio into its database. Voice-provider processing and retention settings are explained in the privacy notice; callers can request access or erasure at any time.

Yes. The same receptionist answers the chat on your website, in writing, takes the enquiry and sends it to you. On a website we build, the chat is on it from day one, free.

By text, from your own mobile: BLOCK MONDAY, BLOCK TODAY AFTER 2, OPEN MONDAY, WHAT'S BOOKED. The receptionist stops offering the blocked times on every calendar and confirms by text.

Every caller with a booking gets a reminder text the evening before, from your number, so a reply comes to you.

One text at close of business: calls answered, booked, callbacks waiting. Nothing on a quiet day. The full detail is in your workspace whenever you want it.

Your first hour: ring your own number, divert, connect a calendar, learn the text commands, and check the workspace. Seven steps, each one you can verify before the next.

RingQuay is a DigiAutomate product. DigiAutomate is a trading name of Zen AI Governance UK Ltd, a UK company (No. 16827795) whose day job is AI governance and compliance — which is why the receptionist's rules are the product, not an afterthought.