An AI receptionist that answers every call
Ceres builds an AI receptionist for small and mid-sized businesses. It answers the phone around the clock, books appointments and takes orders, connects to the systems you already use, and passes anything it should not handle to your team.
Updated November 6, 2026 · Ceres Intelligence, Ontario, Canada
What an AI receptionist does
Questions, any time of day
Hours, menu or services, pricing, location and policies, answered from information you approve.
Appointments and tables
Checks real availability and books, reschedules or cancels.
Takeout and dine-in orders
Reads the order back, then enters it in your POS where your system allows.
By text message
Sends a text confirmation to the customer and, if you wish, to your manager.
To your staff
Anything it cannot answer or that you mark as sensitive goes to a person.
A summary of every call
Your team sees what the caller wanted and what the AI did.
How a call flows
Every call follows the same five steps. The connection to your own systems in step four is what separates a receptionist that takes messages from one that gets work done.
Built around your kind of business
The engine is the same. The scripts, rules and connected systems are configured for how your business actually works.
Restaurants
Reservations, takeout and dine-in orders, menu questions, entered into your POS.
Read more → IndustryBarbershops & Salons
Bookings by service and chair, reschedules and price questions while your hands are busy.
Read more → IndustryClinics & Dental
Scheduling, new-patient questions and after-hours calls, with privacy built in.
Read more → IndustryProfessional Services
Intake calls, consultation booking and routing for firms and independent practices.
Read more → IndustryRetail & Wireless Stores
Stock checks, pickup reservations, plans and billing questions at the counter's busiest times.
Read more →See it in action
A short narrated walkthrough using a restaurant as the example.
What the video shows
- What happens when a guest calls, from the first ring to the confirmation text.
- Questions answered from your menu and house rules; tables booked; orders entered in your POS.
- A four-step path from first meeting to live calls.
The restaurant example is shown because it makes the workflow easy to follow. The same flow applies to bookings in any industry. Illustrations are examples only; your numbers will vary.
Connects to the systems you already use
Restaurants run on POS systems, salons on booking apps, clinics on practice-management software. The receptionist works with them through their APIs where those exist, so you do not have to change how you run your business.
Safe by design
Approved answers only
It answers from information you approve. Questions outside that are escalated, not improvised.
Humans stay in the loop
Sensitive or complex cases go to your staff, with a summary so callers do not repeat themselves.
Every call is logged
Your team can review what was said and done, and gaps in the answers are flagged from real questions.
Where this stands. Ceres built its first complete AI receptionist for dental clinics across the GTA, and it is now in pilot. The same voice, scheduling and hand-off engine is configured for each new business and industry, with your own scripts, rules and systems. Example calls on this site are illustrative, not recordings of real customers.
Prove it in two to three weeks
No long commitment up front. Every project starts with a pilot so you can hear it, test it and judge it first. This is part of the Ceres method.
Learn
We collect your services, hours, rules and the answers you want given.
Connect
We link your phone number, text alerts and booking or POS system.
Test together
You call it. We tune the answers until you are happy.
Go live
Then a monthly review of calls, bookings and hand-offs.
Questions people ask
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone in a natural-sounding voice, understands what the caller wants and handles routine requests such as answering questions, booking appointments or taking orders. Anything it cannot handle goes to your staff, with a short summary of the call.
Will an AI receptionist replace my staff?
No. Ceres designs AI to complement your team. It takes the repetitive calls so your people can focus on the customers in front of them, and anything sensitive or complex is handed to a person.
Can it connect to my POS or booking system?
Often, yes. Where your system publishes an API or partner program, the receptionist can read availability and write bookings or orders. Ceres confirms access, plan requirements and permissions for each business during discovery. See the API and POS integrations page.
How long does it take to get live?
Ceres starts with a pilot of two to three weeks. In that time we learn your business, connect your systems, test calls together and tune the answers, then go live with a monthly review of calls and outcomes.
How is an AI receptionist priced?
Ceres charges a one-time setup fee for planning, building, customizing and integrating the receptionist for your business, then pay-as-you-go pricing based on minutes of call time, with no monthly fee. The setup fee depends on your systems and call flows, so we quote it after discovery.
Use the savings estimator to model your own call volume and see what it could be worth before you talk to anyone.
Is my customers' data protected?
Privacy is a design requirement. The receptionist answers only from information you approve, escalates sensitive or complex cases to staff, and every call is logged for review. For clinics, Ceres designs with Canadian privacy requirements in mind, including PIPEDA and Ontario's PHIPA, and agrees the details with each clinic.
Which industries is it built for?
Ceres's first complete build is for dental clinics, now in pilot. The same engine is configured for restaurants, barbershops and salons, clinics, professional services and retail and wireless stores, and can be adapted to any business built around bookings and repeat phone inquiries.
Let's map your phone calls.
Tell us where calls are being missed. We will tell you honestly whether an AI receptionist is the right fix and what it would take.