What is an AI answering service for small business?
It is one AI that picks up your phone, website chat, e-mail and web forms the moment a customer reaches out, answers from your own website and price list, and books the appointment or the job. Zanus AI goes further than a message pad: it confirms, reminds, drafts quotes for your yes and follows up, and every conversation lands on one customer record that fills itself.
Can I keep my business phone number?
Yes. The number on your sign, your business cards and your online listings stays exactly as it is. You forward it to the AI the way you would to any answering service, with no porting, no new phone system and nothing to install, and you can stop forwarding whenever you like.
What happens when a caller asks for me or someone on my team?
The AI transfers the call to the person who should take it and tells them first who is calling and why, so nobody picks up cold. If no one is free, it takes a message and reads the callback number back to the caller, so the number you call is the right one.
Can customers book appointments straight into my calendar?
Yes. Customers book by phone, chat or web form into the calendar of the right person, room or resource: a stylist's chair, a service bay, a lesson slot or a meeting room. Each booking gets a confirmation and reminders, and AI Auto-Call can place a reminder call that takes the answer: yes confirms, no frees the slot.
Does it answer after hours and on weekends?
Yes, day and night, every day of the year. After you close, the AI keeps answering under the after-hours rules you write: it books open slots, answers questions from your website, takes messages and holds anything that needs a person for the morning. An urgent call can be transferred to whoever you name.
Does it handle website chat and e-mail too?
Yes. The website chat answers visitors by text or by voice in 40 languages, from your own pages, with a talking avatar if you want one, and books them before they leave. Web forms get a reply in seconds. AI E-mail sorts every message by department and drafts the reply; you choose what goes out by itself and what waits for a person.
Can it send quotes and follow up with people who asked for a price?
Yes. The AI drafts each quote from your own price list, and nothing reaches the customer until you say yes. Then the follow-ups go out on their own and stop the moment the customer replies, so the jobs you quoted in a busy week are not lost while you are working.
What kinds of local businesses is it for?
Any small business that serves customers in its town and hears from them by phone, chat, e-mail or form: shops and boutiques, salons and studios, repair, cleaning and moving services, fitness and lesson businesses, offices and agencies. You tell Lisa what you sell, who does what and when you are open, and the AI answers as your business, in your words.
Will it replace the people who answer our phones?
That is not what it is for. It takes the repeat questions, the overflow during a rush and the calls after closing, so the people you have can stay with the customer in front of them. You choose for each department whether the AI answers alone, answers first or passes the customer to a person first.
Does the AI give advice or take payments?
No to both. It answers only from what your business approved and passes everything else to a person; in an office whose work is advice, such as legal, tax or insurance, it books the conversation with a professional instead of answering. It takes no card payments: it answers, books, holds and quotes, and the payment stays with you.
How much does an answering service for small business cost?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so your whole team works under one subscription however many people answer customers. You choose the modules your business needs, and the plans are on the pricing page. The free trial costs nothing and asks for no card.
Which languages can it speak with my customers?
Your customers' own. The phone answers each caller in the language they speak, the website chat works in 40 languages, and a call can be passed to the person on your team who speaks it. Your neighborhood may speak several languages, and your front office can answer in every one of them.
How fast can it start answering my customers?
In about 2 minutes. Forward your line and tell Lisa your services, your team, your hours and your prices. She reads your website for everything else, shows you each change before it goes live, and the AI starts answering as soon as you say yes.
What is the difference between the 7-day free trial and the demo?
The free trial builds a private sandbox of your own business from your website for 7 days, with no card: a phone line that answers as you, your site with Lisa on it and a dashboard. The demo needs nothing from you: a ready-made AI front office reaches your inbox in about 2 minutes.