Smith.ai vs Ruby: Which AI Receptionist is Better?

Verdict: Ruby and Smith.ai are two of the most popular software platforms for outsourcing client communication including phone answering and web chat. Ruby is a virtual receptionist service that provides 24/7 live human agents trained in the United States, while Smith.ai is an AI-first platform that allows companies to build custom AI Receptionists with 24/7 live human backup.

Although Ruby’s focus is on human agents, the platform also relies heavily on AI to provide agents with the information they need about the customers they are speaking with and the company’s operations.

Ruby’s human agents are able to handle more complex calls and offer that essential “human touch”, but they are more costly. On the other hand, Smith.ai is capable of automating many receptionist tasks such as FAQs, call transfer, appointment booking, etc. to relieve stress on live agents and cut costs.

In the paragraphs below we will take a closer look at these two platforms when it comes to pricing, call handling, analytics, and more.

 

How We Compared Smith.ai and Ruby

Our team spent some time exploring both Smith.ai and Ruby platforms to determine how they compared to one another as well as other competing AI receptionists. Here are some of the factors we considered:

• Pricing + Plans: We looked at the various pricing plans each platform offered and what was included to determine overall value
• User Experience: We tested the user experience by diving into advanced features, making customizations, and exploring integrations and the mobile app
• Reliability + Security: We reviewed call quality and security features such as data encryption, authentication, and compliance certifications
• Call Handling Features: We compared call handling features such as transfers, summaries, FAQ answers, etc.
• Reporting + Analytics: We evaluated the reporting and analytics capabilities such as customizable reporting templates, alerts, charts, heat maps, etc.
• Integrations: We determined what integrations were available at each price point and whether they were out-of-the-box or required a third party “middle man” such as Zapier/make
• Customer Support: We compared customer support availability and determined efficacy through our own tests as well as reading user reviews

 

Smith.ai vs Ruby: At a Glance

Ruby and Smith.ai both offer receptionists that can take calls, answer questions, and handle transfers, but Ruby provides a more straightforward customer intake process while Smith.ai focuses more on lead management and qualification.

Smith.ai sells two different products: an AI Receptionist and a human Virtual Receptionist service. A direct comparison between Smith.ai’s AI tier and Ruby’s human service can be misleading, so the table separates the two Smith.ai offerings.

	Smith.ai	Ruby
Pricing	- AI Receptionist: 3 plans: Free ($0/month), Pro ($150/month), and Enterprise ($500/month) - Virtual Receptionists (human): from $300 per month for 30 calls	4 human receptionist plans from $250 to $1,725 per month
Billing Unit	Per completed call	Per receptionist minute, including post-call wrap-up time
Top Features	- Escalation to human agent - AI appointment booking - Client intake	- Instant notifications - Payment processing - Custom voicemail
Languages	English and Spanish	English and Spanish
Integrations	Agile, Hubspot, Keap, etc.	Zapier, Clio, Rocket Matter, etc.
Reporting and Analytics	Summary notes, line by line transcript, call recordings, pie charts and bar graphs	Transcripts and instant notifications, visual graphs
Customer Support	24/7 live agents, knowledge base, etc.	24/7 live call answering; outbound calls available Mon-Fri 5am-6pm Pacific
Best For	SMBs and sales teams	Professional services and healthcare industry

 

Smith.ai vs Ruby: Direct Comparison

Smith.ai and Ruby both help companies provide empathetic customer service around the clock without hiring extra agents, but there are some key differences between the two platforms. Let’s take a look at how Ruby and Smith.ai compare when it comes to call handling, customization, analytics, integrations, and more.

 

Call Handling Capabilities

Ruby and Smith.ai both provide 24/7 availability, simultaneous call handling, FAQ answering, instant summaries, outbound calling, and bilingual support but as Ruby uses actual human agents it has more natural sounding fluctuations in speed and intonation than Smith.ai.

Ruby uses a system known as IRIS (Integrated Ruby Information System) which allows the human receptionists to access key details about employee availability, client data, and geographic information such as the weather report in the city where the caller is located. Ruby provides an instant notification after each call with a summary of the call and next steps.

Smith.ai allows admins to create a custom call handling playbook for each type of caller such as qualified leads, existing customers, unknown callers etc.

 

Human Support & Escalation

Both providers offer human backup availability, call transfer capabilities, and after-hours coverage. Both Ruby and Smith.ai can handle basic calls with common questions and concerns, but Ruby’s receptionists are able to handle any kind of calls using information provided by the company, while Smith.ai relies more on separate human backup for complex calls.

Smith.ai admins set up call transfer rules that guide the AI receptionist to conduct intake and then initiate a warm transfer to a live agent if necessary, with 24/7 North American based and industry trained human backup available if the call is after hours.

Ruby’s calls are answered by human receptionists, who route and transfer calls based on your preferences and the topics or questions a caller brings up. Ruby’s AI tools, such as IRIS, support these receptionists with caller and company details rather than answering calls themselves. Ruby relies exclusively on live human receptionists trained in the US, so separate backup is unnecessary.

 

Lead Management & Qualification

Both platforms offer lead screening and qualification capabilities, CRM integration with data capture and automatic updates, and follow-up summaries, but Smith.ai offers these services using strictly AI and automation technology while Ruby uses a combination of live agents, CRM integrations, and AI-powered call coaching and screen displays.

Smith.ai provides automated lead qualification using pre-determined intake questions submitted by the company. Once a lead is qualified, the AI Receptionist can prompt the caller to book a service or transfer to a member of the sales team.

Smith.ai may provide more consistent lead qualification but Ruby human receptionists are better at picking up on subtle nuances in callers.

 

Appointment Scheduling

Ruby and Smith.ai both offer calendar integration options with 24/7 booking flexibility, confirmation and reminders, and rescheduling capabilities but Smith.ai has a larger selection of integrations.

Ruby receptionists schedule appointments for companies around the clock using one of its 20 pre-approved calendar integrations such as Calendly, Square, and Setmore.

Smith.ai AI Receptionists take calls and book appointments automatically using calendar integrations such as Appointy, Clio, and Google. Follow-up reminders are scheduled immediately and sent out automatically at the appropriate time. For more complex appointment scheduling, calls are forwarded to a rep at the company or at Smith.ai.

 

Call Intelligence & AI Customization

Both providers are able to offer FAQ answering and custom scripting, but Ruby’s answers and responses are more accurate particularly with more complex calls. Smith.ai ‘s AI receptionists leverage machine learning so that they improve in accuracy over time, but as Ruby utilizes live humans, they are also able to adapt quickly as more data comes in.

While Smith.ai users can select the gender, speed and personality of each AI receptionist, Ruby does not offer this level of customization.

 

Analytics & Reporting

Both Ruby and Smith.ai provide call logs showing companies who is calling and how often, as well as key data on each caller such as the disposition, call type, and priority. Both providers also send automated summaries and call transcripts, but only Smith.ai also sends a call recording.

Both platforms offer customizable analytics dashboards with graphs and charts showing usage broken down by time period or phone numbers. Reports can be exported as a PDF, CSV, or Excel document.

 

Integrations

Ruby integrates with dozens of calendar apps, CRMs such as Salesforce and Clio, marketing automation tools like Hubspot, Keap, and Zoho, and team collaboration apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. Ruby also offers some niche, industry-specific integrations such as 8am MyCase and Lawmatics, as well as project management integrations like monday.  Smith.ai offers all of these integrations along with hundreds of others.

Both platforms allow users to build virtually any integration via Zapier, but only Smith.ai also offers a Zapier Make integration.

 

Smith.ai vs Ruby: Pricing and Plans

Smith.ai is often cheaper per conversation, especially for longer calls, because it bills per call instead of per minute. Both providers charge extra for live chat bundles. Ruby offers stronger security protections, including HIPAA compliance, and a human receptionist on every call.

 

How Billing Works: Per Call vs Per Minute

Smith.ai bills per completed call, so a call costs the same whether it lasts one minute or ten. Ruby bills per receptionist minute, including post-call wrap-up time such as writing notes or sending a message, in 60-second increments.

The following scenario compares the human services at their entry tiers. These figures are estimates based on plan price divided by included usage, before add-ons or overages:

• Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists: $300 for 30 calls works out to roughly $10 per call, regardless of length
• Ruby: $250 for 50 minutes works out to roughly $5 per receptionist minute
• Short call (1 minute + 30 seconds of wrap-up): Ruby costs about $7.50 vs about $10 at Smith.ai, so Ruby is cheaper
• Longer call (5 minutes + 30 seconds of wrap-up): Ruby costs about $27.50 vs about $10 at Smith.ai, so Smith.ai is cheaper

Ruby’s per-minute model may cost less for businesses with quick, simple calls, while businesses with longer intake or qualification calls will usually pay less with Smith.ai’s per-call model.

 

Smith.ai Pricing

Smith.ai offers three bundled plans: Free ($0/month), Pro ($150/month), and Enterprise ($500/month). Plans limit the number of included calls. For example, the Starter plan includes 50 calls per month while the Enterprise plan includes 500 calls per month. Overage costs range from $2.10 to $3.00 per call on published options, with a custom rate for the highest-volume option.

Custom plans are also available. All plans include a 30 day money back guarantee.

The plans above cover Smith.ai’s AI Receptionist. Smith.ai also sells human Virtual Receptionist plans, which are the closer match to Ruby’s service:

Virtual Receptionist Plan	Monthly Price	Included Calls
Starter	$300	30 calls
Basic	$810	90 calls
Pro	$2,100	300 calls

Overage calls on Virtual Receptionist plans cost between $11.50 and $8.50 per call depending on the tier. Smith.ai also charges per-call add-on fees that can raise the effective cost:

• Appointment booking: $1.50 per booking
• Text message follow-up: $0.50 per text
• Call recording: $0.25 per call
• Payment collection: $1 per payment

 

Ruby Pricing

Ruby also offers four bundled plans based on receptionist minutes. Ruby adjusts its pricing often, but at the time of writing the published tiers are:

• 50 minutes: $250 per month
• 100 minutes: $395 per month
• 200 minutes: $720 per month
• 500 minutes: $1,725 per month

Ruby offers a money-back guarantee covering the first 21 days or first 500 minutes of service, whichever comes first.

Ruby also offers Live Chat plans ranging from $143 to $520 per month and chat bundles that can be added on to AI receptionist plans ranging from $115 per month for 10 chats per month to $416 per month for 50 chats per month. Ruby also offers custom plans.

 

Pros and Cons of Smith.ai and Ruby

Ruby is more expensive than Smith.ai but provides live human agents that can handle almost anything with training in empathy and other soft skills. Smith.ai excels at common queries, appointment scheduling, and other necessary, but tedious tasks. Here are some pros and cons of each platform.

 

Which AI Receptionist is Right for Your Business?

In general, Smith.ai is best for companies that have a high call volume and a lot of tedious, repetitive tasks such as intake, scheduling, and follow-up. Ruby is the better choice for companies that need that human element. Here’s a look at what types of businesses will benefit most from each platform.

• Best for Small Businesses: Smith.ai can help small businesses cut costs by automating call answering and transfers
• Best for Professional Services: Ruby fits law firms and other professional businesses that want a straightforward human front desk, while Smith.ai fits firms running structured, high-volume intake with CRM logging in tools like Clio
• Best for High Call Volume: Smith.ai helps businesses reduce wait times significantly by automating common questions and processes
• Best for Healthcare: Ruby is a great choice for healthcare professionals as it is HIPAA compliant and trains agents to deal with sensitive patient information

 

 

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