The AI answering service that picks up day and night
An AI answering service that picks up your phone 24/7, answers questions and books appointments in your calendar. Heyloha transfers to your team when needed, on your own number, from €149 a month.
Free for 14 days on the plan you choose. Cancel monthly. Prices excl. VAT.
Work out what it costs for your number of callsLoha
Digital assistant, answers 24/7
“Good afternoon, you're speaking with Loha, the digital assistant. How can I help?”
Call the demo line+31 970 102 257 34
Available day and night. Ask it anything.
What is an AI answering service?
An answering service picks up the phone when you or your team can't. With a traditional telephone answering service, a remote receptionist does it: they answer in your company's name, note who called and why, and send you a message.
An AI answering service does the same job with a digital assistant. The difference is what happens during the call. The assistant knows your opening hours, services, prices and way of working, so it helps the caller straight away. An appointment goes directly into your calendar. Anything the assistant can't or shouldn't handle goes to a colleague.
Heyloha is that kind of AI answering service, built and supported by a small team in Utrecht, the Netherlands. To see how the phone assistant itself works, read on at AI phone assistant.
AI answering service vs. a traditional answering service
Both answer in your name. After that they part ways. These are the differences that matter most in practice. Rates and terms vary between answering services, so compare it with your own quote.
- Pricing
- TraditionalOften a fixed monthly fee plus a price per answered call.
- HeylohaA fixed monthly plan with credits: 1 credit is 1 call minute. From €149 a month excl. VAT. Extra credits are optional.
- Availability
- TraditionalUsually during office hours. Evenings, nights and weekends are often an extra option.
- Heyloha24/7, with no surcharge for evenings, nights or weekends.
- What the caller gets
- TraditionalUsually a note or a callback request. Questions about your business wait for you.
- HeylohaA direct answer from your website, documents and FAQs.
- Appointments
- TraditionalSometimes possible, if the receptionist gets access to your calendar.
- HeylohaBooks them in your Outlook or Microsoft 365 calendar during the call.
- Transfers
- TraditionalTo an agreed number.
- HeylohaWarm (the assistant announces the caller first) or cold (the caller goes straight through). If nobody picks up, it logs a callback request.
- Busy moments
- TraditionalDepends on staffing. At a peak, callers wait until someone is free.
- HeylohaTakes several calls at once. No queue, no busy tone.
- Languages
- TraditionalDepends on who is on duty.
- HeylohaMore than 50 languages. The assistant recognises the caller's language by itself.
- After the call
- TraditionalA message by email, text or app.
- HeylohaThe transcript is in your Heyloha dashboard. Calls are transcribed, not recorded.
What a person still does better
An AI answering service doesn't handle every call better than a person. A colleague stays stronger at:
- Making a judgement call when a situation falls outside your usual rules.
- Handling a complicated complaint or an emotional conversation.
- Answering questions your own information doesn't cover.
How the assistant hands over
- Warm transfer: the assistant first announces the caller to your colleague, then connects them.
- Cold transfer: the caller goes straight through to the number you set.
- If nobody picks up, the assistant logs a callback request with name, number and question, and sends it to your team.
- You decide when: which topics get transferred, and to whom.
What does an AI answering service cost?
A fixed monthly plan instead of a rate per answered call, and no out-of-hours surcharge. The plan is made up of credits: 1 credit is 1 call minute, or 1 conversation in chat or WhatsApp. Prices per month, excl. VAT.
Heyloha 250
€149per month
250 call minutes or conversations
Extra credits, if you switch them on: €0.75 each
Heyloha 500
€239per month
500 call minutes or conversations
Extra credits, if you switch them on: €0.60 each
Heyloha 1.000
€339per month
1,000 call minutes or conversations
Extra credits, if you switch them on: €0.45 each
Heyloha 2.500
€599per month
2,500 call minutes or conversations
Extra credits, if you switch them on: €0.32 each
Worked example
You get around 100 calls a month and a call lasts 2.5 minutes on average. That's roughly 250 call minutes, which fits Heyloha 250: €149 a month, even if half of those calls come in during evenings or weekends. At 200 calls of the same length you're at about 500 minutes: Heyloha 500, €239 a month.
A busy main line: 1,200 calls of 2.5 minutes on average is about 3,000 call minutes a month. Heyloha 2.500 (€599) plus 500 extra credits (€0.32 each, €160) comes to roughly €759 a month excl. VAT. Or you ask for a custom plan with volume pricing.
Whether that's cheaper than your current answering service depends on how many calls you get and how long they last. Put the monthly fee plus the call charges from your last invoice next to the plan that fits your call minutes, or work it out with the ROI calculator.
If your plan runs out in a busy month, the AI pauses new calls by default. That way there are no surprise costs, but callers then hear a short message that the service is unavailable. For a central line we therefore recommend switching on automatic extra credits. Extra credits are only charged if you switch them on yourself; the price per credit is shown above for each plan. Or you move up to a bigger plan. We count call minutes in whole minutes, rounded down, with at least 1 credit per call: a call of 2 minutes 50 costs 2 credits.
More than 2,500 call minutes or conversations a month?
We put together a custom plan, with volume pricing.
For larger teams: first line and overflow
If you have your own reception or customer service team, you usually add an AI answering service alongside them rather than in their place. Three common setups:
Overflow at peaks
When everyone is on a call, the assistant takes the next callers. It handles several calls at once, so nobody has to wait for a colleague to become free.
Outside office hours
After closing time, at night and at weekends the assistant picks up. Questions get answered, appointments get booked and the rest is waiting as callback requests the next morning.
Always the first line
The assistant takes every call first, handles the recurring questions and transfers the rest to the right colleague or department. With a warm transfer, your colleague hears straight away what the call is about.
Heyloha connects out of the box with Outlook and Microsoft 365, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Zapier, Make, n8n and webhooks. We build an integration with your own software on request.
Thinking about handing your customer service over entirely? Read what's involved in outsourcing customer service.
Switching over: you keep your own number
Your phone setup stays as it is. You forward your existing number to Heyloha and decide when the assistant picks up.
- 1
Give the assistant your information
The assistant reads your website. You add documents, FAQs and your own answers.
- 2
Choose when it picks up
Set up call forwarding with your phone provider: always, only outside office hours, or when you're on a call or don't answer.
- 3
Call it yourself and go live
Test the assistant with your own questions. Most teams are live within an hour.
Your plan includes a Heyloha phone number. You can also use it straight away as a new number.
From phone customer service to 24/7 AI
“We want to give our customers good answers at any moment. With Heyloha, our customer service is now reachable 24/7 across all 11 locations.”
Team NEXXT GYMFitness & EMS trainingNEXXT GYM
NEXXT GYM replaced phone customer service for all 11 of its studios with AI. Its assistant Alma answers the phone day and night and passes requests on to the right studio.
122phone requests handled automatically each month
Read the NEXXT GYM storyFrequently asked questions about AI answering services
What's the difference between an AI answering service and a regular one?
A regular answering service picks up in your name and usually takes a message. An AI answering service also picks up in your name, but helps the caller straight away: it answers questions from your information, books an appointment or transfers to a colleague. It's available 24/7 and takes several calls at once.
What does Heyloha cost?
From €149 a month excl. VAT for 250 credits, where 1 credit is 1 call minute. There are plans of 250, 500, 1,000 and 2,500 credits for €149, €239, €339 and €599 a month. There's no surcharge for evenings, nights or weekends, and you can cancel any month. If your plan runs out, the AI pauses new calls by default; extra credits are only charged if you switch them on yourself. All plans are on the pricing page.
Does the caller know they're talking to AI?
Yes. The default greeting introduces the assistant as your company's digital assistant. That way callers know who they're talking to, as the EU AI Act requires.
Do callers accept an AI?
That differs from caller to caller, which is why you stay in control. Nobody waits in a queue: the assistant takes several calls at once. The default greeting introduces it as your company's digital assistant, so callers know where they stand. When a question belongs with a colleague, the assistant transfers the call, warm or cold. If nobody picks up, it logs a callback request with name, number and question. And you decide who it transfers to, and at what times.
Can the assistant book appointments in my calendar?
Yes, in your Outlook or Microsoft 365 calendar, during the call. Do you use your own calendar or practice management system? We build that integration on request.
Is an AI answering service GDPR compliant?
Calls are transcribed, not recorded. The data is stored on servers in the EU and we sign a data processing agreement with you. Read more on the security page.
Can I keep my own phone number?
Yes. You forward your existing number through your phone provider to the Heyloha number in your plan: always, only outside office hours, or when you're on a call or don't answer. Most teams are live within an hour.
What happens if the AI can't answer a question?
Then the assistant transfers the call to the colleague you set for it, warm or cold. If nobody picks up, it logs a callback request with name, number and question, and sends it to your team.
Which languages does Heyloha speak?
More than 50. The assistant recognises the caller's language and answers in it straight away. You choose from 10 voices.
Can I try it first?
Yes. Call the demo line to hear what a conversation sounds like, or try Heyloha free for 14 days on your own number. The trial runs on the plan you choose, with that plan's credits.
Let Heyloha answer your phone free for 14 days
Pick a plan, put Heyloha on your own number and see what comes in. The first 14 days are free. Prefer to see it first? Book a demo and we'll walk through it together.
Or call the demo line: +31 970 102 257 34