Checklist
AI Receptionist Evaluation Scorecard for Comparing Vendors
After a few demos start to blur together, a simple weighted scorecard keeps the comparison honest. Here's one you can copy.
By the third demo, most AI receptionist pitches sound similar: 24/7 coverage, natural voice, quick setup. The differences that actually matter — call transfer limits, pricing structure, what happens on overage — get lost unless you score each vendor the same way, right after each call, before the details blend together.
Build the scorecard around weighted categories
Give each category a weight based on what matters most to your business, then score every vendor 1-5 in each. Multiply score by weight and total it. A vendor that impresses on voice quality but fails on transfer flexibility should lose to one that's solid across the board, and a simple weighted total makes that visible instead of a gut feeling.
Categories to score
- Call handling quality: Did it correctly capture names, numbers, and the reason for the call in your test calls?
- Transfer and escalation: How many live transfer destinations are included, and can you set hours per destination?
- Coverage and languages: Is after-hours included by default, and is multilingual support available on your plan tier?
- Pricing structure: Included minutes, overage rate, and whether annual billing offers a discount.
- Reporting: Do you get a summary, full transcript, and recording for every call, and how long are they retained?
- Setup effort: Can you configure call flows and answers yourself, or does every change require a support ticket?
- Trial terms: Is there a free trial, and can you cancel without a long-term commitment?
A simple scoring table
- List each category down the left with its weight (e.g., call handling: 25%, pricing: 20%, transfers: 15%, coverage: 15%, reporting: 15%, setup: 10%).
- Score each vendor 1-5 per category based on the demo and your test calls.
- Multiply each score by its weight, then sum for a total out of 5 per vendor.
- Re-run your top two through a real test call — a busy signal, a price question, an emergency scenario — before deciding.
How to use the scorecard during the demo itself
Bring the categories into the demo call rather than filling them out afterward from memory. Ask each vendor directly about the categories that are hard to observe passively: exact overage rates, how many transfer destinations are included at your plan tier, whether multilingual support requires an upgrade, and how long call recordings and transcripts are retained. Vendors that answer these plainly, without redirecting to a sales page, tend to be the ones worth testing further.
What the scorecard won't tell you
No scorecard replaces actually calling the number during your own trial. Send a few real-world calls — a price shopper, a same-day request, a caller who mumbles the address — and see what actually gets captured. Get Assistant, like other vendors, offers a 7-day free trial specifically so you can run this test on your own line before committing.
Run the scorecard against a live trial
Start a 7-day free trial, send it real calls, and score it against whatever else you're evaluating.
Pair this scorecard with questions to ask vendors and the full buyer's guide for the complete process.