Make the first contact useful.
Welcome the caller, understand why they are calling, capture the details and answer routine questions. A message, an enquiry or a booking request should leave your business with something it can act on.
A fully managed hybrid reception service
One reception service. AI speed. Human judgement.
Jessica handles the routine. Skilled people handle the moments that matter. One connected reception service—built to answer, understand and move your business forward.
The whole reception, working together
What is hybrid reception?
Hybrid reception combines an AI receptionist and a live reception team in one service. Jessica handles the groundwork. People bring judgement, reassurance and the ability to take a conversation further.
Bring a person in at the right moment.
A complex enquiry, an unhappy customer or someone who simply wants a person can move to live reception. The handover carries the conversation context so the receptionist has a useful starting point.
Move the work forward.
Deliver the message, update the customer record, progress a booking or involve the right colleague. The value is in the next action, not just the fact that somebody answered.
AI-only reception automates the conversation. Live-only reception puts every call through a person. Hybrid reception lets you choose the best route for the work: routine information capture, a sensitive conversation and an urgent request do not need identical treatment.
Follow the caller
Four call flows. One joined-up service.
Choose a route below to see how the work moves between Jessica, your live reception team and your business.
- Caller ringsJessica welcomes them in your business’s name.
- Details capturedName, callback number, reason for calling and the message.
- Message deliveredYour team receives a clear enquiry to act on.
- Live time preservedNo live handover is needed for this example.
Choose who answers first.
AI-first: Jessica handles routine calls and brings people in when needed. Live-first: people lead, with AI supporting overflow. Hours-based: combine live cover during your chosen hours with AI outside them.
Make the exception part of the plan.
Set the route for urgent requests, caller preference and an unavailable colleague. A call flow includes what happens if a transfer cannot be completed: capture the request, alert the right team and give the caller a clear next step.
Speed comes from less repeated work
A better handover makes a better use of human time.
The caller has explained the problem. Your receptionist should be ready to move it forward.
A recognised telephone number brings existing contact details into the workspace. Jessica’s conversation and summary give the live receptionist context. For a quick message, the receptionist adds the message and sends it on.
This is the productivity story: fewer repeated questions, less retyping and a clearer route to the next action. Caller recognition helps find the record; sensitive requests still need the appropriate identity checks.
See the message-handling demonstration →
Shared information
Connect reception to your CRM, calendar or booking system. Checking availability and recording an enquiry become part of the call flow, rather than another task waiting in an inbox.
Skilled people, wherever they work
Our distributed reception team brings human judgement to complex calls. The relationship can extend to customer follow-ups, language support and other business tasks—not just taking a name and number.
Measure the result
Review handling time, completed enquiries, live handovers and the work left for your team. A shorter call is only an improvement if the caller gets the help they need.
A real example from vacation rentals
A guest arrives. The access code is missing. Now what?
One NORANGO client uses our Guesty integration for exactly this kind of handover.
- Jessica finds the bookingShe asks for the guest’s details and looks up the reservation.
- The call moves to live receptionThe live team can access the same booking information.
- A person checks the requestThe receptionist talks to the caller and completes the checks before sharing access information.
- The guest gets helpTechnology does the lookup. A person handles the security-sensitive decision.
That is the hybrid advantage in practice: useful automation with human judgement where it matters.
Read the vacation rental service guide →Understand the transaction. Then the whole bill.
What does hybrid reception cost?
At 45p per AI minute, a one-minute AI message represents 45p of usage. Thirty seconds of live reception at £1.50 per minute represents 75p of usage. A handover uses both AI and live time. These are time-based examples; your plan, included minutes and billing increments determine the bill.
Explore your monthly call mix.
This illustration uses Premier on monthly billing: £189.95, including 200 AI minutes; additional AI minutes at 45p and live time at £1.50/min.
Illustrative NORANGO monthly cost£549.95
£189.95 plan + £135.00 additional AI + £225.00 live
£950.05 lower per month
£11,400.60 difference over 12 months, before setup.
No setup cost entered.
Every call starts with AI in this model. Both legs count on a handover. Estimates exclude VAT and recurring extras, use elapsed minutes and assume no live-minute allowance. Enter your actual bill; the £1,500 starting value is editable, not a market average.
Compare plans and transaction costs →ROI is more than a cheaper minute.
Start with the difference in your monthly bill. Then separately measure staff time released, faster follow-ups and enquiries converted. Use profit contribution—not the full sale value—when assessing extra business. Do not count saved handling time twice if it is already included in your lower bill.
For example, avoiding 30 seconds of repeated work across 200 live handovers releases 100 minutes. At £1.50 per minute that represents £150 of handling time. It is an illustration to test against your call reviews, not a measured NORANGO average or an extra saving automatically added above.
See current plans and integration pricing →Compare the way the work gets done
AI-only, live-only or hybrid reception?
| What matters | AI-only | Live-only | NORANGO Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routine messages | Automated capture | Live handling throughout | AI captures; people handle exceptions |
| Complex or sensitive calls | Needs a separate human route | Handled by people | Live reception is part of the call flow |
| Information at handover | Depends on the connection | Depends on the workspace | Caller details and conversation context support the next step |
| Coverage | Automated out-of-hours reception | Depends on staffed hours | Combine AI cover with your live reception hours |
| Cost drivers | AI plan and usage | Live plan and handling time | Plan, AI usage and the live time you need |
Compare actual services and bills. Provider features, charging increments and included work vary.
From a good idea to a working reception
Build it around your calls. Prove it with real examples.
Choose the work.
List your common enquiries, busy periods, urgent calls and tasks that need a person. Pick the information to capture and the destination for each outcome.
Try the whole journey.
Run a simple message, a booking enquiry, a caller who wants a person and a failed transfer. Check what your team receives, not just how the voice sounds.
Keep improving.
Review the calls with your account contact. Refine the questions, knowledge and handovers as your business changes. This is a managed service with people behind it.
The 30-day trial includes 200 AI minutes and 50 live minutes. A credit card is required. Above the trial allowances, usage is 45p per AI minute and £1.50 per live minute. Integration work is priced separately.
Your hybrid reception guide
Hybrid reception questions, answered.
What is a hybrid reception service?
Hybrid reception combines an AI receptionist and live receptionists in one call-handling service. AI handles routine questions and information capture; people handle conversations that need judgement, reassurance or specialist attention.
Can a caller ask to speak to a person?
Yes. Caller preference can be a live-handover trigger. Your call flow also defines the next step if a live transfer is unavailable, such as a message, callback request or escalation to your team.
Do we have to use AI first?
No. Choose AI-first, live-first with AI overflow, or a mix based on your opening hours and the purpose of the call. The right starting point is the experience you want your callers to have.
What information follows a live handover?
The caller’s details, the reason for calling and the conversation context give the live receptionist a starting point. Connected customer or booking records can support the next action, as in our Guesty client example above.
How much does hybrid reception cost?
The Premier monthly example on this page is £189.95 with 200 included AI minutes, then 45p per additional AI minute and £1.50 per live minute. Other plans have different allowances and AI rates. Setup, integrations, extra services and VAT affect the total; use the pricing page and full comparison calculator for your service.
Are we charged for both parts of an AI-to-live call?
Yes. AI handling and live reception are separate usage. The calculator on this page counts AI time on every call and adds live time for the share of calls handed over.
Is a one-minute message always 45p?
No. Forty-five pence is the AI usage illustration at the rate shown. The actual bill reflects your plan, included minutes, actual duration and billing increments. It is not a fixed price per message.
Can you connect to our CRM, calendar or booking system?
Yes—we build call flows around customer records, availability, enquiries and bookings. Tell us the system and the action you need. Standard and custom integrations have separate pricing; our integrations guide explains the options.
How do we know whether the service improves productivity?
Compare real calls before and during the trial: repeated questions, handling time, completed enquiries, live handover quality and follow-up work. Review cost alongside the caller’s outcome, rather than optimising for short calls alone.
What is included in the 30-day trial?
The trial includes 200 AI minutes and 50 live minutes. A credit card is required. Above those allowances, AI usage is 45p per minute and live usage is £1.50 per minute. Integration work is priced separately.
Give every call the right next step.
Bring us a routine enquiry, a difficult call and your current bill. We will show you where AI helps, where people matter and how the two work together.