BT brings an AI receptionist to UK small businesses

BT Business has launched AI from BT, starting with an AI Receptionist for UK small businesses that want to automate telephone enquiries while keeping their existing phone systems and numbers. The service can answer calls continuously, handle routine questions, schedule appointments, send confirmations, capture conversations, and produce transcripts, with support across UK fixed and mobile networks and integrations with Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar.

BT-commissioned research found 65% of small-business decision-makers believe AI could significantly benefit their organisation, while 56% say they are not yet realising its full value. The company is positioning the product around a defined operational problem: 67% of surveyed businesses said they miss at least one call on an average day that they believe could result in lost business, and 58% spend between 30 minutes and two hours each day answering customer calls.

BT estimates UK small businesses lose £3.7 billion in annual revenue through unanswered calls, based on commissioned modelling rather than a direct measure of lost transactions. The service also raises governance questions because business calls can contain sensitive information, though BT says customer data remains private and is not used to train AI models.