RingCentral AIR alternative
In the UK it costs £32 a month for 100 minutes on top of a RingEX plan, while Jodie is a flat £49 with unlimited minutes.
Hannah from Bristol
Jodie answering...
Lead texted to you
12 seconds after the call started
RingCentral AI Receptionist is worth it if you already pay for RingEX and get few calls. In the UK it is sold only as a RingEX add-on, at £32 a month for 100 minutes, then 40p a minute. Jodie, the flat-rate alternative, costs £49 a month with unlimited minutes on your existing number.
RingCentral figures come from its UK AI Receptionist pricing page, RingEX pricing page and AI Receptionist FAQ, checked 5 October 2026. RingCentral does not say whether its UK prices include VAT; Jodie's prices exclude VAT. Jodie's unlimited minutes are subject to fair use of 1,000 calls a month.
What users and testers report, set against what RingCentral has changed since.
Impressive from day one
A user who filmed a two-part video walkthrough said he was really impressed with what it offers out of the box.
RingCentral lists self-serve setup, website import and unlimited agents on its pricing pages.
Natural conversation
An independent tester who rang its demo line in March 2026 said the natural language handling worked as described, despite a few hiccups.
Eight voice options are included, in several languages.
Talks over callers
One admin said it interrupted callers mid-answer, such as while they gave an email address, and did not end calls once they were done.
RingCentral's community manager suggested a support case; no fix was posted in that thread.
Lead details stuck in the portal
An admin said details the AI collected reached nobody, and support told them to check the call log one call at a time.
RingCentral added email alerts for captured leads in a July 2026 update.
Knowledge base misses
Users said it answered wrongly from uploaded files and the 500-character business description was too short.
Posts run from March 2025 to April 2026, when one user said it was still poor; test it on your own questions.
Features behind upgrades
An office manager said onboarding told them AI overflow after 20 seconds would not work without buying an upgraded service.
Ask RingCentral which plan your call flow needs before you buy.
Themes are paraphrased from public posts on RingCentral's community forum and from an independent tester's published review, read on 5 October 2026. They reflect individual experiences, some from 2025, and RingCentral has shipped updates since.
Slide to your monthly AI minutes to compare AIR plus the cheapest RingEX plan with Jodie Basic at £49. Below about 110 minutes, RingCentral costs less.
Cost calculator
Jodie Basic
£49/mo
Flat. Unlimited.
Competitor: AIR add-on + RingEX Essentials (billed annually)
£85/mo
£45 base + £40 overage
You'd save
£36/month (£432/year)
RingCentral figures are from its UK AI Receptionist and RingEX pricing pages, checked 5 October 2026: AIR is £32 a month per account with 100 minutes, then £0.40 a minute, and RingEX Essentials is £12.99 a user a month billed annually (£17.99 monthly). RingCentral bills call time in 30-second steps and does not price its extra minute bundles, so real bills may run higher. Already on RingEX? AIR alone costs less than Jodie Basic below about 142 minutes. Jodie Basic answers calls and sends summaries; booking and transfers are on Professional at £99, which costs less than AIR plus RingEX above about 235 minutes. Unlimited minutes are subject to fair use of 1,000 calls a month.
Each one is set out on RingCentral's own UK pricing pages.
In the UK, RingCentral sells AI Receptionist only as an add-on to its RingEX phone system, so you pay for both. Jodie answers calls forwarded from the number you already have.
RingCentral's own FAQ sells AIR 'as an add-on in the U.K. and Australia', and RingEX starts at £12.99 a user a month.
AIR includes 100 minutes a month, then charges 40p a minute, rounded up to the next 30 seconds. Jodie Basic is £49 a month however long your calls run.
At 200 minutes a month, AIR plus RingEX Essentials costs £84.99, while Jodie Basic stays at £49.
RingCentral's UK AI Receptionist pricing page has no free trial, so you talk to sales or buy outright. Jodie gives you 7 days free with no card, on your real calls.
RingCentral's UK free trial is for RingEX phone plans, capped at five users and 50 domestic call minutes each.
RingCentral publishes the AIR price and its overage rate. The RingEX plan it needs is priced on another page, and no AIR trial or contract term is shown.
| Jodie | RingCentral AI Receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
AI receptionist price on the pricing page Jodie lists £49, £99 and £199. RingCentral shows £32 a month per account, with 100 minutes. | ||
Extra-minute charges spelled out Jodie has none. RingCentral charges 40p a minute in 30-second steps, and sells extra minute bundles without a published price. | ||
Required phone plan priced on the AI receptionist page Jodie needs no phone plan. AIR needs RingEX, priced on a separate page from £12.99 a user a month. | ||
Free trial of the AI receptionist Jodie: 7 days, no card. RingCentral's UK AIR pricing page offers Contact sales or Buy now. | ||
Contract term stated Jodie is month to month. RingCentral's UK AIR page does not state the add-on's term or notice period. | ||
VAT basis stated Jodie's prices exclude VAT. RingCentral's UK AI Receptionist and RingEX pages do not say. |
Businesses that live on the phone, where 100 included minutes go fast.
Burst pipes and dead boilers mean long, urgent calls, and one freezing week can use up AIR's 100 included minutes. Jodie answers every one for the same flat monthly price.
See Jodie for plumbersElectricians are on a ladder or in a loft when the phone rings, and most run the business from a mobile, not a phone system. Jodie answers that number with no RingEX plan underneath.
See Jodie for electriciansMonday mornings bring a rush of toothache calls and patients wanting the first free slot. Jodie Professional books each one straight into your diary, with no minutes to count.
See Jodie for dentistsViewing requests and valuation calls pile up at weekends. Jodie answers them all at one flat price, so a busy Saturday never runs up per-minute charges.
See Jodie for estate agentsIn the UK, RingCentral AI Receptionist costs £32 a month per account with 100 minutes, then 40p a minute in 30-second steps. It is sold only as an add-on, so you also need a RingEX plan from £12.99 a user a month billed annually. Jodie is £49 a month flat with unlimited minutes.
RingCentral AI Receptionist (AIR) is an AI agent that answers business calls in a natural voice. It answers questions from your website and documents, takes caller details and routes callers by name or need. RingCentral launched it in February 2025 as an alternative to press-1 phone menus.
Yes, in the UK. RingCentral's FAQ says it is sold standalone or as an add-on in the US and Canada, but only as an add-on in the UK and Australia. You can forward calls to it from any number, but you need a RingEX plan from £12.99 a user a month, billed annually.
RingCentral AI Receptionist is good for businesses already on RingEX: it answers in a natural voice, routes callers by name and, since a July 2026 update, can email new leads to your team. An admin on RingCentral's own forum reported it talking over callers. Test it on your own calls before you commit.
Not on its UK pricing page, which offers Contact sales or Buy now. RingCentral's RingEX phone plans have a free trial for new subscribers, capped at five users and 50 domestic call minutes each. Jodie gives you 7 days free with no card, so you can test her on your real calls first.
RingCentral's Virtual Receptionist is an auto-attendant: a phone menu that asks callers to press or say an option. AI Receptionist holds a real conversation instead, answering questions and routing callers by name or need. Jodie also holds a real conversation, at a flat monthly price with unlimited minutes.
Yes. Keep RingEX as your phone system and send unanswered or after-hours calls to a user extension that forwards to your Jodie number, instead of to AI Receptionist. Run both for a week, then ask RingCentral to remove the AIR add-on before its renewal date.
Keep RingEX as your phone system and swap only the AI. You never lose cover while you test.
Total time: Under 1 hour of setup, plus 5-7 days running both
Sign up with no card and train Jodie from your website. You get a Jodie number to send calls to straight away.
In the RingCentral Admin Portal, send closed-hours calls to a user extension that forwards to your Jodie number, instead of to AI Receptionist. AIR keeps covering the day.
Compare Jodie's call summaries with AIR's transcripts on real calls. When you are happy, send business-hours calls to Jodie the same way.
RingCentral does not publish the add-on's term on its UK pricing page, so check your order form for the renewal date and notice period. Then ask your account rep to remove AIR.
Ring your business number, let it go unanswered and confirm Jodie picks up. Check your next RingCentral bill shows no AI Receptionist charge or overage.
No card and no sales demo. Send your after-hours calls to Jodie and compare her summaries with AIR's.
First 7 days free, then pricing from £49/month
