ElevenLabs Launches "Reception" AI Agent
ElevenLabs has launched Reception, a 24/7 conversational AI receptionist designed for small businesses. Built on the company’s *ElevenAgents* platform, it automates front-desk tasks like answering calls, booking jobs, and scheduling appointments directly into business calendars.
Key Features
* **Multilingual Support:** Speaks over 70 languages, including English and Spanish.
* **Always-On Availability:** Handles calls during peak hours, when staff is busy, or after closing.
* **Action-Oriented:** Answers questions, books jobs, and syncs appointments with business calendars.
* **Post-Call Insights:** Provides automatic call summaries, transcripts, and audio recordings.
* **Dedicated Lines:** Offers a U.S. phone number option to keep AI and human call lines separate.
Pricing & Plans
* **Free Trial:** 14 days
* **Basic:** $29 / month
* **Plus:** $79 / month
* **Premium:** $199 / month
*(All plans are plus tax)*
Market Context & Consumer Sentiment
* **Business Demand:** A 2025 Twilio survey of 457 business leaders found **83%** believe conversational AI can replace human agents.
* **Consumer Preference:** In the same survey, **78%** of 4,800 consumers across 15 countries stated that having the option to switch from AI to a human agent remains important.
Company Background
* **Valuation:** $11 billion, following a recent $500 million Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital.
* **Ecosystem Expansion:** ElevenLabs continues to expand its automation tools, including new connectors that allow users to leverage its voice generation capabilities within OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
Competitive Landscape
ElevenLabs joins a rapidly growing market of companies automating front-desk and customer service interactions, including:
* **Tech Giants:** Zoom (launched its own AI receptionist in July), RingCentral, Yelp.
* **Industry-Specific:** Jobber (home services software).
* **Startups:** Goodcall, Smith.ai, My AI Front Desk.