Questions

The questions people actually ask.

These are the objections we get, answered the way we’d answer them on the phone. If yours isn’t here, email hello@ringorla.com and a person will answer it.

Is it just a robot?

It’s software, so yes, in that sense. But it isn’t a phone menu and it isn’t a recorded message. There’s no press one for sales. She listens to what the caller says, asks follow-up questions, and holds an actual conversation about the job.

The honest answer is that you shouldn’t take our word for it. Ring 01395 201218 and see what you think. That’s a working line, answered by the same system a client’s customers would reach.

Does she tell people she’s an AI?

Yes, at the start of every call, before anything else. She says she’s an AI receptionist and she says the call is recorded.

We don’t sell a version that hides it, and we won’t build one. Partly because it’s the right side of the law, and partly because it works better. People are far more patient with a machine that owns up than with one they rumble halfway through.

What if she gets it wrong?

She can. She’s software, she can mishear a postcode or misread what someone meant, and anyone who tells you otherwise about any AI system is selling something.

So the design assumes it. When a call goes outside the rules you set, or she isn’t confident, she stops and takes it as a callback for a person rather than inventing a price, a date or an answer. You get a summary and a full transcript of every call, so you can see exactly what was said rather than finding out from an angry customer.

If she says something wrong, tell us and we change it. Changes to your setup are included in your plan.

Will she put a caller through to me?

No. She takes their details and tells them somebody will ring back, and then you ring back. She can’t transfer a live call and she won’t pretend she’s about to.

If a caller asks to speak to a person, she agrees, takes the details and says a person will call. No hold music, no transfer that goes nowhere.

Can I keep my number?

Yes. You keep your existing number and nothing about it changes for the people who already have it. You set your phone or your provider to divert to ORLA in the situations you choose: when you don’t pick up, when the line is engaged, outside your hours, or all three.

The divert lives with your phone provider, not with us, which means you can turn it off yourself at any moment without asking us first. That’s deliberate.

What happens to the recordings?

Callers are told at the start of the call that it’s recorded, and they can object during the call.

Recordings and transcripts are kept for up to 90 days and then deleted. The booking or callback record that comes out of the call is kept for up to 12 months. You can choose shorter periods for your own line.

Written records, the booking, the contact details and the transcript, are stored in the United Kingdom. The audio itself is stored by our telephone provider, Twilio, in the United States, under an approved data transfer arrangement. Recordings are not sold, not used for marketing, and not used to train third-party AI models.

The full detail is in our Privacy Notice, and the version written for your customers is at If an AI receptionist answered your call.

Can I cancel?

Yes. It’s monthly with no minimum term. Tell us before your renewal date and you won’t be charged again, and you keep the service until the end of the month you’ve already paid for.

There’s no cancellation fee and nothing to give notice periods over. Part months aren’t refunded, and on the Managed plan the £299 setup fee isn’t refundable once we’ve done the setup work. Take the divert off your own number and your calls come straight back to you. Email hello@ringorla.com and it’s done.

Does she work out of hours?

Yes. She answers whenever calls reach her, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays. She doesn’t have opening hours of her own, so the hours are whatever you set your divert to cover.

What she says can change with the time of day. Out of hours she can take the details and tell the caller when someone will be back to them, rather than implying a van is on the way at midnight.

Being straight about it: ORLA is a technology service and technology services have outages. If she is unavailable, the call does whatever your phone provider does when a divert doesn’t answer. She isn’t a guarantee that no call is ever missed again, and she is not a substitute for emergency services.

How much is it?

Starter is £79 a month, or £49 a month for your first three months. Pro is £149 a month. Managed is £349 a month plus a one-off £299 setup fee, because a person builds it with you. We’re not registered for VAT, so nothing is added on top.

There is no per-minute charge on any plan. Each plan has a fair-use allowance — 300 minutes on Starter, 800 on Pro, 2,000 on Managed — but that is a line we talk to you about, not one we invoice you for. If you are regularly over it we will suggest moving you up. You will never get a bill you did not expect because you had a busy month, and we would rather tell you honestly that the allowance exists than promise unlimited and quietly throttle you.

The full breakdown, including what the first twelve months come to, is on the pricing page.

Can I hear her before I commit to anything?

That’s the whole idea. Ring 01395 201218 right now. No form first, no callback to book, no sales presentation before you get to hear the product.

One caveat. That demonstration line is handled for us by a supplier in the United States whose own terms let it keep recordings, so please treat it as a demonstration and don’t use it for anything confidential. The detail is in section 7 of the Privacy Notice.