- Best for
- Firms that want a human receptionist available, with Clio integration.
- Pricing
- AI plans from free (25 calls/month) to $500/month; human plans from $300/month for 30 calls.
- Strengths
- Choice of AI or live receptionists, packaged Clio, HubSpot and Salesforce integrations, booking through Calendly and Acuity.
- Watch for
- Human plans are priced per call, so costs rise with volume. WhatsApp not stated.
Buyer's guide
AI receptionists for law firms, compared.
Five options a law firm is likely to consider for intake calls in 2026: two with human receptionists, three AI-first. The right one depends on whether every caller must reach a person, how much intake you want captured as data, and which practice-management system you use.
Facts checked October 28, 2026. We make Grepiv; every claim about another product links to that vendor’s own site.
At a glance
The options, in one table.
| Product | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Smith.ai | Firms that want a human receptionist available, with Clio integration. | AI plans from free (25 calls/month) to $500/month; human plans from $300/month for 30 calls. |
| Ruby | Firms where every caller must reach a person. | From $250/month for 50 minutes. |
| Grepiv | Firms that want intake captured as structured fields and new enquiries called back and texted automatically. | Quoted per account after a demo; no public price list. |
| Frontdesk | Small firms that want a low published price and to set it up themselves. | $99/month ($79 billed annually) for 200 voice minutes, 400 SMS and 100 chats; 7-day free trial. |
| Rosie | Solo and small practices on a tight budget. | From $49/month for 250 minutes; 7-day free trial. |
How to choose
What actually separates them.
- 01
Human, AI, or both
Ruby is people only, Smith.ai offers both, and the rest are AI-first with transfer to your own team. Human answering costs more per call; AI answers every call at once.
- 02
Intake as data
A message is not intake. Check whether matter type, conflict details and contact details arrive as structured fields your team can filter on.
- 03
Transfer rules
Qualified callers should reach a fee earner; everyone else should not. Look at what triggers a transfer and what happens when nobody answers.
- 04
Practice management
Smith.ai and Ruby list Clio among their integrations. AI-first tools tend to use Zapier or webhooks instead.
The options
Each one, honestly.
- Best for
- Firms where every caller must reach a person.
- Pricing
- From $250/month for 50 minutes.
- Strengths
- People on every call, live chat, and 24 named integrations including Clio, MyCase, Filevine and Lawmatics.
- Watch for
- No AI receptionist; per-minute pricing adds up at volume.
Grepiv
AI receptionist, outbound caller and SMS/WhatsApp desk on your own numbers
- Best for
- Firms that want intake captured as structured fields and new enquiries called back and texted automatically.
- Pricing
- Quoted per account after a demo; no public price list.
- Strengths
- Inbound and outbound AI calls, two-way SMS and WhatsApp on the same numbers, custom capture fields, pipelines, booking, and webhooks before, during and after each call.
- Watch for
- No self-serve sign-up or trial yet, no human receptionists, and CRM integration is by webhook rather than packaged connectors. We make Grepiv.
Frontdesk
Self-serve AI front office (calls, SMS, chat)
- Best for
- Small firms that want a low published price and to set it up themselves.
- Pricing
- $99/month ($79 billed annually) for 200 voice minutes, 400 SMS and 100 chats; 7-day free trial.
- Strengths
- Voice, SMS, web chat and WhatsApp listed as channels; 20 outbound calls a day on the entry plan.
- Watch for
- Clio is not named among its integrations; its legal page is a short summary.
- Best for
- Solo and small practices on a tight budget.
- Pricing
- From $49/month for 250 minutes; 7-day free trial.
- Strengths
- Lowest published entry price here; names law firms among its customers; live transfers on higher plans.
- Watch for
- Integrations are Zapier only; outbound calling and WhatsApp are not stated.
Questions
Asked before buying.
01
What is the best AI receptionist for a law firm?
It depends on the firm. If every caller must reach a person, Ruby or Smith.ai's live plans. If you want AI with a human fallback and Clio, Smith.ai. If you want structured intake plus automatic call-backs and texting, Grepiv. On a tight budget, Rosie or Frontdesk.
02
Can an AI receptionist run legal intake?
Yes, within limits you set. An AI agent can ask the same intake questions on every call, capture the answers as fields, and transfer qualified callers to a fee earner. It should not give legal advice, so scripts should route those questions to a person.
03
Which AI receptionists integrate with Clio?
Of the five here, Smith.ai and Ruby list Clio as an integration. Frontdesk and Rosie do not name it. Grepiv connects to any system over webhooks rather than a packaged Clio connector.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Vendors change plans often. Each was read on October 28, 2026; if something here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.
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