PupPilot with Smith.ai
Smith.ai is a multi-industry virtual receptionist company (founded 2015) offering a 24/7 AI Receptionist with a free entry tier plus North America-based human receptionist plans, handling answering, lead intake, scheduling via calendar tools, and warm transfers.
What is Smith.ai?
Smith.ai is a multi-industry virtual receptionist company (founded 2015) offering a 24/7 AI Receptionist with a free entry tier plus North America-based human receptionist plans, handling answering, lead intake, scheduling via calendar tools, and warm transfers. Best for: Cost-sensitive practices or multi-location businesses that mainly need generic 24/7 call answering, screening, and calendar booking - and do not require veterinary PIMS write-back or vet-specific AI.
- Pricing: Per month with included call allowance and per-call overage (AI); per month with call bundles and per-call overage plus per-call add-ons (human)
- Phones: No hardware - overlays existing phone system via forwarding to Smith.ai numbers
- Veterinary fit: Multi-industry
| Feature | Smith.ai |
|---|---|
| Business VoIP Calling Infrastructure | No - overlays existing phone service (forwarding number provided) |
| Number Porting Infrastructure | Not documented |
| Desk Phones / Hardware Infrastructure | No |
| Fax Infrastructure | No |
| E911 Management Infrastructure | No |
| Outage Failover Infrastructure | No |
| Two-Way Business Texting Operations | Partial - SMS notifications and custom SMS branding; not a clinic texting line |
| Missed-Call Text-Back Operations | Not documented |
| IVR / Call Routing Operations | Yes - call routing with custom playbooks and screening |
| Queues & Hold Operations | No |
| Voicemail Transcription Operations | Partial - full call transcripts and summaries |
| Call Recording Operations | Yes - included on AI plans; $0.25/call add-on on human plans |
| Call Analytics Operations | Yes - analytics and call history |
| Mobile / Desktop Apps Operations | Not documented |
| Multi-Location Administration Operations | Yes - multi-location and franchise support |
| Veterinary-Specific Product Veterinary Context | Partial - pet-services vertical page; platform is multi-industry |
| Veterinary PIMS Integration Veterinary Context | Not documented - no named veterinary PIMS; generic claim of working with practice software via CRM/Zapier |
| Patient Chart Context on Calls Veterinary Context | No |
| Clinic Protocol Configuration Veterinary Context | Yes - custom playbooks, intake questions, and triage scripts per business |
| AI Voice — Inbound Answering AI | Yes - 24/7 |
| AI Voice — Outbound Calls AI | Partial - human outbound call-backs/campaigns; AI outbound not documented |
| AI Appointment Booking AI | Yes - via Calendly, Acuity and similar calendar tools (not PIMS) |
| AI Call Summaries AI | Yes - instant summaries and transcripts |
| After-Hours AI Coverage AI | Yes - 24/7 AI and 24/7 human network |
| Contextual Staff Handoff AI | Yes - warm transfers to staff or human receptionists with full context |
Verified August 2026 against Smith.ai's public pages. Vendors change pricing and features; tell us if something is out of date.
Where Smith.ai Stands Out
Transparent commodity pricing for an AI-plus-human hybrid: a free-forever AI tier (25 calls/mo), ~$1.67-$3.00 effective per-call AI rates, and a 500+ human receptionist network for escalations. Strengths practices cite: Very low entry cost: free AI tier (25 calls/mo), Pro $150/mo for 75 calls, Enterprise from $500/mo - far below human answering services; Hybrid model: 24/7 AI with warm transfer to live North America-based receptionists (add-on) for sensitive calls such as emergency triage or end-of-life conversations; Mature platform: Quality Studio simulation/testing, spam blocking, recording/transcription/summaries, bilingual English/Spanish, analytics; Broad integrations: Calendly/Acuity-type scheduling, Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio, plus 5,000+ apps via Zapier/Make; Dedicated pet-services vertical page with custom intake questions and emergency-triage call protocols.
Considerations Before You Buy
Not veterinary-specific: no named veterinary PIMS integrations and no documented direct booking into a PIMS (scheduling runs through generic calendar/CRM tools); Per-call metered pricing penalizes high call volumes typical of busy clinics; human plans run $300-$2,100/mo for only 30-300 calls plus overages; Human-plan extras are itemized add-ons (appointment booking $1.50/call, Spanish line $1.00/call, recording $0.25/call); No clinical guardrails or vet-trained triage logic in the AI; vet knowledge depends on the clinic's own playbook configuration; Overlays existing phone service - no phone lines, desk phones, fax, or telecom features. Pricing basis: Per month with included call allowance and per-call overage (AI); per month with call bundles and per-call overage plus per-call add-ons (human); published pricing: AI Receptionist: Free (25 calls/mo, then $3.00/call), Pro $150/mo (75 calls, $2.00/call effective; 150/300-call options at -10%/-17%), Enterprise from $500/mo (300 calls, $1.67/call; 500+ tiers). Virtual (human) Receptionists: Starter $300/mo (30 calls, $11.50/call overage), Basic $810/mo (90 calls, $10.50), Pro $2,100/mo (300 calls, $8.50), Enterprise custom; 10% annual discount; add-ons incl. appointment booking $1.50/call, Spanish line $1.00/call, call recording $0.25/call; contract model: Month-to-month self-serve; 10% discount on annual (human plans); no setup fees.
How PupPilot compares
PupPilot is a full veterinary phone system — unlimited calling and texting, desk phones included — with AI coverage for after-hours and overflow built into the line. The AI answers the calls your team can't get to and transfers the rest to your staff with the caller's name, patient and reason already on screen. It isn't a replacement for your receptionists; it's the part of the phone system that makes sure every call reaches someone.
Smith.ai is a capable generic answering layer, but PupPilot wins veterinary deals with purpose-built vet AI that actually reads and writes the PIMS, plus the full phone system with unlimited calling and texting - versus Smith.ai's metered per-call fees, calendar-tool-only booking, and no vet PIMS integration.
A clinic that keeps Smith.ai can still move its phone lines to PupPilot — see how switching works.
Smith.ai: Common Questions
Is Smith.ai veterinary-specific?
Multi-industry. PIMS support: None documented - pet-services page claims it 'integrates directly with your veterinary practice management software' but names no PIMS; published integrations are calendars (Calendly, Acuity, etc.), CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Clio), and Zapier/Make..
How much does Smith.ai cost?
Pricing basis: Per month with included call allowance and per-call overage (AI); per month with call bundles and per-call overage plus per-call add-ons (human). Published pricing: AI Receptionist: Free (25 calls/mo, then $3.00/call), Pro $150/mo (75 calls, $2.00/call effective; 150/300-call options at -10%/-17%), Enterprise from $500/mo (300 calls, $1.67/call; 500+ tiers). Virtual (human) Receptionists: Starter $300/mo (30 calls, $11.50/call overage), Basic $810/mo (90 calls, $10.50), Pro $2,100/mo (300 calls, $8.50), Enterprise custom; 10% annual discount; add-ons incl. appointment booking $1.50/call, Spanish line $1.00/call, call recording $0.25/call. Hardware: No hardware - overlays existing phone system via forwarding to Smith.ai numbers. Contract: Month-to-month self-serve; 10% discount on annual (human plans); no setup fees. Check the vendor's site for current terms.
What is the difference between Smith.ai and PupPilot?
Smith.ai is a capable generic answering layer, but PupPilot wins veterinary deals with purpose-built vet AI that actually reads and writes the PIMS, plus the full phone system with unlimited calling and texting - versus Smith.ai's metered per-call fees, calendar-tool-only booking, and no vet PIMS integration.