Until now, Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist required Zoom Phone. A standalone version launched this week removes that dependency, letting organisations bolt AI-powered call handling onto whatever telephony infrastructure they already run.
The product answers inbound calls, routes inquiries to staff, schedules appointments, and provides after-hours support in more than 10 languages with live transcription. The change matters most to organisations with legacy PBX or third-party VoIP systems who have been shut out of the product because they didn't want to migrate their entire phone stack.
Zoom cites research showing 71 percent of consumers find calling a business more stressful than the underlying issue, and that half say they'd switch to a competitor after one bad call experience. The company frames the standalone launch as a way to address that without forcing infrastructure change.
"Businesses shouldn't have to replace their phone system to benefit from AI," said Chris Moss, general manager of Zoom Phone. "Every inbound call is an opportunity to serve a customer or nurture a prospect."
Zoom Virtual Agent Receptionist is available now, starting at $29.99 per month for 100 minutes or $24.99 per month on annual billing. A free trial is open to both new and existing customers.
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