Best AI Assistants That Make Phone Calls for You (2026)

How We Chose AI Assistants That Can Make Phone Calls

Many tools claim to make calls, but they solve different problems. A consumer app places one call and reports back. An assistant with its own phone number can call, text, and be called back. A developer platform gives engineers the pieces to build their own voice agent.

We grouped tools that way and compared what each does, what it costs, and where it stops. We skipped call-screening and spam-blocking apps, which answer calls but do not place them for you. If you mainly need inbound answering for a business, see our guide to AI receptionists and phone answering.

Mio: Best for Texting a Request and Getting a Call Made

Mio is an AI phone assistant. You text what you need, such as rescheduling a dentist appointment, and it makes the call, navigates phone menus, waits on hold, talks to the person, and sends back a summary. It also supports scheduled calls, works in over 70 languages, and can answer incoming calls and take messages. Its marketplace listing describes pricing as pay as you go, charged per conversation; confirm with the vendor.

The limit: it is a calling service. It does not manage your calendar or email threads around the call.

Simple AI: Best for Reservations and Customer Service Calls

Simple AI is an app that places AI-powered phone calls to businesses and friends. Its App Store listing says it can make restaurant reservations and call customer support, and the app is free with in-app purchases.

The limit: we confirmed the basics from its App Store listing as shown in search results and its Y Combinator profile, but the listing page itself did not load for us, so read the current listing for plans, countries, and limits.

Phony: Best for Delegating Routine Business Calls

Phony lets you describe what you need done, then an AI agent calls the business, has the conversation, and returns a report. It is aimed at founders and non-technical users who want to skip time on hold.

The limit: the third-party listing we found does not publish pricing, and it is a web service for calls rather than a full assistant.

Instinct: Best for Personal Life Admin by Text

Instinct is a personal assistant you text. It works from its own phone number and computer, follows up on dropped threads, arranges rides, books services, and offers a concierge service that makes phone calls to businesses without online booking. See our Instinct vs. Cue comparison.

The limit: it launched invite-only in August 2026, pricing is not published, and its terms allow training on your inputs with an opt-out in settings. We found no team features.

Cue by Manus: Best for an Agent With Its Own Number and Email

Cue launched with Manus 2.0 in September 2026. Each agent gets its own email, phone number, wallet, and dedicated cloud computer, and agents can share a group chat and split a job.

The limit: it is early access with an invite code, and later pricing and team documentation are not published.

Pally: A Text Assistant Whose Top Tier Gets a Phone Number

Pally works over iMessage, WhatsApp, RCS, and Telegram with no app to download. Per its pricing page, the Max tier at $100 per month includes a dedicated phone number for calling Pally directly, its own email address, and 60 call minutes a month (then $0.50 per minute), and describes Pally calling on your behalf to book a table, chase a contractor, or get a quote. The free plan lists 15 call minutes a month and Pro lists 30.

The limit: the dedicated number, own email, and 60 minutes are Max features, and the page does not say how well calls to third parties work in practice, so test it before relying on it for errands. It launched in July 2026 and is aimed at individuals and professionals more than teams.

Poke and Town: Text and Email First, Not Call First

If you searched for a Poke AI number, here is what we could confirm: Poke is a contact you text on iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, or Telegram, and you sign up with your own phone number or Telegram. You pick the messaging channel in your Poke settings, and Poke's FAQ says it might text you from different numbers depending on the platform, so there is no single number to publish. Poke's FAQ does not say Poke itself places phone calls; it describes Poke Human, a premium service where people handle real-world tasks that can include phone calls. Poke was also acquired by Cognition (announced July 23, 2026) and is not expected to change immediately through the end of the year, per TechCrunch, with its roadmap after that not committed. See the Poke acquisition explained.

Town gives each assistant its own @town.com email address and works through web chat, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Mac and iPhone apps, but we found no dedicated phone number or calling feature. Its site lists Telegram and WhatsApp as inbound-only. It drafts and sends email and calendar invites in your voice, with approval required by default. Both are built around text and email; neither is where to look first for an assistant that calls. See our Town review and the best AI assistants you can text.

One more note on big-platform agents: OpenAI Dots, rolling out in ChatGPT for Pro and Business Premium, lets you message or call your agent in ChatGPT and reach it in Slack and Teams, per SiliconANGLE's launch coverage. That is you calling the agent, not the agent calling others. We found no published phone number or email identity for it, and no confirmation that it calls third parties.

OpenAssistant: Best for Calls Tied to Work With Other People

We build OpenAssistant, so weigh this entry accordingly. It is an executive assistant with its own name, phone number, and email (or one on your company domain). It can make and receive phone calls, and it also works over iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, and email, so a call can lead to a text confirmation, a calendar update, or a follow-up to a colleague. See the product page and the AI scheduling assistant page.

It is in private beta, so you request access. It is not a call-center platform or a developer voice toolkit. If you need thousands of automated calls an hour, use a platform below.

Developer Voice Platforms: Retell, Vapi, and Bland

These are not assistants you hire. They are infrastructure for engineers who build voice agents for their own product or call workflow.

• Retell: pay as you go at $0.07 to $0.31 per minute depending on model and voice, with $10 in free credits and 20 free concurrent calls.
• Vapi: a $0.05 per minute hosting fee on the free tier plus transcription, model, and voice costs passed through at provider rates, with $5 in free credits and optional monthly success packages from $29.
• Bland: a $0.14 per minute Start plan and a $0.12 per minute Build plan with a $299 monthly platform fee, with the model, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech included in the rate.

The limit: you need engineering time, and you take on the compliance questions below yourself.

Calls, Consent, and Disclosure: What to Know

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules about recording calls and about using AI voices vary by country and state, and some require everyone on a call to consent to recording. Several jurisdictions also have rules on automated or prerecorded outbound calls. In the United States, the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as artificial voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so outbound AI calls generally need the same prior consent as other prerecorded or artificial-voice calls.

• Recording: find out whether the tool records or transcribes calls and whether the other party must be told.
• Disclosure: consider telling people they are speaking with an AI, and check what the vendor does by default.
• Outbound volume: one errand call is different from a marketing campaign. Check local rules before running either.
• Data: ask how long transcripts are kept and whether they train models. Our guide to AI tool safety lists the questions.

How to Choose

• You hate being on hold: Mio, Simple AI, or Phony.
• You want one assistant to text for everyday life: Instinct or Cue by Manus.
• Your calls are part of scheduling and follow-up with colleagues and clients: OpenAssistant. See also AI scheduling assistants.
• You are building a voice product: Retell, Vapi, or Bland.

For a wider look, read the best AI personal assistants in 2026.