Customer asks
Do you cover Northampton and what happens before I book?
Keystone Customer Desk
AI-supported customer communication for local service businesses.
Bring website chat, approved AI answers, enquiry capture, CRM routing, follow-up, reviews, and monthly insight into one managed customer desk.
Built for UK salons, clinics, trades, studios, consultants, and service teams that want the useful parts of an all-in-one inbox without setting up a complicated platform alone.
CHAT Website chat @ Email WA WhatsApp-ready SMS SMS-ready ☎ Phone route G Google Reviews CRM CRM AI AI Agent
Live product preview
See the first conversation become a follow-up route.
A useful front desk does more than answer. It turns a visitor question into approved guidance, captured context, a CRM record, and a clear human next step.
Desk replies
Approved service area, preparation, price guidance, and next-step language.
Lead context
Name, contact route, service, location, urgency, and transcript.
Human follow-up
New contact, owner, stage, task, and suggested reply.
CHAT Website chat @ Email handoff WA WhatsApp path CRM CRM record
- Approved answers for common questions
- Lead capture without forcing a form too early
- CRM/email routing with transcript context
- Clear handoff when a human should decide
One system, four practical jobs
Customer communication becomes easier to answer, route, follow up, and improve.
The best product pages make the job obvious. Keystone Customer Desk is not “AI for the sake of AI”; it is the front layer that helps a small team handle the conversations that already decide whether someone books.
Every enquiry starts in the right place
Website visitors can ask first, choose a route, and leave the context a real person needs to reply properly.
Ask -> routeAI answers the repeat questions
Common questions are answered from approved service, area, price, booking, and policy language instead of a loose prompt.
Approved answerThe inbox becomes a simple CRM route
Useful conversations become contacts, transcripts, source notes, stages, owners, and follow-up dates.
Contact + taskThe system improves each month
Transcript review shows missed answers, better FAQ copy, lead sources, and the next useful automation to add.
Review loopProduct modules
All the front-desk pieces a local service business actually needs.
The market expectation is clear: chat, inbox, AI, CRM, automations, channels, reviews, analytics, and integrations. Keystone packages the useful version for a smaller business and sets it up with you.
Website Chat
A branded website widget with starter questions, approved answers, and routes into email, booking, phone, or WhatsApp when each channel is ready.
AI Agent
An answer layer trained on approved knowledge, instructions, handoff rules, and tool permissions so it stays useful without guessing.
Inbox + CRM
Every useful conversation can become a contact, transcript, source, stage, owner, next action, and follow-up date.
Automations
Safe workflows assign leads, notify the owner, add labels, draft follow-ups, request reviews, and move the next action forward.
WhatsApp, SMS, email, phone
Start with website chat and email handoff, then expand to WhatsApp, SMS, booking, or AI phone once setup and consent are clear.
Google Reviews + Analytics
Monthly review turns conversations into clearer FAQs, Google review prompts, lead-source insight, and the next improvement to make.
AI that stays inside the rails
The agent is only as good as the knowledge, rules, and handoff behind it.
Keystone builds the answer base, instructions, safe actions, and review loop before the assistant is trusted with customer questions. That is what makes the system feel helpful instead of risky.
Knowledge
Website pages, service details, FAQs, areas, policies, price guidance, and owner-approved notes become the answer base.
Instructions
Tone, boundaries, handoff triggers, refusal rules, and what must never be promised are written in plain English.
Actions
The agent can capture lead fields, request human review, create a CRM note, and suggest approved next steps by tier.
Setup
Keystone tests the awkward cases before launch: pricing, complaints, urgency, unsupported claims, and handoff.
Insights
Real transcripts become better answers, safer rules, clearer website copy, and smarter follow-up.
What the assistant is allowed to do
Answer, capture, refuse, and hand off. In that order.
This keeps the AI useful without pretending the business can run itself. The assistant handles the first layer, then routes anything sensitive or high judgement to a person.
Normal questions
Services, price guidance, areas covered, opening times, booking steps, preparation, policies, and process notes.
Useful enquiry context
Name, contact route, service needed, location, urgency, notes, consent, and what the visitor already asked.
Risky or unsupported claims
No invented quotes, guarantees, discounts, regulated advice, unsafe instructions, or answers outside the approved knowledge.
Human decisions
Sensitive, urgent, unclear, high-value, complaint, booking, callback, or bespoke questions go to a person.
Use cases
The same front desk solves different owner problems.
Keystone starts with the business model and the real questions people ask before buying, booking, or requesting a quote.
Salon, clinic, or studio
People ask about treatments, preparation, location, booking, and price guidance before they commit.
Approved FAQs plus booking or enquiry handoff.
Treatment route, prep answer, booking handoffTrade or home-service business
Job enquiries need location, urgency, photos or notes, and a better callback brief.
AI Front Desk plus lead capture and CRM/email alert.
Job brief, source note, owner alertConsultant or professional service
Visitors need to understand the offer and decide whether a human conversation makes sense.
Plain-English offer answers plus fit-check handoff.
Fit-check path, transcript, next-action taskAI-curious local business
The website works, but it is passive and the owner wants a low-risk AI starting point.
Small pilot, approved answer bank, transcript review, and monthly tuning.
Pilot widget, answer bank, monthly fixesHow Keystone builds it
Small enough to launch, controlled enough to trust.
The first version should create useful relief quickly. Deeper booking, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, and CRM workflows are added only when the first route has earned them.
Map the real questions
Keystone reviews the website, services, FAQs, contact route, and repeated customer questions.
Approve the answer bank
The assistant only gets the service, area, price, policy, and process language the business is happy to use.
Install the front desk
The widget goes onto the website with starter prompts, lead capture rules, refusal rules, and handoff actions.
Test the awkward cases
Keystone checks pricing, unsupported claims, sensitive questions, complaints, urgency, and human-review routes.
Tune from real transcripts
Monthly review turns real visitor wording into better answers, safer handoffs, and clearer website copy.
Packages and add-ons
Choose the front desk layer the business is ready to operate.
The pilot proves the route. Customer Desk Core is the standard. Growth and Managed Front Office add more channels, automations, provider integrations, and review rhythm when the first layer is working.
Front Desk Pilot
£249 setup + £79/mo
Case-study route for the first safe version.
A business that wants to prove the first AI front-desk layer before buying a larger system.
- One website assistant
- Approved answer bank
- Lead capture and email/CRM handoff
- Basic transcript review
Recommended
Customer Desk Core
From £497 setup + £197/mo
The Superchat-aligned Keystone standard.
A local service business that wants the website, AI, CRM, follow-up, and review route working together.
- Branded web front desk
- Hermes Agent-ready knowledge and rules
- Inbox + CRM pipeline
- 3 to 4 safe automations
- Monthly insight report
Customer Desk Growth
From £2,950 setup + £499/mo
For multi-channel follow-up and deeper workflows.
A team that wants WhatsApp/SMS/email, booking, reviews, and more workflow automation connected.
- Everything in Core
- 6 to 8 automations
- Booking or callback route
- Review response drafts
- Optional phone/WhatsApp path
Managed Front Office
From £6,000 setup + £1,000/mo
Custom agent and operator layer.
Multi-location, complex process, or higher-volume teams that need custom actions and regular review.
- Multiple agents or routes
- Custom integrations
- Approval gates and dashboards
- Team handover/training
- Weekly or monthly operating review
Guardrails
Good AI knows when to stop.
Keystone will not sell this as a replacement for judgement, reception, sales, or customer care. It is a managed first-response layer with clear limits.
Unclear services
The business cannot explain its services, areas, or next steps clearly yet.
Start with offer/website clarity first.Guaranteed outcomes
You need guaranteed sales, rankings, bookings, or revenue from the assistant.
Treat this as conversion support, not a guarantee.Regulated advice
You want AI to give regulated, safety-critical, medical, legal, financial, or tax advice.
Use human review and narrow approved answers.Autonomous decisions
You want the assistant to quote, discount, book, or message customers without approved rules.
Add approval gates before automation.Pricing & competitor benchmark
Pilot, Core, and Plus pricing. No per-minute surprise for KS-016.
Transparent UK pricing compared with three named AI receptionist competitors from the KS-016 research pack. Last checked 2026-06-30; re-check public pricing before publishing a new campaign.
| Provider | Setup | Monthly | Per-unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keystone (KS-016) | £249 / £497 / £997 | £79, £197, or £397/mo | £0 overage | Managed setup, approved answers, 20-prompt QA, 14-day shadow review, 30-day report |
| MyAIFrontDesk | $0 | $20 Basic / $99 Business-in-a-Box | Check current package limits | Lower-cost entry; Keystone differentiates on managed setup and approved-answer governance |
| Dialzara | $0 | $29–$349/mo | $0.35–$0.48/min | Voice-first AI receptionist packages; Pro is published at $99/mo + $0.45/min overage |
| Smith.ai | $0 | $95 / $270 / $800/mo | Package based | Published AI Receptionist tiers; Keystone is narrower and more implementation-led for UK SMBs |
Keystone position: above low-cost DIY entry tools, below heavier receptionist/operator packages. Why we charge more than entry: managed implementation, answer-bank approval, refusal rules, QA, UK SMB positioning, and transcript review. Why we avoid surprise overage: the service should encourage useful conversations, not penalise them. Pilot is designed around up to 250 conversations/month, Core around up to 750, and Plus around up to 2,000. Usage consistently above the selected tier triggers a plan review, not a surprise per-minute invoice. View full KS-016 service brief →
What it connects to next
The AI Front Desk is the first layer, not the whole operating system.
Once visitors are asking better questions and leaving better context, Keystone can connect the enquiry path to the system behind it.
Capture
Lead Capture System
Track every warm enquiry after the assistant captures it.
Lead fields + source tracking CaptureCRM / Lead Pipeline Setup
Give each enquiry a status, next action, owner, and follow-up date.
Pipeline + follow-up tasks BuildAI Phone Answering
Add a voice route when missed calls are the bigger leak.
Call script + handoff rules Follow UpOut-of-Hours Overflow Cover
Cover evenings, weekends, and holiday enquiries with safer handoff.
After-hours triage route BuildLocal Business Website Sprint
Rebuild the website if the offer and trust proof need fixing first.
Service page + local trust proof OperateKeystone Operator Retainer
Turn transcripts, leads, and improvements into a monthly operating rhythm.
Review loop + operator dashboardChoose the right route
Not every business needs AI first.
These pages help route the first fix properly if the visible bottleneck is the website, lead capture, or operator workload instead.
Lead Capture
Use this when the bigger issue is what happens after someone leaves details.
Fix fields, alerts, follow-up dates. Website & Local GrowthUse this when the website itself is not clear or trustworthy enough yet.
Fix offer copy, proof, local intent. Operator SystemsUse this when repeated admin, quoting, inbox, or reporting work needs systemising.
Map repeat work and approval points. AI Phone AnsweringPhone-first customers? Add KS-027 — dedicated UK phone number the AI answers 24/7.
Provision number + brand voice. Out-of-Hours OverflowEmergency or 24/7 business? Add KS-032 — emergency ring-through with quarterly routing audit.
Configure emergency types. Operator RetainerAfter 90 days, convert to KS-018 — Keystone becomes part-time ops partner (£997/mo, 5 hrs).
Monthly planning + weekly execution. Main service detailOpen the deeper AI Website Receptionist service page, tiers, and checkout route.
Review scope, tiers, and checkout path.Questions owners ask
Useful AI should feel controlled, not mysterious.
These answers set the boundaries before the fit check, especially around pricing, handoff, CRM, and what the AI is not allowed to do.
Will it force visitors into a contact form?
No. The AI Front Desk should answer first and let visitors keep chatting. It only collects details when the visitor chooses a human follow-up or the question clearly needs a person.
When is AI not useful yet?
AI is not useful when the offer is unclear, the website content is thin, the handoff is missing, or the business wants it to make decisions it should not make. In those cases Keystone should recommend a website, lead capture, or diagnosis route first.
Will the AI contact customers by itself?
No in the pilot. It answers questions, captures details only when the visitor chooses follow-up, and alerts the business. Customer follow-up stays human-approved unless a specific safe workflow is agreed and tested.
Can it answer pricing questions?
Only with approved guide pricing or handoff language. It should not invent quotes, discounts, guarantees, or availability.
Can it connect to the CRM?
Yes. Keystone's own website assistant routes captured enquiries into Keystone CRM. Client pilots start with CRM/email lead handoff, then add deeper integrations only when needed.
Can it connect to booking, WhatsApp, SMS, or phone?
Yes, as configured routes. The first version can show approved booking, WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or AI-phone actions. Real calendar availability, WhatsApp/SMS inboxes, and voice AI setup are separate paid upgrades because they need provider setup and testing.
Is there live human takeover?
There is a basic human-review loop: a visitor can request a person and Keystone can reply back into the chat. A full multi-agent live chat inbox with online presence, routing, and notifications is a higher-tier upgrade.
How quickly can it go live?
The standard promise is 7 days to launch after complete intake and approved answers, followed by a 14-day shadow review. A smaller pilot can move faster only when content, access, and approval are already clean.
Is this fully production-proven?
The service pack, delivery process, QA, DPA, and reporting are production-ready. Named public case studies and the 90-second Loom proof asset are still being collected, so the pilot is positioned honestly as proof-building where relevant.
What counts as success?
Core targets include faster first response, useful answer coverage, safe escalation, consented enquiry capture, transcript quality, and a 30-day report that decides whether to keep, tune, or expand the front desk.
What is included in the flat monthly fee?
KS-016 is not priced per minute. Pilot is designed around up to 250 conversations/month, Core around up to 750 conversations/month, and Plus around up to 2,000 conversations/month. If usage is consistently above the selected tier, Keystone reviews the plan rather than adding surprise overage.
What costs extra?
Extra custom integrations, regulated-advice workflows, live human chat teams, custom software, multi-brand builds, or unusually high conversation volume are scoped separately. Additional integration routes usually start from GBP 500.
What kinds of businesses is this best for?
It is best for local service businesses, clinics, salons, studios, trades, consultants, and appointment or quote-led businesses where visitors ask repeated questions before enquiring.
What should I have ready before the fit check?
A website link is enough to start. It also helps to list common customer questions, current enquiry routes, service areas, price guidance, booking links, and anything the assistant must not answer.
How does Keystone pricing compare to MyAIFrontDesk / Dialzara / Smith.ai?
Keystone's KS-016 has three managed tiers: Pilot at £249 setup + £79/mo for the first 60 days, Core at £497 setup + £197/mo, and Plus at £997 setup + £397/mo. MyAIFrontDesk publishes lower self-serve-style entry pricing, Dialzara publishes package pricing with usage overages, and Smith.ai publishes AI Receptionist tiers from entry to larger packages. Keystone is positioned as the managed, approved-answer implementation route rather than the cheapest DIY bot.
Why is there no per-minute / per-call charge?
Flat monthly is deliberate. For KS-016, Keystone charges for setup quality, approved-answer governance, transcript review, and monthly improvement rather than making the invoice unpredictable when more people use the front desk.
Is this meant to replace software like Superchat?
No. Superchat is a broad messaging platform. Keystone is a managed Customer Desk build for small UK service businesses: the useful front-desk pieces are selected, configured, connected to CRM, and improved with human review.
Free AI Front Desk Fit Check
Send the messy version. Keystone will name the safest first route.
Share the website, the repeated questions customers ask, and what should happen when someone wants a human reply. Keystone will review it manually before recommending anything paid.