How we built Hey Susan
We wanted a front desk that never goes to lunch. The interesting part was not the AI answering messages, which is table stakes now. It was one decision about where the conversation lives, and it is the reason the thing works and most bolt-on chatbots do not.
The whole idea, in two columns
A normal CRM
Susan
A CRM is a record of conversations somebody already had. This is the thing that had them.
The one decision that made it work
This is our own product, so read it as the builders talking, not a neutral review.When we started, the easy version was obvious: a chatbot on the website that answers questions. Everyone has one of those, and most of them are annoying, because the conversation happens in the widget and then vanishes.The decision that mattered was to make the assistant the place the conversation lives, not a bolt-on in front of it.
A normal CRM is a form you fill in after the fact. Someone messages you, you reply somewhere, and then, if you remember and have the time, you type it into a system. The record is always a second job, and second jobs get skipped.
The whole idea, in two columns
A normal CRM
Susan
A CRM is a record of conversations somebody already had. This is the thing that had them.
Because Susan is where the conversation happens, the record writes itself. Every enquiry is already a saved lead with the full exchange attached, sitting at a stage in a pipeline you can see. Nobody has to remember to log anything, because there is nothing to log.
What it actually does
Susan sits on your website and answers every message, day and night. Questions answered, enquiries captured, appointments booked, all of it saved to a CRM while you get on with your day.
- Four inboxes, one assistant. Website chat, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp and Messenger, all handled by the same Susan, because a customer messaging your Instagram at the weekend is the enquiry most likely to be lost.
- A pipeline, not just a log. Captured leads sit in stages you drag them through, so you can see who is waiting on you rather than scrolling an inbox.
- One line of code. A single script tag puts it on the site, whatever the site is built with: WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, or something custom.
Setup is four steps and we do most of them. You create an account, point Susan at your website or paste in your FAQs so it learns your business, and our team gets you live.Most businesses are live within twenty-four hours.
Why we call it a front desk, not a chatbot
A chatbot answers questions. A front desk answers the question, then does the thing that comes after: takes the booking, captures the lead, remembers the caller, and hands you the ones that need a human.The word matters because it sets the bar.
And when Susan does not know something, it says so and flags it to you, rather than inventing an answer. That is the difference between an assistant you can leave running and one you have to babysit, and it is the thing to test on any tool you look at, ours included.
What it costs, and what it does not do
Hey Susan is £149 a month on the Pro plan, with a three day trial that only starts when it answers its first message, and no setup fee. That covers unlimited conversations, all four channels, bookings, the full CRM and pipeline, and a brand voice set to sound like you.
What it does not do, so nobody is surprised: it is chat and messaging, not a phone line answering voice calls. If the honest fit for you is someone picking up the phone, this is not that, and we would rather say so here than after you have signed up.
If it does fit, the case is simple. Work out what one missed enquiry is worth to you.A front desk that never misses one, for the price of a few hours of someone answering messages, is not a hard sum.
Common questions
What is Hey Susan?
It is an AI front desk for small businesses that we build. It lives on your website and answers every message across website chat, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, capturing each enquiry as a lead in a built-in CRM with the full conversation attached. The point of difference is structural rather than a feature list: instead of being a chatbot bolted in front of a separate system, Susan is where the conversation happens, so the record of it writes itself. It is £149 a month with a three day trial and no setup fee, and most businesses are live within twenty-four hours.
How is it different from a normal chatbot?
A chatbot answers questions in a widget and then the conversation is gone unless someone logs it. Susan captures every exchange as a lead automatically, moves it through a sales pipeline you can see, books appointments, and hands you anything that needs a human. It also works across your social channels, not just the website, which is where a lot of small-business enquiries actually arrive. The honest test for any of these tools is what happens after the chat ends: if the answer is nothing, it is a chatbot, not a front desk.
How long does it take to set up?
Most businesses are live within twenty-four hours. You create an account, point Susan at your website or paste in your FAQs so it learns how to answer for you, and our team handles getting it live on your site. The website side is a single script tag that works on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or a custom build, so there is no developer project involved. The three day trial only starts when Susan answers its first real message, so the setup time does not eat into it.
Does it handle phone calls?
No, and we would rather be straight about that than let you find out later. Hey Susan is chat and messaging: website chat, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. It does not answer voice calls. If what you actually need is a phone line being picked up, this is not the right tool for that job, and a voice answering service is a different product. If your enquiries mostly come through your website and social messages, which for a lot of small businesses they now do, it fits well.