AI Call Routing: Menus, Skills and AI Compared, With Prices (2026)
- Basic routing is cheap and common: Aircall lists IVR, call routing, time and date based routing, business hours and ring groups on all three of its plans, from $30 per license per month 2.
- Skills-based routing is the contact center tier: Twilio describes TaskRouter as a skills-based routing system, and Dialpad lists omnichannel routing and advanced routing from $89 per user per month on its Support plans 1,4.
- AI routing is marketed by Talkdesk (generative AI routing, natural language) and Five9 (Genius AI routing), but neither page we read shows a price or a measured result 7,8.
- Some vendors price AI by conversation instead of by seat: Nextiva's XBert is $99 a month with 100 conversations and $1.50 per conversation as an add-on, and RingCentral's AI Receptionist starts at $39 5,6.
- We found no independent survey on IVR menus, hold times or transfers, so this page states none.
Call routing decides who or what gets each incoming call: a menu, a ring group, the right skill, an after hours rule or, now, an AI that listens and decides. This page maps the kinds of routing, what phone and contact center vendors say each plan includes and costs as of 9 November 2026, what the AI routing claims rest on, and where an AI receptionist fits.
· 9 sources · Published by Convocore, which sells white label AI agents. See method and limits.
Four kinds of call routing
Vendors use the term for four different things, and the price and the work involved differ for each.
What phone systems include
Aircall's feature table lists IVR, call routing, time and date based routing, business hours, ring groups and voicemail by email as included on Essentials, Professional and Enterprise. Smart routing and queue callback are Professional and Enterprise only. Essentials is $30 per license per month and Professional $50, with a three license minimum 2.
Quo's Starter plan includes basic call forwarding; Business ($33 per user monthly, $23 billed annually) adds group calling, custom ring orders, call transfers and phone menus, which Quo describes as IVR 3. For a small team, those rules are routing.
What contact center routing costs
At the contact center tier routing is matched to agent skills. We read each vendor's own page on 9 November 2026. A blank means the page did not say.
| Vendor | Prices read | Routing described |
|---|---|---|
| Aircall | Essentials $30, Professional $50 per license per month; Enterprise custom | IVR, call routing, time and date routing, business hours and ring groups on all plans; smart routing from Professional |
| Quo | Starter $19, Business $33, Scale $47 per user per month; $15, $23 and $35 billed annually | Forwarding on Starter; ring orders, call transfers and phone menus (IVR) on Business |
| Dialpad | Support Essentials $89, Advanced $119, Premium $149 per user per month | Omnichannel routing (voice and digital) and advanced routing |
| Nextiva | NEXT Core $15, Engage $25, Scale $75 per user per month; the page also shows $23 and $50 (we read these as annual billing) | Skills-based routing listed on the Core and Essential plans |
| RingCentral | RingEX Core $20, Advanced $25, Ultra $35 per user per month, paid annually | Routing not named in the tier lists; Call Queues Booster $35 and an AI Receptionist from $39 as add-ons |
| Twilio | No price on the page | TaskRouter is a skills-based routing system with escalation and fallback rules |
| Talkdesk | No price on the page | Generative AI powered routing, attribute-based routing by agent skillset |
| Five9 | No price on the page | Genius AI routing |
What the AI routing claims rest on
Talkdesk says its Navigator understands natural language, dynamically routes inquiries and escalates to human agents, and that there are no more rigid and frustrating IVR menus 7. Five9 says its Orchestrate product uses Genius AI routing to send each interaction down the right path 8. These are marketing statements. Five9's demo panel shows placeholder values, and neither page gives a price or a measured result, so we cannot say how much better AI routing is than a menu.
Where pricing is visible, AI is often billed by use: Nextiva's XBert is $1.50 per conversation as an add-on 5, and Dialpad's Resolve product is custom priced per conversation, billable only when the AI retrieves information or takes an action such as scheduling or routing 4.
Where Convocore fits
Convocore does not sell a call center queue with skills-based routing. Its AI agent answers the call, works out what the caller wants from the conversation, answers from your knowledge base, books into Google Calendar, Outlook or Calendly, and for the cases you define it forwards the call to a number you set or sends the lead to your software by webhook. A transfer is a plain call forward. The Business plan is $99 a month plus a $0.02 a minute voice fee and providers at cost, and you can build and test free first 9.
If you need queues, agent skills and wallboards for a team of dozens, use a contact center product from the table. If most of your calls are the same dozen questions and bookings, an AI receptionist does the routing by answering.
What the evidence does not show
- We found no independent survey on IVR menus, hold times or call transfers, so we state no customer-experience figure.
- AI routing performance is described only on vendor marketing pages; none gave a measured result or a price.
- Some pricing cells did not extract (Nextiva's compare table, Quo's tail), so we cite only lines we could read.
- Dialpad's own AI call routing page returned 404, so we use its pricing page only.
- We did not test any vendor's routing.
Choosing a routing approach
Count how many different places a call can go. If it is two or three, a phone app with a menu and ring groups is enough. If calls must reach people by skill across a team, you need a contact center product. If most callers need an answer or a booking rather than a person, let an AI agent take the call and route only the exceptions.
Method and limits
- Every figure comes from a vendor page opened on 9 November 2026. Where a page was silent we write nothing rather than assume.
- Convocore sells an AI agent platform and has a commercial interest. If you find an error, write to support@convocore.ai.
Sources
- TaskRouter: skills-based routing for contact centersPrimary sourceTwilio. Page modified 9 March 2026; read 9 November 2026.
- PricingPrimary sourceAircall. Read 9 November 2026.
- PricingPrimary sourceQuo (formerly OpenPhone). Read 9 November 2026.The page was cut off in our reader; we used only the text we read verbatim. Check marks are images read from the table layout.
- PricingPrimary sourceDialpad. Read 9 November 2026.The page does not say whether the per-user contact center prices are monthly or annual.
- PricingPrimary sourceNextiva. Read 9 November 2026.Some table cells did not extract; we cite only the lines we could read.
- Plans and pricingPrimary sourceRingCentral. Read 9 November 2026.
- Orchestration and routingPrimary sourceTalkdesk. Read 9 November 2026.Vendor marketing page; no price.
- Home pagePrimary sourceFive9. Read 9 November 2026.Marketing claims; the routing demo shows placeholder values, not results.
- Convocore pricingPrimary sourceConvocore. Read 9 November 2026.
Questions
What is AI call routing?
Directing incoming calls using a model that understands what the caller says, instead of a fixed menu. Vendors such as Talkdesk and Five9 market it; neither page we read gave a price or measured result.
How much does call routing cost?
On 9 November 2026 Aircall listed IVR, call routing and ring groups on all plans from $30 per license per month, Quo Business was $33 per user monthly, and Dialpad Support started at $89 per user with omnichannel routing.
What is skills-based routing?
Matching each call to the agent best able to handle it. Twilio describes TaskRouter as a skills-based routing system with escalation and fallback rules.
Is AI call routing better than an IVR menu?
Vendors say so, but we found no independent data. Talkdesk says there are no more rigid IVR menus; its page shows no measured result.
Can Convocore route calls to my team?
It forwards calls to numbers you set for the cases you define and sends leads by webhook. A transfer is a plain call forward, and Convocore does not offer a skills-based queue.
Do I need a contact center for AI routing?
Not for a small team. An AI receptionist can answer, book and escalate. Choose a contact center product for queues, agent skills and reporting across many agents.