If video killed the radio star, has email killed the telephone? How will AI intervene? Lisa Isaacs explores call answering and telephony in 2026.
23rd Jan 20260 476 6 minutes read Lisa Isaacs
Telephobia is a thing. An affliction mainly suffered by Gen Z and Millennials, using the telephone is dated… and daunting for some.
Research indicates young people dread accepting a call and experience anxiety before dialling a number. Purposely switching a phone to silent? Letting calls ring out to answerphone? Axing the landline? Common behaviour.
In fact, a Uswitch survey of 2,000 people found almost 70% of 18 to 34 year olds prefer a text to a phone call, while 37% would rather receive a voice note.
Call avoidance, however, has bypassed the property industry. The monumental amounts of money, deadlines and emotional investment involved in moving home means a voice at the other end of the line still matters (whether it’s an AI generated one is to be explored).
Astoundingly, Moneypenny found 64% of people now spend longer on the phone with a business than they did three years ago, with the phone often the first choice when a query is urgent (42%), complicated (34%) or sensitive (25%).
Human rights
Susan Holme, Face For Business
“Several of our call patterns support the idea that movers look for quick, human contact when they feel urgency is required,” comments Susan Holme at Face For Business. “UK consumers strongly prefer a real person for serious, complex and high-value decisions, such as property transactions, and surveys show more than 80% favour speaking to a human over AI or chatbots.”
Susan adds that phone calls are preferred because they allow instant communication, negotiation, reassurance and personalised interactions: “Real people are seen as more empathetic, reliable and capable of nuanced understanding.”
Calls reinforce credibility too: “Trust is highest when humans handle or oversee decisions, making personal involvement especially important for valuations, negotiations, offers and issue resolution,” adds Susan.
James Routledge, Global4
“We’re finding people still want to pick up the phone and ring a branch,” agrees James Routledge at Global4, “but it would be wrong to focus on income-generators as the sole reason to answer calls.”
James highlights how relevant third parties will also telephone an agent, such as sales progressors, mortgage brokers and solicitors. It’s these professional conversations that move transactions forward and avert delays.
Too many left hangingSadly, the stats show even agents experience telephobia (or they’re too time-pressed to pick up). “We looked at inbound call volumes over a six month period, monitored across a test based on more that 800 agents managed by Global 4,” says James. “On average, there were 710 inbound calls a month, around 28 calls per day. Of these, 194 went unanswered – 24.3%.”
Jason Guest, PropCall
The desire to dial is arguably strongest in lettings, with Jason Guest at PropCall citing research into a tenants’ preferred method of communication: “A study showed that 67% of UK tenants preferred to call as opposed to email or text.”
Of course, out-of-hours calls go hand-in-hand with property management but Jason adds there is growing pressure for letting agents to be contactable and offer rapid replies beyond standard hours for all enquiries.
“Tenants expect higher levels of service during what were once considered unsociable hours,” comments Jason – an aspect he feels has been fuelled by post-Covid remote working patterns.
Out-of-hours attentionMany enquiries now arrive outside of traditional office hours. PropCall’s stats show tenants are most likely to call weekdays between 5pm and 7pm. This changes to between 11am and 12 noon on Saturdays, and between 1pm and 2pm on Sundays.
Rather than wait for a response through slower channels, buyers value the quick interaction they get from speaking to someone on the phone.”
Urgency is across the board. Susan adds that buyers often call with an offer right after a viewing, even if they viewed during the evening or over the weekend: “Rather than wait for a response through slower channels, buyers value the quick interaction they get from speaking to someone on the phone.”
Lauren Williams at Moneypenny adds that income-generating instructions don’t wait for office hours either: “Around 15% of valuation enquiries come in outside of core hours and are often among the most valuable our call handlers take.”
Callwell’s new data also highlights the critical importance of response times when handling enquiries. “We find around half of all enquiries are received outside office hours, between 6pm and 9am,” says the company’s Lesley Weatherhead. “Delayed or ignored enquiries not only risk losing business but also leave a lasting negative impression.”
The end of being on callIf a rota system to ‘man the phone lines’ doesn’t work (let’s face it, who wants to be on call during supposed downtime?), call-answering services are a fantastic alternative. Both Face For Business and PropCall employ real people in the UK who take over when branches shut.
AI can also help but we’re still in the trial phase, says Jason. “Our findings show AI is not yet sufficient to deal with the nuances of property management. It’s likely to result in frustration and a decrease in tenant satisfaction, rather than improve it, as well as attract negative reviews.”
Reviews, while important now, will become critical if buying and selling reforms are realised. The Government has teased the prospect of using an agent’s track record, reviews and social proof to inform consumers, so getting into the habit of frictionless communication is prudent.
The answer is…
Nurtur’s Richard Combellack
When asked if making an offer or instructing an agent was too momentous to defer to call answering or even AI, Nurtur’s Richard Combellack stressed the importance of any response being better than letting a call go unanswered. “What consumers expect is a seamless and responsive experience. Buyers and sellers want immediate access to information: whether that is delivered by a human or AI is far less important than speed, clarity and transparency.”
Richard is confident AI as a call handler has its place: “Nurtur’s experience shows AI works best when it is clearly identified as AI and there’s always an option to speak to a human. When implemented this way, it builds trust rather than undermines it.”
If we are at an AI crossroads, the way ahead appears to be one where automated response can mop up the more mundane calls and those that come in out-of-hours, while employees can focus on the ‘big ticket’ moments, such as closing instructions and processing offers.
AI-handled calls are best used to support agents, not replace them.”
“AI-handled calls are best used to support agents, not replace them,” comments Richard. “It’s well suited to high-volume and time-consuming interactions, such as booking and amending viewings, answering frequently asked questions, handling out-of-hours enquiries, qualifying leads and collecting essential information. This frees negotiators to focus on relationship-led conversations where human judgement and empathy are vital.”
Outbound callingAI is more than reactive, however. Nurtur has been testing AI’s pro-active capabilities – when AI takes the lead to call prospects and clients. Based on testing more than 16,000 AI-handled calls, Richard says pro-active calling works best when governed by clear rules: “On average, three call attempts strike the right balance between persistence and avoiding irritation. If there is no response, leaving a voicemail on the final attempt delivers the strongest engagement without making prospects feel spammed.”
Pro-active calling is also in the mix at Callwell. It has a neat function called instant call, where email enquiries are converted into telephone calls to the branch within seconds, ensuring all leads are followed up. Agents simply press 1 to be connected. If unanswered, a second call is automatically triggered.
There’s also out-of-hours functionality, whereby out of office hours enquiries are automatically scheduled for follow‑up calls at the start of the next working day. Finally there is the Lucy Callwell AI service – an intelligent, human‑voice assistant that can capture core information, and allow vendors and applicants to book appointments directly.
Avoiding the frustration of a fakeLike Richard, Lauren says AI-powered call services should support, not replace, humans and returns to the issue of trust. “Transparency builds trust and confidence. As AI voices become indistinguishable, regulation and disclosure will matter even more.”
“Agents need to be careful that they don’t mislead people into thinking they are speaking with a human. At Moneypenny, we believe callers should always feel confident that their enquiry is being handled properly. If that is by AI, we believe in being upfront.”
Lauren Williams, Moneypenny
Moneypenny frames its AI voice agent service as a useful triage, capturing intent, qualifying leads, and passing them to humans at the right moment.
“Agents need full control when deciding what calls they want to take personally, and which ones can be supported by AI. To achieve this, Moneypenny is working with agents to design conversational flows that deliver the best ROI for agents and a professional experience for the caller. Segmenting different call types and adapting how they are handled based on the nature and value of the call is crucial,” adds Lauren.
A human option is essentialThere is a lingering cultural barrier to interaction with conversational AI. “Some callers do not want to interact with AI,” says Lauren, “and that is why providing some form of human escalation is important. Poor AI experiences can damage brand reputation more quickly than unanswered calls. That is why our AI is built for complexity, backed up by our brilliant people.”
Providing phone support is widely seen as a marker of legitimacy.”
Susan concludes with reassurance for those worried about humans being edged out: “Research consistently shows that ease of human contact strongly influences perceptions of reliability. Providing phone support is widely seen as a marker of legitimacy, availability, accountability and professionalism – particularly in high-stakes sectors and even in a digital age.”
Tagstelephone answering services telephony 23rd Jan 20260 476 6 minutes read Lisa Isaacs Share Facebook X LinkedIn Share via Email