Beside
An AI operating system for small local businesses: business phone, AI receptionist, lead follow-up, customer management, website, reviews, ads, and appointment booking in one place, executed automatically by AI agents.
About Beside
Beside's website positions it as an AI operating system for small local businesses, bringing answering calls, following up on leads, customer management, websites, reviews, ads, and appointment booking together in one place—and automatically carrying out that work—rather than just providing a dashboard you have to operate yourself. Specifically, it includes business phone numbers and an AI receptionist (a phone product you can buy today), plus an agent workbench covering your website, follow-ups, reviews, and ads. Plans include a monthly credit allowance, with different tasks consuming different amounts of credits; both plans use the same credit rate, and once you're on a paid plan you can top up credits as needed. It suits businesses that frequently miss calls and want to hand answering and follow-ups over to the system. Before getting started, you can request a free business audit, and the specific offers and terms available before subscribing will be shown to you for confirmation.
Best for
Best use cases
Local businesses that often miss calls while busy with work and want a system to answer and book appointments on their behalf.
Teams receiving many calls but lacking the manpower to follow up on every lead, who need call summaries and next-day planning.
Businesses that want to change or add a business phone number: the website says you can forward your existing number into Beside or port it in.
Small businesses that want their website, ads, reviews, and bookings handled by a single system.
Compare before choosing
The official comparison page states: Podium is a suite for reviews, web chat, and messaging that also sells phone and AI employees; Beside is a business phone line that books appointments during calls—many businesses use Podium to manage reviews and connect Beside to their number.
The official comparison page states: human answering services like Smith.ai and Ruby bill per call or per minute because a person is answering; Beside Phone bills per business.
The official comparison page states: regarding number ownership, Beside supports forwarding or porting in and the number belongs to you; with some competitors the number usually belongs to you, while Podium only owns it while you use its phone.
Features
Business Phone & AI Receptionist
An AI-powered business phone and AI receptionist that can answer incoming calls and handle spam calls; the website describes it as a product available for purchase today.
Call Summaries
The website says call content is organized into summaries, making it easy to review and plan the next day around structured content.
Agent Workbench
A workbench covering your website, follow-ups, reviews, and ads, where you can see completed work, campaigns, and credit usage.
In-Call Booking
The website says Beside can book appointments during the call itself, whereas many competitors charge extra or only offer this on some plans.
Reviews & Reputation Management
Review management for local businesses plus the free Review Writer tool for writing reviews.
Credit Top-Ups
When you run out of credits, you can top up as needed; purchased credits never expire.
Pros
- The website says Beside doesn't just provide a dashboard—it actually does the work of answering calls, following up, and more.
- Both main plans use the same credit rate and support on-demand credit top-ups.
- The website says existing phone numbers can be forwarded or ported in.
- You can start with a free business audit and see the specific offers and terms before subscribing.
Cons
- Monthly credits included with the plan reset upon renewal; unused monthly credits do not roll over to the next month.
- The website describes Beside as aimed at local businesses that miss calls—it is not a programmable phone interface.
Pricing Plans
Part-time
- 5,000 credits per month for everyday business work
- The same Beside agents as Full-time
- A workbench for your business
- Visibility into completed work, campaigns, and credit usage
- Top up credits whenever needed
Full-time
- 12,500 credits per month, suited to a larger workload
- The same Beside agents as Part-time
- A workbench for your business
- Visibility into completed work, campaigns, and credit usage
- Top up credits whenever needed
* Pricing information is for reference only. Please refer to the latest announcement on Beside's official website.