Are you looking for a Smith.ai review? If you’re looking for remote work, you might have heard of Smith.ai. But you may wonder if it is a scam.
As more people look for remote jobs, con artists have more opportunities to trick gullible people into paying them money. Because working as a VA is attractive to so many people, scams targeting VAs are widespread.
Many companies hire virtual assistants, but not all of them are reputable. You can avoid these scams and find a reputable virtual assistant job if you learn to recognize the telltale signs. Some of the most common warning signs and scams are listed below.
To help you make a more informed decision, I have thoroughly researched Smith.ai so I can tell you more about it.
As a disclaimer, I’m not affiliated with Smith.ai. It means I’m not paid to write this review. So you can rest assured that you will get an honest and unbiased review from me.
At the end of this review, I’ll also tell you the best alternative to Smith.ai that has enabled me to make a full-time passive income online.
Table of Contents
What is Smith.ai?
Smith.ai is a company dedicated to helping customers. Smith.ai hires people like you to work from home as virtual assistants and receptionists so businesses of all sizes have access to a 24/7 live call, virtual phone and online chat team.
There’s no requirement to work continuously, but the service is offered 24/7.
Working as a virtual receptionist is a great option for anyone who needs to work from home or is looking for a part-time job with flexible hours.
However, you need experience and commitment. Not as liberating as running a virtual business. You can earn money with little to no effort by participating in quick online surveys.
There aren’t always openings in the artificial intelligence field, either.
If there aren’t any openings right now, you can supplement your income with services like Survey Junkie and Inbox Dollars. They won’t take care of your financial well-being the way Smith.ai can, but they’re a good start if you’ve never tried making money online before.
They can also serve as a precursor to more substantial ventures, such as a real online business.
The fact that you’re at home can be due to various reasons, such as health problems or the need to take care of a young family.
If that’s the case and you’re serious about earning a living exclusively online, then you need to know how and where to start.
The software acts as a virtual receptionist, sorting and prioritizing calls and blocking unwanted sales and spammers.
Also available is a comprehensive call log that allows for more personalized interaction.
Smith.ai customers have access to call alerts, daily call summaries and notes.
Smith.ai hires people like you to have real conversations with customers, as opposed to chatbots and voicemails. There are no time limits or scripts.
An added bonus is that you probably won’t be working exclusively for one customer. You should be aware of this, as each customer has their own specific requirements.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Is Smith.ai Legit?
Yes, Smith.ai is legit, but there is a catch you should know about. Scammers posing as Smith.ai employees may advertise job openings on fake sites.
The same phishing scheme has been used by these fraudsters on other remote work platforms, including Appen, Teletech, and Rev.com.
The procedure is as follows…
You apply for a job that appears to be posted on the Smith.ai website (or other remote work website). However, you cannot rely on the information provided there.
In some cases, it’s obvious how to tell. Most likely, it is an email address from a free service like Outlook or Gmail, or a WhatsApp address ID. They might also ask for a Zoom or Google Meets conversation with you.
There are clear warning signs here, and Smith.ai will not contact you in this way.
Sometimes, the scammers even go as far as creating a whole website that looks exactly like Smith.ai… no, it is not like that at all.
Therefore, use only Smith.ai official website and channels when applying and replying to job postings…
It’s also common for scammers to ask potential VAs to front the cost of software before promising to reimburse them. Having to pay to gain access to digital tools is completely unnecessary, as any legitimate client should be able to do so for free. Furthermore, installing foreign software could provide the scammer with remote access to your system, allowing them to steal your personal data or hack your accounts.
Con artists frequently demand immediate availability. There may be no interview or verification of previous employment before extending a job offer. Or, the client may be overly enthusiastic during the interview and try to pressure you into starting the job right away.
Because of this, you’ll have to sign a contract right away, without giving it much thought or looking into the offer. Plus, if you don’t have any experience or references, the fact that someone is willing to work with you just because you expressed interest in the position should raise major red flags.
At the same time, the scammer might be asking for too much information. In particular, giving out your bank information can be risky because the scammer may pretend to use your account information to make a direct payment to you when, in reality, you’re just being used as a money mule.
Social security numbers are another common target of fraudsters. They may insist on this as one of the few requirements before beginning work, saying it’s required for administrative purposes. It’s risky to give out your social security number because of the possibility of identity theft. Scammers can use your SSN to get benefits, open credit cards in your name, and even get your tax refund, causing you financial hardship for years to come.
What you’ll be doing will be laid out for you by Smith.ai. A suspicious posting would be one that boasts only of the job’s perks (such as high pay and a lot of freedom) but provides no concrete information about the position itself. If you don’t know who specifically the scammer is targeting, applying for the job is a waste of time.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Smith.ai Reviews
Since reviews of home-based jobs are often mixed, the fact that sites like Indeed and Trustpilot give Smith.ai such high marks is especially encouraging. Many virtual receptionists who work from home have written reviews and provided examples of what it’s like to work for Smith.ai, if you are curious about the experience.
At the time of writing, 83 customer reviews have given the company an average rating of 4.4 stars on the review site Indeed. Smith.ai is highly regarded by its employees, who rank it among the best of hundreds of remote work companies and platforms on which to earn money.
Trustpilot receives an even higher overall rating of 4.8 (also out of 5) from customer companies, based on reviews written by those companies’ customers. When Smith.ai customers are satisfied, you have more to do and a greater chance of success.
Let’s take a look at some of the positive and negative feedback from users:
Positive Feedback
- Flexible hours, a great team, all the support you need, competitive pay, work from home, availability in multiple countries, a bonus if you are bilingual, and the calls vary to keep things interesting and challenging!
- You can work from home and set your own schedule. A healthy work-life balance exists. Unlike most WFH jobs, you can work from anywhere if you have a private work area and a reliable internet connection.
- The working environment is excellent. Even though we are working in a virtual environment, everyone is extremely pleasant and easy to work with. You are always paid on time. You get what you put in!
Negative Feedback
- You must keep your workspace quiet and distraction-free, and you must test your internet speed daily before your shift. You use your personal computer and equipment.
- The pay could be better, and if you work more than 40 hours per week, you do not get time and a half, which is unusual where I live. You must also meet with your managers outside of your regular working hours. You are compensated for that time, but it is inconvenient. Training is insufficient, and the majority of your real training will take place on the job.
- Because it is a virtual office, there may be times when different specialty team managers do not communicate with one another as well as they should. It’s not a big deal, but it could definitely be improved.
Some of the reviews and comments were so good that I wondered if they were genuine. But it seems that they are real.
Most fake reviews can be identified by the clustering of dates, which makes them easy to spot. So you’ll find a bunch of positive testimonials, all written within the last month or so… After that, neither the previous nor the subsequent months have been checked.
Since scripts are often provided, they also tend to use cumbersome language and lots of repetition. No, that does not seem to be the case here. There is some truth to the glowing testimonials about Smith.ai.
Smith.ai Pros
Virtual receptionist can be a great job for those who need some extra money on the side and want the freedom to pursue their passions outside of work.
Below are some of the pros of working for Smith.ai as a virtual receptionist:
1. You might receive employee benefits from Smith.ai
Employees at Smith.ai sites are paid regularly and receive benefits. Like traditional employees, they report to a supervisor.
Remote work is different. You’re an independent contractor, though not as much as other remote jobs.
However, Smith.ai virtual receptionists who work more than 30 hours per week are offered benefits, which is unusual for telecommuting.
The comprehensive benefits package includes health, dental and vision insurance, as well as retirement plans such as 401k plans and cash bonuses.
In addition, the company offers its employees paid training opportunities to help them advance their careers within the company.
Other earning potential and benefits include:
Employee referral bonuses of $150 and the opportunity to earn team awards are available.
2. Flexible working hours
Smith.ai is available 24/7. Available daily, weekly, monthly and all year round. Even on Christmas.
The company hires both full-time and part-time employees. The standard definition of full-time is 40 hours per week.
Part-time employees must be available five hours per day, five days per week, according to the current schedule.
Smith.ai and its customers’ needs, as well as your availability, will determine how long your shifts will be and how often they will repeat.
It’s not quite as flexible as a freelance job, but it is more flexible than a regular job.
Employees rate flexibility as one of the most important benefits. One virtual receptionist said, “It gives me a lot of time to spend on my hobbies and chores.”
It’s also worth noting that most virtual receptionist jobs are based in North America, but your clients and their customers can come from anywhere in the world.
This creates opportunities for late shifts for night owls and those who work best when the sun goes down.
Recommendation: Here’s The Best Alternative
Smith.ai Cons and Complaints
However, there are some cons and complaints, which is to be expected. No company is perfect, and you can’t ignore the disgruntled employee who wants revenge.
1. You have to handle various responsibilities
Smith.ai virtual receptionists handle a variety of tasks, including answering phones, accepting payments, and scheduling appointments.
Among the specific tasks are…
- Answering calls
- Taking notes during calls
- Responding to web chats
- Taking messages
- Collecting payments
- Screening new clients
- Booking client appointments
- Transferring calls
Duty is not the same as responsibility, of course.
As a virtual receptionist, you are responsible for handling calls from your client’s customers.
To put it another way: As a representative of Smith.ai’s clients, you are responsible for treating their customers as if they were your own.
You are an ambassador for Smith.ai, the company you work for, and its values. That means Smith.ai has faith in you to speak for them.
In addition to answering calls and helping customers, your duties will include teamwork and recognizing and responding to the needs of other team members.
2. A certain amount of technical equipment is required
You will need some equipment that meets specific technical requirements, as with most at-home phone jobs. These are some examples:
- Laptop or desktop computer
- Distraction-free working environment.
- Headset with an integrated microphone.
- Google Chrome is already installed on your computer.
- Reliable high-speed internet connection with download speeds of 10 Mbps or higher and upload speeds of 3 Mbps or higher.
3. The pay is low
You won’t get a good salary working for Smith.ai as a virtual receptionist.
Smith.ai provided the following salary data for entry-level receptionists:
- The starting hourly rate for entry-level agents is $15.
- Bilingual agents who are fluent in both Spanish and English are eligible for a starting hourly rate of $16 (entry level salary).
- If you live outside the United States, pay starts at $11/hour.
- Training is compensated.
- Agents who work more than 30 hours per week are eligible for health insurance.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary at Smith.ai is $59,360, based on 62 salaries. In light of the $15 starting salary, this seems a bit excessive.
Is There A Better Alternative To Make Money From Home?
Actually working as a virtual receptionist for Smith.ai may not be able to meet your financial needs. Did you ever consider starting a business online?
If you’re new to online business, you may think it’s difficult to start a business on your own. But actually, that’s not true.
There’s a risk-free online business model that doesn’t need initial capital and can be done as a side hustle. It is called “affiliate marketing”.
So you may wonder, “how much can you earn in affiliate marketing?”
Actually, the earning potential of affiliate marketing is huge. They’re people who are doing it full-time and earn a 7-figure income a year.
This is a 21-year-old student from my #1 recommended training platform of affiliate marketing. He was able to earn $7395 in just a week. That means more than $1K a day. It’s nearly impossible for you to find a part-time job that can pay you $1K a day. But affiliate marketing can.
In fact, of all the online business models I’ve tried, affiliate marketing is the easiest and most rewarding one. If you’re a beginner in online business, affiliate marketing is perfect for you because it’s simple but lucrative.
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