Buying guide · English & Spanish · Law firms
Bilingual AI Intake for Law Firms: How to Choose
Eight tests to run before you sign, and a side-by-side of five services as they describe themselves.
The short answer
Choose the service that completes a Spanish intake you can use, at a price per signed case you can live with.
Most services now claim “English and Spanish, 24/7.” The differences show up elsewhere: whether the whole intake (not just the greeting) works in Spanish, what the attorney actually receives, whether it books consultations or feeds your case-management system, whether a person can take over, and what you pay at your real call volume.
The fastest way to find out is to call each one yourself, in Spanish, after hours. The checklist below is what to listen for.
The 8 tests
Call each service yourself and check these
- Spanish past the greeting. Answer every intake question in Spanish. Many services greet in Spanish and then drift back to English or lose the thread.
- Switch languages mid-call. Start in Spanish, finish in English (or the reverse). Real callers do this, especially families calling for a relative.
- Names and emails. Spell a Spanish surname and an email letter by letter. Check whether it was read back to you and arrived correctly.
- An urgent caller. Say you were hurt today, or that someone was just arrested. Does it flag the call as urgent, and how fast does the attorney hear about it?
- A request for a person. Ask for a lawyer. Does it transfer, take a message, or explain clearly when someone will call back?
- The disclosures. Listen for: that it is an AI, that calling does not create an attorney-client relationship, recording, and the 911 instruction.
- What reaches the attorney. Read the summary. Is it accurate? Is a Spanish call summarized in a language your attorneys read, with the full transcript attached?
- The real price. Ask for the cost per month at your call volume, including setup, overage, transfers and integrations. Then divide by the intakes you would actually sign.
Side by side
Five services, as each one describes itself
From each company's own website, checked October 22, 2026. We have not tested the other services' call quality. Prices and features change; confirm with each vendor. Presently is our product.
| Service | Spanish | Channels | Books consultations | Case-management link | Human backup | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presently | Full intake in English or Spanish; caller chooses the language at the start | Phone | No (summary + transcript to the attorney, confirmation call to the caller) | Not yet (email delivery) | No live transfer; urgent calls flagged for the attorney | $799/mo + $499 setup, or $8,150/yr; pay from day 31 of the pilot |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Listed as a bilingual feature; details not on the pricing page | Phone | Yes (Calendly and others) | Yes (Clio, Zapier and more) | Yes, transfer to live North America-based receptionists | Free (25 calls), Pro $150/mo (75 calls), Enterprise $500/mo; overage per call |
| Juryo | Full qualifying conversation in Spanish | Phone + WhatsApp | Yes (Google Calendar), requests documents before the meeting | Listed; platforms not named | Attorney decides complex cases | Per converted lead; quoted at a demo |
| CaseGen.ai | One of 17 languages | Phone (plus follow-up) | Yes | Yes (Clio, Filevine, MyCase, PracticePanther, Smokeball, Zapier) | Yes, live transfer of high-value leads | On their pricing page |
| Frontdesk | English and Spanish on every plan | Phone | Yes, during the call | Yes (Clio, MyCase, Lawmatics) | Routes urgent calls to an on-call attorney | $109/mo flat |
Which fits which firm
A fair way to read the table
- Lowest monthly price: Frontdesk publishes $109 a month flat with booking and Clio, MyCase and Lawmatics links.
- AI with people behind it: Smith.ai can transfer calls to live receptionists.
- Clients who write on WhatsApp: Juryo handles phone and WhatsApp in Spanish.
- Deep case-management integration and many languages: CaseGen.ai lists the widest set of legal integrations.
- Spanish-speaking callers, set up for you: Presently runs the full intake in Spanish with legal disclosures, sends the attorney a summary and transcript within minutes, calls the caller back to confirm, and is set up by the founder. It does not book consultations or connect to a case-management system yet.
Frequently asked questions
Questions firms ask about bilingual AI intake
What is bilingual AI intake for a law firm?
It is an AI phone agent that answers a law firm's calls (usually after hours, or when staff miss them) and runs the full new-client intake in English or Spanish: what happened, when, injuries or charges, contact details and urgency. The attorney receives a written summary and transcript. It captures information; it should not give legal advice.
How do I test whether an AI intake service really handles Spanish?
Call it yourself in Spanish and go past the greeting. Answer every intake question in Spanish, switch to English halfway, give a hard-to-spell name and email, and ask for a lawyer. Then read what reached your inbox: is the summary accurate, and is it in a language your attorneys read?
Should an AI intake service book consultations and push leads into Clio?
If your firm runs on a calendar and a case-management system, yes, it saves re-typing. Several services (Smith.ai, CaseGen.ai, Frontdesk) publish Clio or MyCase integrations and in-call booking. Presently delivers a summary and full transcript by email today; calendar booking and a CRM connection are not built yet.
What disclosures should an AI intake call make?
At minimum: that the caller is speaking with an AI, that contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship, that the call is recorded or transcribed, and what to do in an emergency. Under ABA Formal Opinion 512 the deploying attorney, not the vendor, is responsible for supervising the tool.
How much does bilingual AI intake for law firms cost?
Published prices range widely: Frontdesk lists $109 per month flat; Smith.ai's AI Receptionist lists $150 per month for 75 calls on its Pro plan; Juryo prices per converted lead and quotes at a demo; Presently is $799 per month plus a $499 setup fee, or $8,150 per year with no setup fee. Compare the price per qualified intake, not per month.
Is AI intake better than a bilingual human answering service?
Not always. Human services handle unusual and emotional calls with more judgment, at a higher cost per call and often with limited Spanish hours. AI answers every call immediately, at any hour, with the same questions each time. Many firms use people during the day and AI for nights, weekends and overflow.
Sources (checked October 22, 2026)
- Smith.ai AI Receptionist: smith.ai/pricing/ai-receptionist
- Juryo: juryo.ai
- CaseGen.ai: www.casegen.ai
- Frontdesk: www.myaifrontdesk.com/answering-service-for-law-firms/spanish
- ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (2024)
Hear a Spanish intake for yourself.
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