Review Insights · App Store
Beside (M1): AI Receptionist
Interface, Inc. · 8,502 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
8,502 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 55 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"phone"
19 negative reviews mention this · 35% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
2
"calls"
17 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
3
"service"
14 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
4
"business"
14 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Absolutely horrible waste of money. I own and operate a website. It’s only me. I signed up for this service just for the sake of having a business phone number but the description of the app makes it seem like they can handle 100% of voice calls. Well, they can’t. Everything …" - Pierst
5
"been"
12 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
6
"work"
12 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
7
"number"
12 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "STAY AWAY. Stay away from this company, because they are a ghost once you sign up. My number was hacked, and I lost it, but there is no way to sign on or speak to Customer Service so the $139 I paid was a complete waste. I then tried to create a new…" - TD--64
8
"customer"
11 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "STAY AWAY. Stay away from this company, because they are a ghost once you sign up. My number was hacked, and I lost it, but there is no way to sign on or speak to Customer Service so the $139 I paid was a complete waste. I then tried to create a new…" - TD--64
9
"subscription"
11 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Terrible!. DO NOT LET THIS APP ANSWER CALLS FOR YOU, I wanted to try at first because I thought it’d be cool then I took it off and cancelled the subscription and everything and it still takes my calls without my permission I even deleted the account …" - Kreit12
10
"issues"
9 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
11
"support"
9 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Run no support!. It’s been almost a week and the guy helping me keeps saying he’s going to check a few things. If I’m paying $300 for a business plan I need help immediately when I ask for it. Tom has been no help" - Fabian 2026
12
"call"
8 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Great idea, horrible phone call performance.. I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi. The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up…" - Arealestatebroker
📋 All 55 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Great idea, horrible phone call performance.
I’ve been using this service for about a year. The concept is solid, and when it works, the receptionist performs well-especially on Wi-Fi.
The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up, or the audio quality is poor. In practice, that defeats the purpose of having a receptionist.
This might work in a stable office environment, but for anyone working in the field without consistent Wi-Fi, it falls short.
I’ll be canceling for now until the connectivity issues are resolved.
The problem is reliability. Most incoming calls don’t connect properly. Calls drop, clients hang up, or the audio quality is poor. In practice, that defeats the purpose of having a receptionist.
This might work in a stable office environment, but for anyone working in the field without consistent Wi-Fi, it falls short.
I’ll be canceling for now until the connectivity issues are resolved.
STAY AWAY
Stay away from this company, because they are a ghost once you sign up. My number was hacked, and I lost it, but there is no way to sign on or speak to Customer Service so the $139 I paid was a complete waste.
I then tried to create a new account so I could email Customer Service but it kept glitching during a verification, they got my money!
I then tried to create a new account so I could email Customer Service but it kept glitching during a verification, they got my money!
Dislike the app
This ai app sucks so bad how can I get rid off it Ty in advance
Absolutely horrible waste of money
I own and operate a website. It’s only me. I signed up for this service just for the sake of having a business phone number but the description of the app makes it seem like they can handle 100% of voice calls. Well, they can’t. Everything rings through to your personal phone. Also, they’ve called me no less than 30 times in the past week trying to peddle another service. What a huge waste of $199!!!
Worse app ever after recent updates!
Worse app ever after recent updates!
Bad app
This app is really bad. The voice sounds terrible and the app hardly works. Refund!!
Run no support!
It’s been almost a week and the guy helping me keeps saying he’s going to check a few things. If I’m paying $300 for a business plan I need help immediately when I ask for it. Tom has been no help
Good until they ask for photo ID
I had Besides M1 for 1 month after that they was asking for phone ID, Password ID or Green Card ID
I thought was very weird from app
Asking for personal info.
I canceled right away.
I thought was very weird from app
Asking for personal info.
I canceled right away.
Blocked my service and previous calls requiring government ID
I used this service for several months now, and suddenly they blocked everything asking for ID verification. This was not in the service agreement, furthermore, my calls are being forwarded to confirmed U.S. business phone number. Why would I trust my sensitive information to the company that might be located outside of the U.S.?! Just think about it? All of your phone calls are being recorded and saved on their servers, which is OK and this is what you agreed for, but when all that information is used with your government ID, and being accessed by bad actors .. that is something I’m not comfortable with.
False 3 days trial don’t buy this or try
Dear Apple Support, I just downloaded an app offering a 3-day free trial, yet I was charged $10.68 less than 2 minutes after subscribing. This is fraudulent and a scam. Such deceptive behavior may involve legal and penalty consequences. I demand an immediate refund of $10.68.
Terrible!
DO NOT LET THIS APP ANSWER CALLS FOR YOU, I wanted to try at first because I thought it’d be cool then I took it off and cancelled the subscription and everything and it still takes my calls without my permission I even deleted the account I made in the app
it still takes my calls and all its almost like it hacks your number and calls I highly don’t recommend it especially because in the ads it doesn’t mention how you have to pay for it!! If I could give negative 5 stars boy i would!! I’m even thinking about a lawsuit if this still goes on
it still takes my calls and all its almost like it hacks your number and calls I highly don’t recommend it especially because in the ads it doesn’t mention how you have to pay for it!! If I could give negative 5 stars boy i would!! I’m even thinking about a lawsuit if this still goes on
Horrible Connection Issues
Poor connection issues that will only cost you clients
An exercise in frustration
I really wanted it to work but missed calls, a handful of people who consistently called me but never got the AI assistant…just a dead line etc. All that just added more anxiety as to if I missed something important.
SLOW
can’t even get through onboarding, app keeps freezing and bogging my phone down, so more testing, idk how this will work in production for calls
Really bad call quality.
The phone call quality is horrible. I have reached out to them. They suggested deleting and reinstalling the app. I would purchase again.
Phone stopped working
My number stopped working and never was informed. Customers complained they couldn’t get ahold of me. Support has not been helpful. Not reliable enough for actual business. Response is invalid account was active and I’m out the money for this useless app.
Horrible Customer Service
My business partner and I purchased the annual subscription. We had issues from the very start with sitting up our joint phone number. We kept getting the run around saying they were working on it. However, nothing was resolved. Then our subscription was canceled at the 3month mark with no explanation. When we asked for a refund, they said we would have to reach out to Apple. STAY FAR AWAY until they figure out the kinks.
Poor customer service
You have issues and it takes some weeks to get back to you
Useless
The worst app ever dont spend your money on bad apps ! 219 .99 on the trash
Your email verification systems is junk
Trying to sign up and get put in a circle with verifying email.
Have AI fix it for you
Have AI fix it for you
App won’t load
Ask me the first few questions and buffers.
Review of Beside App
I had to rewrite this with AI because my blood is boiling at this point. Here’s the politically correct review.
I wanted to like Beside. It feels like it was built with good intentions, but in its current state it is not remotely ready for a real business environment, especially for professionals like real estate agents who rely on consistent calling and texting.
The biggest issue has been reliability. Text messages frequently fail to send or receive, and nearly every app update introduces new, sometimes major problems. These are not minor glitches. They have directly impacted my ability to communicate with clients and have disrupted my workflow.
Customer support is another major concern. Responses often take days, and when they do reply, I’m never told what the actual problem was. The typical response is simply “try again.” That leaves me with no clarity on whether the issue was user error or a failure on Beside’s end, which makes troubleshooting or trusting the platform nearly impossible.
Texting restrictions have also been extremely problematic. Beside claims these issues are due to industry-wide messaging standards, but that simply isn’t accurate. I can send the exact same messages through other providers like Nextiva without any issue. In one case, a conversation was completely shut down because the word “cannabis” appeared in the text. I am a real estate agent. I speak with people from all industries. Blocking conversations like this without clear explanation is unacceptable for a business phone system.
There are also serious limitations if you decide Beside isn’t for you. You cannot forward calls to another number. You are effectively stuck using the Beside app until you port your number out. I only discovered they use Vonage as their carrier after I went through the port-out process.
This app was excellent back when it was M1. Since the rebrand to Beside, it has been one issue after another. The instability has forced me to use my personal cell phone for work more than half the time, which completely defeats the purpose of paying for a business phone solution.
Beside may be built on passion, but it is not being maintained at the level required for professionals who depend on consistent communication to earn a living. Anyone saying this app works great likely makes only a handful of calls or texts per month. For real, active businesses, this platform is simply not ready.
I can always present screenshots of customer service interactions
I wanted to like Beside. It feels like it was built with good intentions, but in its current state it is not remotely ready for a real business environment, especially for professionals like real estate agents who rely on consistent calling and texting.
The biggest issue has been reliability. Text messages frequently fail to send or receive, and nearly every app update introduces new, sometimes major problems. These are not minor glitches. They have directly impacted my ability to communicate with clients and have disrupted my workflow.
Customer support is another major concern. Responses often take days, and when they do reply, I’m never told what the actual problem was. The typical response is simply “try again.” That leaves me with no clarity on whether the issue was user error or a failure on Beside’s end, which makes troubleshooting or trusting the platform nearly impossible.
Texting restrictions have also been extremely problematic. Beside claims these issues are due to industry-wide messaging standards, but that simply isn’t accurate. I can send the exact same messages through other providers like Nextiva without any issue. In one case, a conversation was completely shut down because the word “cannabis” appeared in the text. I am a real estate agent. I speak with people from all industries. Blocking conversations like this without clear explanation is unacceptable for a business phone system.
There are also serious limitations if you decide Beside isn’t for you. You cannot forward calls to another number. You are effectively stuck using the Beside app until you port your number out. I only discovered they use Vonage as their carrier after I went through the port-out process.
This app was excellent back when it was M1. Since the rebrand to Beside, it has been one issue after another. The instability has forced me to use my personal cell phone for work more than half the time, which completely defeats the purpose of paying for a business phone solution.
Beside may be built on passion, but it is not being maintained at the level required for professionals who depend on consistent communication to earn a living. Anyone saying this app works great likely makes only a handful of calls or texts per month. For real, active businesses, this platform is simply not ready.
I can always present screenshots of customer service interactions
trash
It doesn’t reply to text messages. It shows they’ve been delivered, but it never actually responds. You can’t customize how the AI replies, so you can’t make it sound more natural or more like you. There are so many shortcomings with this app. The idea is great and everyone wants it, but the execution is trash.
Deleted within a day
Couldn’t say my name correctly and was not natural. Also it didn’t let me know for over 30 minutes that I even received messages and the calls forwarded to me were intermittent. Few more years of development until I try again.
SCAM!
None of the features work they just get you on a subscription hoping you’ll forget about it.
Didn’t work properly
It kept silencing known numbers. No one could get in touch with me.
All of the settings were correct, it just didn’t work as it was supposed to.
Spoke with 2 different customer service representatives and confirmed all settings were correct. Huge waste of money!
The concept was great when it worked properly. Hopefully this will get corrected. I’d love to come back if it worked properly.
All of the settings were correct, it just didn’t work as it was supposed to.
Spoke with 2 different customer service representatives and confirmed all settings were correct. Huge waste of money!
The concept was great when it worked properly. Hopefully this will get corrected. I’d love to come back if it worked properly.
Trash company
Had connection issues with callers all the time. Then they terminated my subscription without refunding. What a scam app. Would never use again.
Bate & Switch
I was so excited about using this app for my small businesse based on the reviews. Unfortunately, their business practices are making it difficult to feel good about their integrity. This is the company’s advertised offer 👉Try for free for 7 days, then $29.99 monthly or $199.99 yearly subscription.👈
However, they refuse to honor that by counting the days properly.
Instead they started counting from the day we loaded the app.
We have been in live chats for 5 days to follow their steps of having our number ported and they are planning to charge us $199 for a service that we have not used and cannot use until we have an active phone number with them.
However, they refuse to honor that by counting the days properly.
Instead they started counting from the day we loaded the app.
We have been in live chats for 5 days to follow their steps of having our number ported and they are planning to charge us $199 for a service that we have not used and cannot use until we have an active phone number with them.
Verification is a joke
I tried to use my Retired Military ID to verify myself and it got rejected. So I contacted customer support. The answer I was given is I have to use a “government issued ID” such a a green card. Who do you think issues Military retirement ID cards? With the andwer I was given I would think twice about this product!
No help (frustrating)
I really wanted this app to work because the idea is great. An AI receptionist to make sure no calls are missed for a small business. Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely frustrating.
First, I accidentally paid for the subscription on the wrong phone and have been unable to get my real help transferring it. There is no clear way to contact customer service to speak with an actual person. Everything route back to AI with vague messages saying to wait for a notification no timeframe no accountability. When someone finally responds hours later or a day later, the conversation resets and I have to start all over again.
Second once Beside was activated my phone stopped working properly. Multiple people told me that when they call the Line just said busy. This is still going on a week later meaning I am missing every single hole exactly the opposite of what this app is supposed to prevent.
I also want to point out how overwhelming and confusing the app. There’s no real on boarding no guidance set up and no one to walk you through how to actually use the system. I pay for the subscription (after forgetting to cancel the free trial) I decided to keep it, but I couldn’t even get it functional
For a product aimed at businesses that rely on phone calls the lack of life support clarity and reliability is a serious issue. Until Customer Service and on boarding improve significantly, I can’t recommend this app, especially for solo business owners who don’t have time to troubleshoot a broken system.
Again, I am waitnf for someone to reach out to me and I just may not be available When they decide to reach out. By text within the app.
First, I accidentally paid for the subscription on the wrong phone and have been unable to get my real help transferring it. There is no clear way to contact customer service to speak with an actual person. Everything route back to AI with vague messages saying to wait for a notification no timeframe no accountability. When someone finally responds hours later or a day later, the conversation resets and I have to start all over again.
Second once Beside was activated my phone stopped working properly. Multiple people told me that when they call the Line just said busy. This is still going on a week later meaning I am missing every single hole exactly the opposite of what this app is supposed to prevent.
I also want to point out how overwhelming and confusing the app. There’s no real on boarding no guidance set up and no one to walk you through how to actually use the system. I pay for the subscription (after forgetting to cancel the free trial) I decided to keep it, but I couldn’t even get it functional
For a product aimed at businesses that rely on phone calls the lack of life support clarity and reliability is a serious issue. Until Customer Service and on boarding improve significantly, I can’t recommend this app, especially for solo business owners who don’t have time to troubleshoot a broken system.
Again, I am waitnf for someone to reach out to me and I just may not be available When they decide to reach out. By text within the app.
Bad bad voice
I never received the call and I understand my customer because the voice is breaking up. I’ve been almost 6 months. Every customer I have to call him back via a regular call.
Tons of spam calls after subscribing
After my 7 days of trail and I paid the spam calls started. It was only printed on business cards at this point and no one had this number but getting 7-20+ calls per days. Message support and they offered to change the number unfortunately this is not a option as I will switch companies instead. Be warned.
Export phone number
I’ve been trying to port/export my established business phone number into the AI M1 system, but I have not received any guidance or confirmation. I would like to keep my current business number while activating the new system. Could you please assist me so I can start business with you!
Communication failed
Very unhappy with the system, and the way thy communicated with an user. I hope they will be better in the future otherwise I will to get some other answering machine to take care of my business. They’re very limited with men’s power to assure satisfaction, we communicate with the communicate is very poor. There is no option to talk with anybody as he real human riding on the wrong horse by dealing with AI and think that everybody can be using emails. Text messages beside physical talk.
There is still human beings on this that need to physical talk in order to understand better new technology. Unfortunately it feels like they don’t have that in there mythology or let’s a business culture.
Thank you.
LA CA news con user
213 are code
There is still human beings on this that need to physical talk in order to understand better new technology. Unfortunately it feels like they don’t have that in there mythology or let’s a business culture.
Thank you.
LA CA news con user
213 are code
Awesome app, but
My guy on the AI has started to cut everyone off. He asks a question, then immediately, right when they begin to answer, he begins to respond to their answer.
It is pissing people off and I’m losing clients over it. I need this fixed now but guess what? Nowhere can I find how to contact support. Maybe this will get their attention.
Sort me out, this is an issue worth choosing another provider over. Thanks.
It is pissing people off and I’m losing clients over it. I need this fixed now but guess what? Nowhere can I find how to contact support. Maybe this will get their attention.
Sort me out, this is an issue worth choosing another provider over. Thanks.
Setting messed up
Downloaded the app to check out then deleted the app and now I can’t receive calls on my phone
.
Worst app ever made, it messed up my entire call system and now I can’t make or receive any calls like I normally used to because the app transfers the calls to this damn stup*d app
Everything is a subscription
I refuse to pay for anymore subscriptions. It has a pay wall after you answer some questions that shouldn’t matter. Just be up front and say hey we’re expensive. You may work great but not for me.
HORRIBLE
Blocked so many calls from “favorites” didn’t get many “ai” things correct. Blocking calls they thought were spam was the biggest WHEN THEY WERE SAVED NAMES IN MY PHONE! Says “spam” lol and my husband was calling 🫣
Digital ID privacy invasion
I paid $200 for a year after a trial that worked great. THEN they must “verify my identity” to use it, which I refuse to do, and so you should you. Digital ID means they sell your data for a higher price because they can prove the date belongs to a real person.
Don’t Waste Your Time
I haven’t been able to move past the initial setting up of my voice clone. I’ve read the script and recorded TEN TIMES just for it to only give an error message. Deleting & canceling subscription, NOW.
WARNING! Scam app will steal your info and violate your constitutional rights in the process
This is the absolute worst app experience I’ve ever had. Takes trust to give a company complete access to your phone it’s so personal and this company will do you in this is theAI were warned about my experience is a long story short version they cost me thousands of dollars beside took over and they are jacked
Beware if you live in Florida
There is apparently no way to globally disable recording calls. This is a problem if you live in Florida because you will need to disable recording manually on each call or be subject to a FELONY charge.
I don’t think there legal department thought this one thru
I don’t think there legal department thought this one thru
Bad customer service
The concept is great! With a lot of potential! But the number one down is their customer service definitely needs a lot of improvement! If you porting your numbers for business purposes be ready to wait days for someone in there to start the process! Then wait the 5-10 days to complete the process! Either they need to hire more people to help customers or they need to STOP taking new clients. Juan was the person who was helping me and literally I had to wait for him for more than two days to ONLY start the port-in part! Because nobody else can help you so you stuck with one person!
Awful app
Tried cancelling during my trial, but was charged an entire year. Predatory marketing, the app doesn’t even do what they advertise. Apple won’t even help me get a refund, really making me consider to go back to Google phones
User
Only download from instagram ads
After downloding change my mind i didnt eny info or create account, i try to delt aop andthet ask me send email to us and Ai system answer me go to app and deleted but i didnt acces to app because i font have account to sign in.like spam and spyware
After downloding change my mind i didnt eny info or create account, i try to delt aop andthet ask me send email to us and Ai system answer me go to app and deleted but i didnt acces to app because i font have account to sign in.like spam and spyware
Horrible & total rip off
I got this app on all of our work phone (at $139.99). I spent $700 total on this app and only got to use it for a couple months. It did not work, interrupted with my cell service, dropped calls, totally made none of our phones receive any calls causing us to lose a massive client, etc. the app changed the logo and now it wants us to pay the subscription again. DONT GET THIS APP THERE ARE BETTER ONES OUT THERE. THIS IS A RIP OFF!!
Bad service and costumer support
This app has been one of the worst experiences I’ve had.
The customer service is extremely slow, unhelpful, and honestly feels like they don’t care about users at all. Every time you try to get support, you’re stuck waiting forever with no real solution
The customer service is extremely slow, unhelpful, and honestly feels like they don’t care about users at all. Every time you try to get support, you’re stuck waiting forever with no real solution
Good content but renewed after I cancelled
I cancelled and deleted the app before renewal because I don’t have an actual business need. It STILL charged me $200. Although this is a great app I’m not accepting of terrible predatory practices like thaf
Not Good
The app used to work somewhat well. Now it does not work well at all for me. Has trouble understanding people on the phone. Takes forever to transcribe calls. App functionality overall is poor. Has to be super quiet when a customer calls and leaves a message. No background noise or the AI assistant gets completely confused. I had high hopes for this app. But it has failed me.
+ 5 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
95%
Positive (4-5★)
1%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)