AI receptionists, explained
AI receptionist vs hiring a receptionist
A full-time receptionist in the United States costs somewhere in the region of $35,000 to $45,000 a year once employment costs are counted, and covers roughly forty hours a week. An AI receptionist costs a flat monthly fee and covers every hour of the year. What you give up is a person who can think — judgement, warmth, and the ability to handle a call that goes off-script.
What you are really comparing
It is not software against a person doing the same job. A receptionist does far more than answer calls — they handle walk-ins, chase paperwork, know your customers by name and pick up the hundred small things nobody wrote down. Software does one of those things.
So the honest comparison is narrower: if the only thing you need is for the phone to be answered and the details taken, you are looking at a flat monthly fee against a salary. If you need the rest of it, hire the person.
Hours are the part people forget
A receptionist works business hours. Trades calls do not. The burst pipe, the dead furnace, the alarm going off — those land at night and at the weekend, and the most valuable call of your month often arrives when nobody is at the desk.
Covering nights and weekends with people means more people. Software covers them because time does not apply to it.
Most small trades were never choosing between the two
The realistic comparison for a one to five van operation is not software or a receptionist. It is software or voicemail, because a salary was never on the table. Seen that way the question is much simpler, and we have written it up separately: AI receptionist vs voicemail.
Common questions
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring someone?
Considerably — a flat monthly fee against an annual salary plus employment costs. But it does one job, where a receptionist does many, so it is only a fair comparison if answering the phone is genuinely all you need.
Should I fire my receptionist and use software?
No. If you already employ one they are doing far more than taking calls. Software is for businesses whose phone currently goes unanswered.
Can it do the other things a receptionist does?
No. It answers calls and passes on the details. It does not book appointments, manage a calendar, take payments or handle anything in person.