AI receptionist or hiring a receptionist: how to decide
A receptionist is better than software at almost every individual task. The comparison turns on coverage and cost, not capability.
What does a receptionist cost compared to an AI one?
A receptionist covering business hours runs roughly $2,800 to $4,500 a month once you include employment costs. An assistant covering the same line is a fixed monthly fee plus usage that is usually a few tens of dollars.
The comparison people get wrong is coverage. One receptionist does not cover a business day end to end once you account for lunch, holiday and sickness, so the honest comparison is often one and a bit people against software that does not take a break.
What is a person better at?
Anything unusual, anyone upset, and everything that is not answering the phone. A receptionist also greets people, chases paperwork and notices things nobody asked them to notice.
If your front desk does substantial work beyond the phone, replacing it with a phone assistant solves a fraction of the job and creates a gap in the rest.
When should a business hire a person instead?
When the role is broader than the phone, when callers are frequently distressed or complicated, or when the volume genuinely justifies somebody full time. Those are common and a vendor telling you otherwise is selling.
The strongest case for software is a business where the people who could answer are the people doing the work, which is most trades, cleaning and small clinics.