Is an AI receptionist worth it?

Step 1: Count the calls you miss

Open your phone's call log and look back over a normal week. Count the missed calls and the voicemails from numbers you don't recognize. Skip the obvious spam. Don't forget the calls you saw, meant to return, and didn't get to until the next day. Those count too, because many of those callers have already hired someone else.

Step 2: Put a dollar value on a customer

Use your average job, not your best one. If a typical service call is $300 and a typical bigger job is $3,000, take an honest average of what a new caller usually turns into. If customers tend to come back, like a lawn care client or a maintenance plan, count a few months of that, not just the first visit.

Step 3: Be honest about how many would hire you

Not every caller becomes a customer. Some are shopping around and some are wrong numbers. Pick a conservative share, like one in four or one in three, of the missed callers who would have hired you if someone had answered.

Step 4: Do the math

Missed calls a week × 4.33 weeks × average job value × the share who'd hire you = what missed calls cost you each month.

Now compare that with what an AI receptionist costs. Most run $50 to $500+ a month (see our cost guide). If your number is well above the cost, it's worth trying. If it's close, it might not be.

When an AI receptionist is NOT worth it

• You already answer almost every call. If someone is at the desk all day and your after-hours calls are rare, there's little to win.
• You get very few calls. A handful of calls a month may not justify any monthly fee.
• Your calls need real judgment. If most calls are complicated conversations, a person may serve your customers better.
• You won't call back. An AI receptionist collects the details. The job is only won when someone follows up, fast.

Does it actually work?

For the calls most service businesses get ("I need someone to look at this, here's my address"), yes. A good AI receptionist answers on the first ring, sounds natural, asks the same clear questions every time and gets you the details in writing right away. Where it struggles is the unusual stuff it wasn't set up for, which is why a good provider tells you plainly what it can and can't do.

How to test one before you pay

1. Call the demo line and play a real customer with a real problem from your trade.
2. Listen for how quickly it answers, whether it asks the questions you'd ask, and whether you'd be comfortable with your customers hearing it.
3. Look at what the business gets after the call. Is it clear? Is it fast? Could you call the customer back from it without asking anything twice?
4. Ask what it can't do. Be wary of anyone who says "everything".

Red flags to watch for

• Revenue promises nobody can back up.
• Reviews or customer logos you can't verify.
• No way to hear it before you pay.
• Pricing that's only clear after you sign.

Try Maria

Maria is an AI receptionist for service businesses. She answers 24/7, asks for the caller's name, number, address, what they need and when, and texts and emails it to you as soon as the call ends. She doesn't book appointments or transfer calls yet, and we'll always tell you that up front.

Hear her answer a call →