Is an AI receptionist worth it? Missed-call calculator

An AI receptionist is worth it when the jobs it saves are worth more than it costs. We won't tell you how many calls a typical shop misses, because there's no reliable number for that. You know your own. Enter your numbers below; the math runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.

Your numbers

From your call log: missed, unanswered or sent to voicemail.
Your booking rate on calls you do answer is a reasonable starting point.
Leave blank to compare revenue instead of profit.
Look up your volume in the Price Index.
Leave blank to assume 100%. Lower it if some callers hang up on a bot.

How it's calculated

  1. Jobs recovered = missed calls × (% the AI handles) × (% that become a job).
  2. Value recovered = jobs recovered × average job value × (gross margin, if you entered one).
  3. Net per month = value recovered − AI receptionist monthly cost.
  4. Break-even = monthly cost ÷ (job value × margin): the number of extra jobs a month it takes to cover the cost.

This is a rough guide. It ignores repeat business from a new customer (which makes it worth more) and calls that would have called back anyway (which makes it worth less).

FAQ

Is an AI receptionist worth it?

It depends on how many calls you miss now, how many of those would have booked, and what a job is worth to you. If the revenue from the jobs it recovers is more than its monthly cost, it pays for itself. The calculator on this page does that math with your numbers only.

How do I know how many calls I miss?

Check your phone system or carrier's call log for missed and voicemail calls over a normal month. Many AI receptionist vendors also show call history after a trial, which you can compare with what you were catching before.

What should I enter for the monthly cost?

Use the estimate for your volume from our Price Index (it covers all 12 vendors we track at 50, 150 and 300 calls a month), or the quote from the vendor you're considering.

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