AI receptionist or hiring someone?

They are not the same job

It helps to be clear about this first. A person in your office does far more than answer the phone. They book the diary, chase invoices, order parts, deal with suppliers, calm down an unhappy customer and remember that Mrs Patel likes a call the day before.

An AI receptionist does one part of that: it answers the calls nobody gets to, takes the details and texts them to you. It does not run your office.

So the real question is not which is better. It is which problem you have. If your problem is that the phone goes unanswered, you may not need a person. If your problem is that you are drowning in admin, software that answers the phone will not save you.

What a person does better

• Everything around the call. Booking, invoicing, ordering, following up.
• Relationships. Regular customers like a familiar voice who knows their history.
• Judgement and discretion. Deciding to squeeze someone in, waive a charge or ring you because something sounds wrong.
• Making decisions for you. A trusted member of staff can quote from your price list, confirm a booking and commit your time.
• Being in the building. Signing for deliveries, dealing with whoever walks in.

If you need those things, hire. An AI receptionist is not a substitute for them.

What a person can't do

• Answer when they are not there. One employee covers about a quarter of the hours in a week. Evenings, nights, weekends, lunch, holidays and sick days are uncovered.
• Take two calls at once. While they are on the phone, the next caller gets the engaged tone or voicemail.
• Cost nothing when it's quiet. A wage is the same in a slow week as a busy one.

None of that is a criticism of the person. It is just what one pair of hands can do.

The cost, honestly

Employing someone costs more than their wage. On top of pay there is employer's National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday pay and sick pay, plus a desk, a phone and a computer, and your own time recruiting, training and managing. Even part-time, that is a serious commitment for a small firm, and it is one you cannot switch off in a quiet month.

An AI receptionist is a monthly subscription. Kallorix is £39, £99 or £149 a month depending on how many minutes you need, with no contract. It is not comparable to a wage, because it is not doing a whole job. But if answering the phone is the only reason you were thinking of hiring, the difference is very large.

Side by side

• Answers missed calls: a person, during their hours; a receptionist, at any hour.
• Several calls at once: a person, no; a receptionist, yes.
• Books, invoices and orders: a person, yes; a receptionist, no.
• Gives prices: a person, from your price list with judgement; a receptionist, only the ones you have approved.
• Holidays and sickness: a person needs cover; a receptionist doesn't.
• Cost in a quiet month: a person, the same; a receptionist, the same small fee, and you can cancel.
• Knows your customers: a person, yes, and better each year; a receptionist treats each call fresh.
• Time to start: a person, weeks; a receptionist, about ten minutes.

Using both

Many firms that do employ someone still lose calls, because that person is on the other line, at lunch or gone home. An AI receptionist is useful there too. Your phone rings as normal and your own staff answer it. She only takes over when nobody picks up, and the message arrives as a text that your office can act on in the morning.

That is a sensible middle step for a growing business: a person for the work that needs a person, and something that never goes home for the calls that would otherwise be missed.

How to decide

Ask yourself what you would have this person do all day.

• If the honest answer is mainly 'answer the phone and take messages', start with an AI receptionist. It will cost a fraction as much, and you can still hire later.
• If the answer is 'run the diary, do the invoicing, order materials and answer the phone', you need a person. Add a receptionist for the hours they are not there.
• If you are not sure, count your missed calls for a week and work out what they are worth. That tells you how big the phone problem really is.

You can try the software side of that decision for nothing. Build a free demo from your website and ring it. If it answers the way you would want your business answered, you have your answer on the phone, and can think about the rest separately.