Compare
AI receptionist vs hiring a receptionist
A person can do things software cannot. The question is whether phone cover alone justifies a salary, and for most small service businesses it does not.
| Callso | Hiring someone | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £39-£149 a month | £13,000-£18,000 a year part-time, plus employer NI and pension |
| Hours covered | Every hour of every day | Their contracted hours, minus holiday and sickness |
| Two calls at once | Answers both | One goes to hold or voicemail |
| Time to get going | About twenty minutes | Advertise, interview, notice period, train |
| Everything that is not the phone | Nothing - it answers calls and books jobs | Greets customers, chases invoices, orders stock, runs the officeTheir point |
| Judgement on an unusual situation | Escalates to you | Uses common sense, and is usually rightTheir point |
| Relationship with regulars | Consistent and correct, but it is not Sandra | Customers ask for them by nameTheir point |
3 of 7 points go the other way. We would rather tell you that than have you find out after you have paid.
The honest verdict
If you need someone in the building doing twenty jobs, hire a person - software is not a substitute for that. If the only reason you are considering it is that the phone keeps going unanswered, the salary is a very expensive way to solve that one problem.
When to pick hiring someone
Hire someone if you need a physical presence at a desk, if your admin load goes well beyond the phone, or if your customers value a familiar voice more than an instant answer.