Before you hire for the front desk, compare it with an AI team
In short
An AI team can answer calls and messages around the clock, call new leads and book appointments. People are better at judgment calls, upset customers and in-person care. Some businesses use both.
What a hire costs
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists median pay for receptionists at $38,010 a year ($18.27 an hour) as of May 2025. That is wages only; taxes, benefits and training add more.
Cost of a hire
Yearly cost of a hire
$49,402
Yearly cost of a hire = wage x hours x 52 x (1 + percent / 100)
- Training: fill in your onboarding time and cost
- Turnover: fill in how often you rehire and what it costs
- Time off: fill in paid days off and coverage gaps
AI team
Quoted in writing in your free plan.
- Answers calls and messages day or night, including after hours and weekends.
- Calls new leads and books appointments.
- No payroll taxes, no benefits, no training cost, no turnover.
- Adds tasks one at a time, starting with the one that hurts most.
Your free AI Staffing Plan puts both side by side with your numbers, so you can see where an AI team fits and where a person still does.
Defaults: $18.27 is the BLS median hourly wage for receptionists (May 2025). 30% is based on BLS employer costs for full-time private-industry workers (June 2026): benefits other than paid leave, compared with pay, which already includes paid time off. Use your own numbers. Estimate only.
Tasks AI handles well
- Answering calls and messages right away, day or night.
- Calling new leads back within minutes and booking the appointment.
- Sending reminders and follow-up texts to people who agreed to hear from you.
- Taking a name, number and reason, then handing the rest to your team with full notes.
Tasks that need your people
- Judgment calls and anything that needs a real decision.
- Upset customers and conversations that need care or a relationship.
- In-person care at the front desk.
How the free AI Staffing Plan works
Send a few details and we will build a plan that puts a hire and an AI team side by side with your numbers, then walks through it on a free 15-minute call.
Questions owners ask
- Is an AI receptionist cheaper than hiring?
- It depends on your volume. The plan shows both sides with your numbers.
- Will AI replace my staff?
- It doesn't have to. AI agents take repetitive work off your team, such as routine calls, message replies, booking and reminders, at any hour. Your people keep the conversations that need judgment, care or a relationship, and they get full notes whenever the AI hands something over. Our default plan is AI first, then a person.
- What if the AI can't handle something?
- It hands off to your team with full notes.
- How fast can we start?
- We plan for about a week from the day you approve the agent's answers, starting with one task such as after-hours calls. Texting can take longer, because carriers must approve business texting registration first. We review real conversations with you and add the next task once the first one works well.
- What does it cost?
- It's in your Staffing Plan, after the 15-minute call.
See your plan
Book a free 15-minute call and we will build your AI Staffing Plan with your numbers.