AI receptionist · Australia
An AI receptionist that sounds like it’s from here.
It answers when you can't, sounds like it's from here, and does something useful with the call: books it, transfers it, or hands you a summary. Built around how your business actually works.
What it does
Built to fit, not picked from a menu.
Every agent is set up for the business it answers for: your questions, your rules for when to put a call through, your calendar. These are the things I have built for clients, and the packages below are made of them.
What they can and can't do-
Answers and qualifies enquiries
Works out what the caller wants from normal speech, asks the questions you would ask, and separates a real job from a price-shopper.
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Books into your calendar
Checks real availability and books the slot while the caller is still on the line. Google Calendar and others.
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Transfers to a person
Hands the call to you or a colleague when it should, with the rules for when written down rather than guessed.
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Emails you a summary
Every call ends with who rang, what they wanted and what was agreed, in your inbox before you are off the tools.
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Covers after hours
Nights, weekends and the hour you are on a job. The calls that used to go to voicemail and then to the next business on the list.
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Answers questions about your business
Hours, service areas, what you do and don't do, from material you approve. It says when it doesn't know instead of improvising.
Hear it first
Our own number is answered by one.
Ring (03) 7057 3048 and you will talk to the receptionist I built for OptimAItion. It has an Australian voice, tells you it is an AI, answers questions about what we do, and transfers to me when you ask for a person. It is the same kind of system you would be buying, running on a real line.
What broke when we put it on a real numberBy trade
Every trade has a different problem call.
What matters on the phone for a plumber is not what matters for a law firm. These go through what the receptionist has to get right in each.
What it costs
Two fixed prices, and a custom build.
Australian dollars, excluding GST, twelve-month minimum. Minutes beyond the allowance are 48¢ each, and the phone number is passed on at cost. Scoping the two packages is a free call.
How to work out your number-
Answer
Answers and qualifies enquiries, answers questions about your business, covers after hours, transfers to a person, and emails you a summary of every call.
$3,500 setup
$420 per month · 300 minutes included
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Answer and book
Everything in Answer, plus booking into your calendar while the caller is still on the line.
$6,300 setup
$630 per month · 500 minutes included
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Custom
Connected to your CRM, job management system or payments. Starts with paid discovery, because each of those systems is where the unknowns are.
from $10,000 plus $6,000 per extra system
from $900 per month
If a perfectly taken message is all you need, an off-the-shelf subscription costs less than Answer, and I will tell you so. What these packages add is an agent set up around how your business actually works, and someone keeping it right as that changes. Full pricing.
Questions
Asked before most builds.
Can an AI receptionist speak with an Australian accent?
Yes. The voice is chosen per agent, and ours uses an Australian one, built on the ElevenLabs platform. The quickest way to judge it is to ring (03) 7057 3048 and talk to it.
Can I keep my existing business number?
Yes, and you should. Our own receptionist answers the Melbourne number we already had, pointed at the agent through the carrier. Changing a published number to suit a piece of software is the wrong way round.
Does it tell callers it is an AI?
Ours does, in the greeting, and I recommend it. Callers deal with it fine when they know, and the ones who want a person can ask for one and be transferred.
What happens when it can't help the caller?
It does what you decide it should: transfer the call to a person, or take the caller's details and send you a summary so you can call back. Those rules are written down as part of the build, not left to the model.
How much does an AI receptionist cost in Australia?
There are two fixed packages. Answer is $3,500 to set up and $420 a month with 300 call minutes included. Answer and book adds calendar booking, at $6,300 to set up and $630 a month with 500 minutes. Extra minutes are 48¢ each, prices are in Australian dollars excluding GST, and the minimum term is twelve months. Anything connected to a CRM, job system or payments is a custom build from $10,000. If all you need is a message taken, an off-the-shelf subscription is cheaper and I will say so.
Do you only work with Melbourne businesses?
No. I am based in Melbourne, but the work is done remotely, so it suits a business anywhere in Australia.
Missing calls you can't get back?
Tell me roughly what your calls look like and what should happen after one. I'll tell you whether you need a build, a subscription, or neither.