There are three legitimate ways to stop losing leads to unanswered calls. I'll walk through each one honestly — including when the AI option isn't the right fit.
Option 1: Hire a receptionist (or a second one)
What it actually costs: $35,000–$50,000/year for a full-time hire in North America. Add ~20% for benefits, payroll tax, and software. Realistic total: $45,000–$65,000/year.
What it gives you: A human who knows your business, handles walk-ins, manages the waiting room, sorts mail, and takes calls during business hours.
What it doesn't give you: After-hours coverage. Weekends. Sick days. Lunch breaks. And one person can only handle one call at a time — so if the phone rings when they're checking someone in, you still miss it.
When this makes sense: You have enough in-person foot traffic that a receptionist pays for themselves just on hospitality, and you only want help during business hours.
Option 2: Answering service
What it actually costs: Usually priced per call or per minute. A typical service charges $1–$2 per call plus a monthly base. For a business getting 200 calls/month, expect $300–$600/month — though add-ons and overage can push that higher.
What it gives you: 24/7 human coverage. A trained agent picks up in your business name, takes messages, and relays them to you. Some offer basic scheduling.
What it doesn't give you: Deep knowledge of your business. The agents work for many clients, so they follow a script. They'll take a message but rarely book the appointment — which means you still have to call every lead back. Answer-quality varies wildly between services and over time.
When this makes sense: Your callers mostly need to leave a message (not book), and you don't mind the callback loop.
Option 3: AI receptionist (like RevoAI)
What it actually costs: Flat monthly fee — usually $97–$397/month for most small businesses. No per-call pricing, no hidden overage until you're at high volume.
What it gives you: Instant pickup (under 3 seconds), 24/7, in any language. Deep knowledge of your business — it knows your services, pricing, hours, staff, and FAQs because you trained it. It doesn't just take messages — it books appointments directly into your calendar, sends a confirmation SMS, and schedules reminders automatically. Same experience at 2 PM Tuesday or 10 PM Saturday.
What it doesn't give you: Walk-in hospitality. A human touch for complex emotional situations (like a grief call at a funeral home). The "vibe" of having a real person at the front.
When this makes sense: Most phone calls to your business are booking-oriented, and you'd rather invest in-person staff time in the customers already in your building.
The honest comparison
| Cost/month | 24/7 | Books appointments | Trained on your business | Scales with volume | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist | ~$4,000 | No | Yes | Yes (eventually) | No |
| Answering service | $300–$600 | Yes | Rarely | No | Yes (cost rises) |
| AI receptionist | $97–$397 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (flat) |
How to decide
Run this quick test:
- How many inbound calls do you get per month?
- How many of them are someone trying to book or ask a question they could get answered in 60 seconds?
- How many happen outside business hours or when your front desk is busy?
If most of your calls are booking-oriented and a meaningful share happen when no human can pick up, the math favors AI almost every time. If you mostly need a human at the front desk for walk-ins and the phone is a secondary concern, hire.
Where to start
Most RevoAI customers come off one of two setups: they were trying to get by with voicemail, or they were paying an answering service that just took messages. In both cases, the trade is the same — instant pickup and live booking, for less money.
If you want to see how it sounds before committing, start a free trial or get in touch and we'll walk you through it.