The short answer: an AI receptionist answers your business phone when you can’t — on a job, with a client, or after hours. It talks in a natural voice, answers common questions, takes the caller’s details and can book them straight into your calendar. In New Zealand, a properly set-up one starts from around $249 a month plus GST. It’s worth it if you regularly miss calls and each job is worth more than a few hundred dollars.

The real cost of a missed call

Most people looking for a tradie or a local service ring two or three businesses. If you don’t pick up, they don’t leave a message — they ring the next one. So a missed call isn’t a callback for later. It’s often a job gone.

Count how many calls you miss in a normal week. Then multiply by your average job value and the share you’d normally win. For most busy tradies, that number is bigger than they expect.

What an AI receptionist actually does

Answers every call, 24/7, introducing your business the way you’d want.
Handles the usual questions: do you cover my area, what are your hours, roughly what does it cost, how soon can you come.
Takes the details: name, number, address, what they need.
Books the job into your calendar, if you want it to.
Hands over when it should: anything urgent or tricky gets flagged for you to call back.

Does it sound like a robot?

Not any more. The voices available now sound natural and relaxed, and the receptionist is trained on your business, so it talks about your services in plain language. Some callers won’t realise; others will and won’t mind, because they got an answer instead of voicemail.

A real example: Yin’s Remedial Massage, Nelson

Yin’s has three therapists, all hands-on with clients most of the day. Calls during sessions and after hours were going unanswered, and those bookings were going to competitors. We set up an AI receptionist trained on their treatments and availability, connected to their Acuity booking system. Now every call gets answered and callers book straight into the calendar. In their words: “It’s been a game changer.”

What it costs in NZ

Ours start from $249 a month plus GST, including set-up. Bigger set-ups with extra automation, like text follow-ups or CRM updates, are quoted as a one-off project. Compare that with a part-time receptionist, or with the value of the jobs you’re currently losing to voicemail.

When it’s worth it

You miss calls most days because you’re working.
A lot of your calls are the same few questions.
People ring after hours and at weekends.
Each job is worth a few hundred dollars or more.

When it isn’t

You already have someone answering the phone reliably.
Most of your enquiries come by email or online forms, not calls.
Every call needs your personal judgement from the first word.

How to get started

Set-up usually takes two to four weeks: we map out what it should handle, train it on your services and areas, test it with you until it sounds right, then switch it on. You can see every call and booking in one place.

Find out more about our AI receptionist, or book a free consultation and we’ll work out how many calls you’re missing and what it would handle for you.