What an AI receptionist really costs

Calculate the published offer

The founding offer is $500 setup, followed by a seven-day live pilot with 100 live AI minutes beginning at your approved live activation. Monthly billing starts only after your explicit choice to continue: $497 per month with 250 live AI minutes and $0.89 per additional minute. Service is month-to-month. Setup remains earned if you decline after the completed implementation and pilot.

The $500 setup fee is separate. These examples are arithmetic using the published offer, not invoices, demand forecasts, or promises about pilot usage. If setup and a 400-minute paid month are billed in the same period, those two published components total $1,130.50 before any other applicable charges. Confirm when each charge is due.

Minutes are not the same as calls

For planning only, 100 conversations averaging four minutes would use 400 minutes. A shorter average, longer intake, repeat callers, or a different billing definition changes that estimate. Start with your own call logs rather than assuming each missed call has the same length or value.

• Confirm when a billable minute begins and ends and how partial minutes are treated.
• Ask how transfers, silence, spam, repeat attempts, and abandoned calls affect usage.
• Confirm pilot usage treatment, billing dates, applicable taxes, cancellation procedure, and any separate carrier or scheduling costs.
• Ask how usage is reported and who reviews it before an unexpected overage grows.

Budget for the work your office still owns

Your team supplies accurate service-area and service information, approves the Playbook, answers unsupported questions, and follows up on captured requests. A requested time still needs review unless an authorized scheduling connection actually confirms an appointment. Someone must review failed actions and incomplete records.

Estimate that work explicitly: number of requests requiring review × average review time × your internal hourly cost. This is a staffing estimate, not another DeskPerson fee. Include time spent updating the Playbook when services, hours, or approved prices change.

Compare providers on one sheet

• Use the same monthly call and minute assumptions for every quote.
• Separate one-time implementation from recurring charges.
• List which actions are included, which need additional connections, and which have not been tested.
• Ask whether human backup is included, separately billed, or unavailable.
• Compare cancellation terms and what happens to your original number and call records when you leave.

Measure value using confirmed outcomes

For a plumbing pilot, separate routine requests, existing-customer follow-ups, wrong numbers, spam, duplicates, and synthetic tests. Track whether your team reached the caller, whether a scheduling record confirms a booking, and whether a job was completed. Revenue requires the corresponding customer and payment records.

Do not multiply all answered calls by an average job value and call the result recovered revenue. A useful pilot report includes failures and work still required even when the voice sounds natural.

What to do next

Bring your current call volume, phone provider, service area, and follow-up owner to a fit conversation. Ask to see the actual transcript and handoff for a test like your most common plumbing inquiry.

Download the 12-scenario evaluation sheet. Record the date, configuration, expected result, actual call and handoff evidence, failures, and retest result.

Offer and capability sources

The figures above come from DeskPerson’s published founding offer. The workflow boundaries follow the capabilities overview and office handoff requirements. This guide does not claim that billing, carrier routing, booking, or delivery has been tested in your account.

Related decisions

Plumbing · Missed calls · Pricing · Capabilities · Written plumbing example · Live fictional demo

Review and sources

Reviewed by Codex (editorial fact-check) on 2026-10-07.

Prepared from DeskPerson’s published offer and documented capability boundaries. Examples are illustrative. Confirm your own configuration before activation.

Find out how it fits your business

Bring a few examples of the calls your team misses. We will map the questions, handoff, and setup checks together.