AI receptionist for Australian businesses: what it does, what to check

What an AI receptionist is

An AI receptionist is software that answers your business phone in a natural voice. It listens to what the caller says, answers from the information you have given it, and does a defined set of jobs: book a time, take a message, put the call through to you, or send a link. When the call ends, you can read what was said.

It is not a phone tree. Callers do not press 1 for bookings. They say what they need in their own words, and the receptionist works out the next step. It is also not a person, and a good one does not pretend to be. NeuCalla’s receptionist is told to say plainly that it is your business’s AI receptionist when a caller asks, and not to claim to be human.

What it can do on a call

For a small Australian business, these are the useful jobs:

• Answer questions about your services, prices you have set, opening hours and the suburbs you cover, using the business details you check and save.
• Book appointments inside your opening hours and booking rules, into NeuCalla’s diary or a connected Google Calendar, with a diary for each person who takes bookings.
• Take a message when the caller does not book, so the enquiry lands in your Follow-ups list with what they asked for.
• Put calls through to you or your team. NeuCalla tries up to five numbers in turn, each with the days and hours it takes calls.
• Send a payment link by text or email for a call-out fee, deposit or order, once you connect Stripe. Card details are not read out over the phone.

NeuCalla also texts back missed calls, answers texts and website chat with the same business details, and keeps a customer record that brings each caller’s calls and texts together.

What it cannot do

Be clear-eyed about the limits before you switch one on. An AI receptionist works from what you give it. If your business details are thin, its answers will be too. It will not negotiate a tricky quote, calm an upset long-standing client the way you would, or make a judgement call that your business has not written down.

The practical fix is to decide which calls you want handed to a person and set those rules up front. In NeuCalla, Analytics also lists moments where a caller’s question went unanswered or the call got stuck, so you can add the missing detail to your business info, Rules & FAQs or call flow.

Numbers, forwarding and Australian callers

You do not need to change the number on your van or website. You can keep your existing number and use your carrier’s forwarding codes (Telstra, Optus or Vodafone) to send calls to your NeuCalla number: only the calls you miss, or each call as it comes in. If you would rather have a separate line, you can get a new Australian number from the dashboard.

Callers are told the call is transcribed, or recorded if you switch recording on. The receptionist can speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Arabic, and callers can switch to the one they speak when you turn those languages on and add a language choice to your call flow.

What it costs

Pricing for AI receptionists varies a lot, so ask for the full figure including GST. NeuCalla is $99 a month, including GST, with 100 call minutes, 100 texts and 100 website chats. Extra minutes are prepaid at $0.50 each. If your prepaid balance reaches zero, NeuCalla takes voicemail messages instead of answering live until you top up, so a busy month does not run up a surprise bill. If you only want texting and website chat, the Texts & Chat plan is $49 a month. See pricing for the details.

What to check before you choose

A short list to start with:

1. Ring a demo line or try a preview, and try to trip it up with a question your customers really ask.
2. Ask what happens when it does not know the answer, and who gets told.
3. Check that you can read, and ideally listen to, your own calls.
4. Find out how a person takes over, on the phone and by text.
5. Work out the monthly cost at your busiest month, not your quietest.

We have written the longer version as twelve questions to ask before you choose an AI receptionist. If you are comparing software with a staffed answering service, read AI receptionist or a human answering service?

Setup does not have to be a weekend project. NeuCalla includes hands-on setup: we help with forwarding and make a test call with you before you go live.