Free tool

AI Receptionist vs Staff Cost Calculator

Should you hire someone to answer the phone, or use an AI voice agent? Enter your wage, staffed hours, call volume and miss rates to compare the monthly cost of each, including the revenue lost to missed calls. The starting numbers are example inputs, so change every field to match your stores.

The starting numbers are example inputs, not benchmarks or quotes. Replace each one with your own.

Front-desk hire

Hourly wage

$/hr

Example input. Use the rate you'd pay in your market.

Hours covered per week

hrs

Example input. Paid hours someone is on the phone.

Payroll overhead

Example input. Payroll taxes, benefits, paid time off. Ask your bookkeeper for your real figure.

Missed-call rate with staff

Example input. Include calls that ring out after hours, at lunch or while the person is busy at the counter. Check your call log.

AI voice agent

Monthly cost per store

$/mo

Example input. This is not a Trilix price. Enter the quote you have from any vendor, including per-call or per-minute charges at your volume.

Missed-call rate with the AI agent

Example input. Calls the agent drops or can't handle. Use what you measure in a pilot.

Your calls

Inbound calls per day, per store

Example input. Check your phone carrier or VoIP call log.

Number of locations

How many stores take calls?

Booking rate

Share of answered calls that turn into a visit. The 24% start comes from Invoca: 53% of answered automotive calls are leads and 45% of those convert.

Average ticket

Pull this from your POS daily summary. The $100 start is a quick lube figure (NOLN).

Open days per month

26 = six days a week.

With your inputs, the AI agent comes out ahead by about

$6,988 a month

$83,856 a year across 1 store, counting both cost and revenue lost to missed calls.

Hours covered per month, staff vs AI: 173 vs 730
Missed calls per month, per store: 208 vs 52
Cost per call, staff vs AI: $3.60 vs $0.48

Monthly total per store

Cost plus revenue lost to missed calls.

Front-desk hire$8,736
$3,744 cost + $4,992 lost to missed calls
AI voice agent$1,748
$500 cost + $1,248 lost to missed calls

Cost Lost revenue

How we calculated this

Staff cost: $18.00 × 40 hrs × 4.33 weeks × (1 + 20%) = $3,744
Calls per month: 40 × 26 days = 1040
Lost revenue with staff: 1040 × 20% × 24% × $100 = $4,992
Lost revenue with AI: 1040 × 5% × 24% × $100 = $1,248
Difference per store: ($3,744 + $4,992) − ($500 + $1,248) = $6,988, × 1 store = $6,988

Want real numbers instead of examples?

We'll look at your call logs with you and quote an agent for your stores.

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AI agent ahead by$6,988/mo

Wage, hours, overhead, AI cost, call volume and both miss rates start at example inputs, not benchmarks. The booking rate and average ticket start at the same sourced figures as our missed call calculator, from Invoca and NOLN. Invoca’s data covers all of automotive, not quick lubes alone. Results are an estimate, not a guarantee.

How the formula works

Staff cost = hourly wage × hours per week × 4.33 × (1 + overhead). The AI cost is the monthly figure you enter. Make sure it includes any per-call or per-minute charges at your call volume.

Lost revenue = calls per month × miss rate × booking rate × average ticket, worked out separately for each option. The total for each option is its cost plus its lost revenue, and the gap between the two is multiplied by your number of stores.

The comparison leaves some things out on purpose. A person at the counter also checks customers in, cashes out and handles walk-ins, and an AI agent can't do those. You may want to keep your counter staff and use an agent for overflow, lunch breaks and after-hours calls. If that's your plan, set the staff hours to the time spent on the phone only.

Not sure what your miss rate is? Run the missed call calculator first, or read our AI voice agent vs call center cost guide for real vendor pricing at different call volumes.