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AI receptionist for event planners: cost per call, setup and a sample script

What an AI phone agent built on HighLevel Voice AI costs a event planning business, what it should and should not handle, and how a call sounds.

By Zaib Khan Prices checked against official pages Updated

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  • Answers, books and texts 24/7
  • Pay per use or $97 flat per business
  • Hands off to staff by transfer or task
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The short answer

An AI receptionist for event planners built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.40 per answered call, or $36 a month for 90 calls averaging 5 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 32 of those calls (35%) would come outside office hours, which is where an AI answering service earns its keep. Emergencies, complaints and anything needing judgment should go to a person.

What the AI should handle

Qualify new inquiries

Asks event type, date, location, guest count, budget and whether the caller needs full planning or day-of coordination, then books a discovery call.

Check date availability

Checks the planner's calendar for events already booked on that date and offers alternatives or a callback if the planner is taken.

Log client changes

Takes change requests from current clients, such as a new headcount or a vendor swap, saves them to the record and alerts the planner.

Screen vendor calls

Takes vendor pitches and partnership inquiries, collects details and a portfolio link, and puts them in a vendor pipeline instead of on the planner's cell.

What to send to a person

  • Custom proposals and fee negotiations
  • Urgent day-of problems from venues or vendors
  • Client disputes and contract changes
  • Sensitive family or guest issues

HighLevel's voice agents can transfer a live call, create a task, or trigger a workflow that texts the owner. Set the handoff rules before the agent goes live.

Cost per call and per month

Assumptions for a typical event planning business: 90 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 5 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 5 phone minutes at $0.01165.

Setup AI cost Phone line Per month Per call
Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $30.60 $5.24 $36 $0.40
Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $39.60 $5.24 $45 $0.50
Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) $90.00 $5.24 $95 $1.06
AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat $97.00 $5.24 $102 $1.14
Our estimate from HighLevel's published rates, checked 2026-09-29. Token use is estimated. Highlighted row is the cheapest at this volume.

The breakdown of every Voice AI charge is in our Voice AI pricing guide. Agencies can price this as a monthly service with the calculator's Price a client tab, preloaded for a event planning business.

Compared with staff time

Those 90 calls take about 8 hours of talk time a month. At the US median receptionist wage of $18.27 an hour (May 2025, Bureau of Labor Statistics), that talk time alone is worth about $137, before hold time, breaks, benefits and the calls that come in after hours. An AI receptionist does not replace a good front desk; it catches the overflow and the evenings, and frees staff for the people in front of them.

Sample call

Example AI receptionist call for a event planning businessIllustration

AI AGENTHi, you've reached Bright Day Events. I'm the planning team's AI assistant, and this call may be recorded. How can I help?

CALLERI'm organizing a two-day retreat for our sales team next spring, maybe 40 people.

AI AGENTWe plan corporate retreats. Do you have dates or a region in mind yet?

CALLERLate April, somewhere within driving distance of Denver.

AI AGENTThanks. Is this full planning, including the venue search and travel, or do you already have a venue?

CALLERFull planning, we have nothing booked.

AI AGENTUnderstood. I'll book a 30 minute discovery call with our lead planner. She has Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 2. Which works?

CALLERThursday at 2.

AI AGENTDone. I'm emailing you a short questionnaire about budget and goals so she can come to the call prepared.

Prompt tips

  1. Tip 1Define full planning, partial planning and day-of coordination in the prompt so the agent can explain the difference in one or two sentences.
  2. Tip 2Tell the agent to send vendor pitches to a separate pipeline and never book vendors into the planner's discovery call slots.
  3. Tip 3Put the recording notice into the agent's greeting, since clients call from many different states.

Rules to watch

Recording notice on calls. Some states require consent from everyone on a call before it is recorded; California's Penal Code section 632, for example, requires consent of all parties to a confidential communication. Planners take calls from clients in many states, so have the AI say at the start that the call may be recorded.

Marketing texts to past clients. Past clients and vendors on your list still need to have agreed before you send promotional texts, since the FCC says commercial texts need written consent. Keep event logistics texts apart from promotions, and honor any stop reply right away.

General information, not legal advice.

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Questions

Why would an event planner want an AI receptionist?
Because on-site days make the phone impossible to answer, and new inquiries go cold fast. The AI qualifies callers, books discovery calls, logs changes from current clients and screens vendor pitches, so the planner comes back to a clean list of callbacks instead of a pile of voicemails.
What would an AI receptionist cost an event planner?
We assume 90 calls a month averaging five minutes. Pay per use comes to about $27 for the voice engine with a standard voice, plus about $5.20 of inbound phone minutes, before AI model tokens. The AI Employee Growth plan's 100 included minutes would not cover that volume.
Can the AI tell callers my planning fees?
It can quote whatever you publish, such as starting prices for day-of coordination or a typical range for full planning. Custom quotes should come from you after the discovery call. Put the published figures in the knowledge base and tell the agent never to estimate a total.
Should the AI mention that calls are recorded?
It is a sensible default. States such as California require consent from all parties before recording a confidential call, and planners take calls from many states. Add a short notice to the greeting; this is general information, and a lawyer can advise on your specific situation.

Sources

  1. HighLevel pricing
  2. HighLevel AI product pricing
  3. HighLevel AI voice agents overview
  4. HighLevel Documents & Contracts
  5. California Penal Code section 632
  6. FCC: Stop unwanted robocalls and texts
  7. HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
  8. AI Voice Agents overview
  9. HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
  10. BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)

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