Try HighLevel

AI receptionist for food trucks: cost per call, setup and a sample script

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

By Zaib Khan Prices checked against official pages Updated

We earn a commission if you buy HighLevel through our links, at no extra cost to you. How we make money

Build it on HighLevel Voice AI

HighLevel Unlimited

$297 a month, or $2,970 a year

  • Answers, books and texts 24/7
  • Pay per use or $97 flat per business
  • Hands off to staff by transfer or task
  • Agency Pro rebills AI usage with markup
Try HighLevel

HighLevel offers a 14 day free trial on every plan. Card required.

The short answer

An AI receptionist for food trucks built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.13 per answered call, or $19 a month for 150 calls averaging 1.5 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 60 of those calls (40%) 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

Tell callers where the truck is

Reads today's location and hours from a knowledge base entry the owner updates each morning, and texts a map link to the caller.

Take an event booking inquiry

Collects the event date, address, headcount, service hours and budget, checks the booking calendar, and creates an opportunity for the owner.

Explain event pricing

Explains the food minimum, travel fee and whether the host prepays or guests buy individually, exactly as the owner set it in the knowledge base.

Offer location text signups

Asks callers whether they want weekly location texts and sends a signup link with the consent wording, rather than adding anyone without their written OK.

What to send to a person

  • Final event pricing and custom menus
  • Permit, power and parking questions at a venue
  • Allergy questions about the shared grill
  • Complaints about an order

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 food truck business: 150 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 1.5 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 2 phone minutes at $0.01165.

Setup AI cost Phone line Per month Per call
Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $15.30 $3.50 $19 $0.13
Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini $19.80 $3.50 $23 $0.16
Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) $45.00 $3.50 $48 $0.32
AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat $97.00 $3.50 $100 $0.67
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 food truck business.

Compared with staff time

Those 150 calls take about 4 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 $69, 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 food truck businessIllustration

AI AGENTHi, this is the AI assistant for the Smoke and Salsa food truck. Are you looking for the truck today or booking an event?

CALLERBooking. We're having a backyard graduation party June 7th for about 60 people.

AI AGENTCongratulations. June 7th is open. Private events have a $900 food minimum, and the host can prepay or guests can order for themselves. Which would you prefer?

CALLERWe'd prepay. How long would you serve?

AI AGENTStandard is two hours of service. Is there room on the street or driveway for a 20 foot truck?

CALLERYes, the driveway fits it.

AI AGENTGreat. I'll send you our event menu and a booking link to hold the date with a deposit. The owner will confirm parking with you. What's your name and email?

CALLERCarlos Diaz, carlos dot diaz at mail dot com.

Prompt tips

  1. Tip 1Keep a single knowledge base entry called today's location and tell the agent to read only that entry when asked where the truck is.
  2. Tip 2List the event minimum, travel radius and truck length in the prompt, because hosts need to know whether the truck fits their space.
  3. Tip 3Have the agent offer the location text signup to every fan who calls, since that list is what fills slow weekdays.

Rules to watch

Location texts are marketing. A text telling fans where to buy lunch today is a commercial message, and the FCC says commercial texts need written consent. Collect it through a signup form with clear wording, and never text numbers gathered from card receipts or an event host's guest list.

Permits are the owner's call. Where a truck may park and serve is set by city and county rules, so the AI should never tell an event host their site is approved. Have the owner confirm permits, parking and power for each private event before it is marked booked.

General information, not legal advice.

Price this for a client Try HighLevel

Questions

Can an AI receptionist tell customers where the truck is today?
Yes, as long as the owner updates the location entry each morning. The AI reads it on every call and can text a map link. If plans change midday because of weather or a sellout, update the entry, or the AI will send people to an empty curb.
What does an AI receptionist cost a food truck?
We assume 150 short calls a month at about a minute and a half. On pay per use that is about $13.50 for the voice engine and a standard voice, and about $3.50 for phone minutes, since each call rounds up to two. AI model tokens are extra.
Should the AI book private events directly?
It can hold the date and collect details, but the owner should confirm before the booking is final, because parking, power and permits differ at every site. Have the AI create the opportunity, send the menu and deposit link, and tell the host the owner will confirm within a day.
Can the AI answer while I am serving at the window?
That is the main reason trucks use one. Voice AI answers on an LC Phone or Twilio number, so forward the truck's line to it during service hours. Location and booking calls get handled without stopping the line, and anything unusual reaches you as a text summary.

Sources

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

Keep reading

GoHighLevel for food trucks

The full system for a food truck business: workflows, texting, reviews and the all-in cost.

Read the guide

AI receptionist for hotels

Cost per call and a sample script for a hotel.

Read the guide

AI receptionist for pizzerias

Cost per call and a sample script for a pizzeria.

Read the guide

HighLevel from $97 a month14 day free trial on every plan

Try HighLevel