The short answer
An AI receptionist for interior designers built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.40 per answered call, or $28 a month for 70 calls averaging 5 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 14 of those calls (20%) 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
Explain services and fees
Describe the studio's service tiers, the design fee structure and any project minimum from the knowledge base, so callers understand the offer before a discovery call is booked.
Book discovery calls
Collect the rooms, timeline, rough budget and location, and book a discovery call only for projects that meet the studio's stated criteria.
Route small projects
For callers who want a single room or a quick consult, offer the hourly or e-design option and send its booking link by text.
Log order questions
For existing clients asking about an order, confirm which piece they mean and create a task for the designer with a promised update time.
What to send to a person
- Budget conversations and custom proposals
- Changes or complaints about ordered pieces
- Contractor coordination on active renovations
- Press, trade and vendor partnership calls
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 interior design studio: 70 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 | $23.80 | $4.08 | $28 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $30.80 | $4.08 | $35 | $0.50 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $70.00 | $4.08 | $74 | $1.06 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $4.08 | $101 | $1.44 |
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 interior design studio.
Compared with staff time
Those 70 calls take about 6 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 $107, 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
AI AGENTHello, you've reached Linden and Oak Interiors. I'm the studio's virtual assistant. Are you thinking about a new project with us?
CALLERYes, we just bought a house and want help with the living room and kitchen.
AI AGENTLovely. Is the kitchen a remodel with new cabinets, or furnishing and styling the rooms as they are?
CALLERA light remodel in the kitchen, and furnishing the living room.
AI AGENTThanks. Our full-service projects start with a design fee, and there's a project minimum. Would it help if I explain how that works?
CALLERSure.
AI AGENTThe design fee covers concept, sourcing and drawings, and furnishings are billed separately. Your project sounds like a good fit. Can I book a 30 minute discovery call with the designer this week?
CALLERYes, Thursday would be great.
AI AGENTI have Thursday at 11 or at 2. Which works? I'll also text you a short questionnaire to fill in beforehand.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1Write your fee model in the prompt exactly as you would explain it in person, whether flat fee, hourly or a percentage, because a vague answer about money loses good clients.
- Tip 2Give the AI your project minimum, a kind way to say it, and an alternative for smaller jobs, so poor-fit callers still leave with something useful.
- Tip 3Tell the agent to save the style words a caller uses, such as 'warm modern' or 'coastal', in a contact field so the designer walks into the discovery call prepared.
Rules to watch
Title and scope rules for designers. Some states regulate interior design. In Florida, for example, a person must be a registered interior designer to provide commercial interior design services, while residential design can be offered without a license. Check your state's rules and keep the AI's description of your credentials exact.
Photos, testimonials and reviews. Get written permission before posting photos of a client's home or quoting their praise. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials bans fake reviews, rewards tied to positive sentiment and undisclosed reviews by insiders, so ask every client for honest feedback in the same way.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Will an AI receptionist feel too impersonal for a design studio?
Can the AI explain design fees without making mistakes?
What does an AI receptionist cost a small design studio?
Can the AI handle calls from clients about their orders?
Sources
- HighLevel pricing
- HighLevel help: AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel help: AI product pricing
- HighLevel help: How to edit a Voice AI agent's voice
- Florida DBPR: Architecture and Interior Design FAQs
- FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule questions and answers
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)