The short answer
An AI receptionist for marketing agencies built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.32 per answered call, or $48 a month for 150 calls averaging 4 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 38 of those calls (25%) 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 a new prospect
Ask the caller's business type, monthly ad spend range and main goal, save the answers to contact fields, and book a discovery call only when the fit meets the minimums you set.
Take a client support request
Log which client account is affected, which asset is broken (form, page, calendar or automation) and how urgent it is, then create a task for the account manager and text the client a confirmation.
Explain packages and process
Describe what each retainer tier includes, the onboarding timeline and contract terms from the knowledge base, without quoting custom prices the owner has not approved.
Screen vendor pitches
Recognize sales calls from other vendors, take a name and email address, and close the call politely instead of passing it to a strategist.
What to send to a person
- Clients threatening to cancel or disputing results
- Custom pricing, proposals and contract changes
- Ad account suspensions or tracking outages affecting spend
- Press, partnership and white-label reseller inquiries
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 marketing agency: 150 calls a month answered by the AI, averaging 4 minutes. Phone minutes are billed per call and rounded up, so each call bills 4 phone minutes at $0.01165.
| Setup | AI cost | Phone line | Per month | Per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per use, Standard voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $40.80 | $6.99 | $48 | $0.32 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $52.80 | $6.99 | $60 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $120.00 | $6.99 | $127 | $0.85 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $6.99 | $104 | $0.69 |
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 marketing agency.
Compared with staff time
Those 150 calls take about 10 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 $183, 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 AGENTThanks for calling. I'm the agency's virtual assistant. Are you a current client, or looking into our services?
CALLERLooking. I own two landscaping crews and our Google Ads aren't bringing in jobs.
AI AGENTGot it. Roughly what do you spend on ads each month: under $2,000, $2,000 to $5,000, or more?
CALLERAbout three thousand.
AI AGENTThanks. That fits our growth package. I can book a 30-minute audit with a strategist. Would Tuesday at 10 or Wednesday at 2 work?
CALLERWednesday at 2.
AI AGENTBooked for Wednesday at 2. I'll text you a confirmation and a short form asking for your website and ad account access, so the strategist can look before the call.
CALLERPerfect, thanks.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1State your minimum retainer and the client types you serve, so the agent books only prospects who fit and points the rest to a free resource.
- Tip 2Keep the agency's sales agent separate from any receptionists you run for clients, and tell it never to discuss a client's account details with a caller.
- Tip 3Give the agent fixed categories for support calls (broken form, missing leads, billing) so each task lands with the right account manager.
Rules to watch
AI voice calls need consent. The FCC confirmed in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as artificial voices under the TCPA, so outbound AI calls need the called person's prior express consent, and written consent when the call is marketing. If you switch on outbound Voice AI in client accounts, check that each client's forms capture that consent first.
Review requests you run for clients. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule bans fake reviews and incentives tied to positive sentiment, and the FTC says advertising agencies and reputation firms can be liable if they write or sell fake reviews. Keep review-request workflows neutral: ask every customer and tie nothing to a good rating.
Advertised resale prices. HighLevel's Terms of Service say white-label resellers may not digitally advertise a HighLevel plan for an effective price below HighLevel's current standard price for a similar package. The rule covers advertised prices, not a price negotiated privately with a client, so read the clause before publishing SaaS plan prices.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Can an AI receptionist tell prospects apart from existing clients?
What does an AI receptionist cost an agency per month?
Can I sell an AI receptionist to my clients as a service?
Should the agency's AI receptionist handle client emergencies?
Sources
- HighLevel pricing page
- HighLevel: getting started with the SaaS Configurator
- HighLevel: rebilling, reselling and wallets explained
- HighLevel AI product pricing
- HighLevel Voice AI agents overview
- HighLevel Terms of Service
- FCC: TCPA applies to AI technologies that generate human voices
- 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)