The short answer
An AI receptionist for mortgage brokers built on HighLevel Voice AI costs about $0.32 per answered call, or $38 a month for 120 calls averaging 4 minutes, phone line included. Roughly 36 of those calls (30%) 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
Book a consultation
Collects the loan purpose, a rough price or loan amount, the property state and the best time to talk, then books the call on the right loan officer's calendar.
Explain pre-approval steps
Describes the documents a pre-approval usually needs, from a list the brokerage writes, and texts the secure application link without asking for a Social Security number on the call.
Route loan status calls
Takes the borrower's name and property address and sends a task to the processor, or transfers the call during office hours, rather than guessing where a file stands.
Handle calls from agents
Recognizes calls from real estate agents, records which buyer and property they mean, and passes the message to the loan officer as urgent when the caller mentions a contract deadline.
What to send to a person
- Quoting rates, fees or monthly payments
- Anything about whether someone qualifies or is approved
- Rate lock requests and lock extensions
- Complaints or questions about disclosures a borrower received
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 mortgage brokerage: 120 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 | $32.64 | $5.59 | $38 | $0.32 |
| Pay per use, ElevenLabs voice, GPT-4.1 Mini | $42.24 | $5.59 | $48 | $0.40 |
| Pay per use, speech-to-speech (OpenAI) | $96.00 | $5.59 | $102 | $0.85 |
| AI Employee Unlimited, $97 flat | $97.00 | $5.59 | $103 | $0.85 |
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 mortgage brokerage.
Compared with staff time
Those 120 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 $146, 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 Harbor Point Mortgage. I'm the virtual assistant for our loan team. Are you buying a home, refinancing, or checking on a loan in process?
CALLERBuying. What's your rate on a 30-year right now?
AI AGENTRates depend on your credit, down payment and loan program, so a loan officer has to quote them. I can set up a short call so you get an accurate number. What price range are you looking at?
CALLERAround 350 thousand, with about ten percent down.
AI AGENTThank you. Which state is the home in, and is tomorrow morning or afternoon better for a call with Priya, one of our loan officers?
CALLEROhio. Afternoon.
AI AGENTPriya has 2:00 or 3:30 tomorrow. Which works?
CALLER3:30.
AI AGENTYou're booked for 3:30 tomorrow with Priya. I'm texting a confirmation and a link to our secure application in case you want to start before the call.
Prompt tips
- Tip 1Write a hard rule that the AI never states a rate, APR, payment or approval, and give it one sentence to use instead that offers a call with a loan officer.
- Tip 2List the states your brokerage is licensed in, and tell the AI to take a message rather than book when the property is somewhere else.
- Tip 3Include each processor's name and the loan officers they support, so status calls reach the right person without the borrower repeating their story.
Rules to watch
No rate quotes or approvals from the AI. The Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule, now Regulation N, bans misrepresentations about rates, fees, payment terms and a consumer's chances of getting credit in any commercial communication, and the FTC named mortgage brokers among those covered. Keep the AI from quoting rates or saying a caller will qualify, and send those questions to a licensed loan officer.
Protecting borrower data. The FTC Safeguards Rule lists mortgage brokers among covered financial institutions and calls for a written security program, a qualified person in charge, multi-factor login and encryption of customer information. Do not have the AI collect Social Security or account numbers on calls; send borrowers to your secure application.
Consent before automated outreach. FCC rules require consent before autodialed or AI-voice calls and texts to cell phones, and prior express written consent for telemarketing. Put clear consent wording on every rate quote form before a workflow places an outbound AI call to the borrower.
General information, not legal advice.
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Questions
Can the AI receptionist quote mortgage rates?
What does AI call answering cost a mortgage broker?
Can the AI call new rate-quote leads right away?
Is it safe to let an AI take borrower information?
Sources
- FTC: New rule against deceptive mortgage advertisements (Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule)
- FTC Safeguards Rule: What your business needs to know
- FCC Declaratory Ruling on AI-generated voices under the TCPA (FCC 24-17)
- CFPB Regulation X, 1024.14: Prohibition against kickbacks and unearned fees
- HighLevel Voice AI outbound calling (help center)
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- HighLevel AI voice agents overview (help center)
- HighLevel pricing
- HighLevel AI product pricing (help center)
- AI Voice Agents overview
- HighLevel Phone System pricing and billing guide
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Receptionists (May 2025 pay)