AI receptionist vs human receptionist: which fits your business?
Cost, hours, judgement and set-up, using official Australian pay rates.
Last reviewed
The short answer
An AI receptionist like Alony answers day and night for a fixed monthly price, from A$49 to A$999, until its minutes run out. A human receptionist costs at least the award wage, from $26.97 an hour, and handles judgement and complicated calls better. The AI fits after-hours and routine calls. A person fits sensitive and complex ones, and the agent can put callers through to one.
What each costs, with the arithmetic
Australian dollars, from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for the Clerks - Private Sector Award, effective 1 July 2026.
| Feature | Level 1, year 1 | Level 2, year 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | $26.97 | $29.45 |
| Weekly pay for 38 hours | $1,024.70 | $1,119.10 |
| Super at 12% of that pay | $122.96 | $134.29 |
| Pay plus super, a week | $1,147.66 | $1,253.39 |
| Pay plus super, 52 weeks | $59,679 | $65,176 |
| Sunday hourly rate, not a shiftworker | $53.94 | $58.90 |
Rates are from the pay guide (published 24 June 2026, read 22 October 2026). Super is 12% of pay (ATO, read 22 October 2026). These are award minimums, and the figures leave out payroll tax, workers' compensation, recruitment and training.
Leave sits inside those 52 weeks: 4 weeks of annual leave (Fair Work Ombudsman, read 22 October 2026) and 10 days of personal/carer's leave (Fair Work Ombudsman, read 22 October 2026) come to about 228 paid hours a year with nobody at the desk.
Alony, for comparison. Lite is A$49 a month for 100 minutes, Starter A$239 for 500, Growth A$549 for 1,200 and Scale A$999 for 2,500. Every plan stops at its minutes. 1,200 minutes is 20 hours of talk time, while a person on 38 hours a week is paid for about 165 hours a month whether or not the phone rings. A receptionist does more than answer calls, so read this as the phone-answering part of the job.
Hours. Covering every hour of the 168 in a week takes about 4.4 full-time people (168 / 38) before leave and breaks.
Side by side
| Feature | AI receptionist (Alony) | Human receptionist |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | A fixed monthly price by minutes, A$49 to A$999, with no overage | Wages for the hours paid, including paid leave, plus super and on-costs, whether or not the phone rings |
| Hours | Answers day and night until the plan's minutes run out | The hours they are rostered |
| Judgement and empathy | Follows the call flow you set. It cannot pick up on distress the way a person can. | Weighs a situation the script did not cover and changes course |
| Complex calls | Takes details or a message, or puts the caller through to a person | Can handle a complaint, a negotiation or a multi-step problem |
| Set-up | A guided wizard, in a few minutes | Recruiting, training, rostering and cover for leave |
When a person is the better choice
- The caller is upset, scared or in a crisis. A person can hear it and respond.
- The call needs a decision. Negotiation, a refund or an exception to the rules.
- The job is a front desk. Greeting visitors, parcels and payments.
The AI fits after-hours cover and routine calls, and can put urgent callers through to a person. It cannot cancel or reschedule an existing booking: a change becomes a message to you.
Questions about AI and human receptionists
Is an AI receptionist cheaper than a human one?
For answering the phone, usually yes. Alony plans run from A$49 to A$999 a month. An entry-level employee on the Clerks award costs about $1,148 a week in pay and super, for 52 weeks. It is not like for like: a person also greets visitors and does other work, and Alony only handles calls.
Can an AI receptionist replace a receptionist?
For routine and after-hours calls, it takes details, bookings and messages. It does not greet visitors or do the rest of a front-desk job. A person is still better for sensitive and complicated calls.
What happens when the AI can't help?
It can put the caller through to a person inside the transfer hours you set, or take a message.
Do callers have to be told it is an AI?
We recommend it, and Australia's privacy regulator advises that public-facing AI tools are clearly identified. Put it in the greeting you write.
How much leave does a full-time receptionist get?
Under the National Employment Standards, 4 weeks of paid annual leave and 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave a year., paid inside the weekly wage.
What does a receptionist earn under the award?
At the entry level of the Clerks award, $26.97 an hour from 1 July 2026, and $29.45 at the next level up. An employer can pay above it.
Sources
All read 22 October 2026: Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide, Clerks - Private Sector Award [MA000002] (published 24 June 2026); annual leave (updated 15 October 2026); paid sick and carer's leave (updated 10 August 2026); ATO, how much super to pay (updated 25 February 2026); OAIC guidance on commercially available AI products (published 21 October 2024).
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