A virtual receptionist answers your business calls without anyone sitting at a desk in your office. AIssie is the AI version: it picks up in under a second, every hour of every day, answers questions about your business, books the job into your calendar and texts you the details — for a flat $199 a month, with no per-call charge.
What a virtual receptionist actually does: your number diverts to someone — or something — that answers as your business. Callers hear your business name, not a voicemail beep. Routine questions get answered on the spot, details get written down, and the job gets booked or passed to you. For years that meant a person in a call centre handling several clients at once, with cover outside business hours costing extra and calls queueing at busy times.
Human vs AI virtual receptionist: a human works a roster, takes one call at a time and follows a short script about your business. AIssie answers every caller at once, works nights, weekends and public holidays for the same flat fee, and is configured with your full service list, pricing, service area and booking rules. An unusual or emotionally sensitive call is still better handled by a person — which is why AIssie transfers those to you on rules you set.
What it costs: Australian virtual receptionist services are usually billed per call or per minute, commonly $2–$4 a call against a monthly minimum with after-hours loading on top. AIssie is a flat monthly fee — voice plans run $199 to $670 per month with no per-call charge, no after-hours premium and no lock-in contract, against $55,000+ a year for a full-time hire.
How to choose one: pricing that does not punish a busy month, booking into your actual calendar rather than message-taking, a natural Australian voice you have heard yourself, genuine 24/7 cover with no premium, escalation rules you control, and month-to-month terms.
AIssie answers Australia-wide and knows the difference between AEST, ACST and AWST, so “first thing tomorrow” means the right morning for the caller. You keep your existing number and divert it — all the time, after hours only, or only when the line is busy or unanswered.