Short answer Paste the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot with your own details and you get a clear yes, no or not yet on an AI receptionist for your business, plus the questions to ask any provider before you sign up. Works on free plans. Time saved: about an hour of sales calls and comparison (estimate).
Why it helps
If you're a tradie or run a clinic, you've probably been pitched an "AI receptionist": a voice bot that answers your phone, takes messages and books jobs while you're on the tools. Some save real time. Others cost a monthly fee to do what a missed-call text and a good voicemail could do.
AI can help you think it through using your own call patterns, before anyone sells you anything. It won't recommend a product. It helps you decide whether the problem is big enough, and what to ask if it is.
The prompt
Copy it, swap the bits in [square brackets], and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot.
I run a [type of business] in [town], New Zealand. I'm deciding whether an AI receptionist (an AI voice system that answers calls) is worth it. Help me think it through. NZ English, plain and honest. My calls: [roughly how many a week, when they come in, how many I miss] What callers usually want: [e.g. quotes, bookings, emergencies, opening hours] What I do now when I miss a call: [e.g. voicemail, call back at night] My budget: [monthly amount I'd consider] Please: 1. Tell me whether the missed calls are likely costing me work, based only on what I've said. 2. List cheaper options to try first, if any. 3. If an AI receptionist still makes sense, list 10 questions to ask any provider: costs, contract, NZ accents and place names, privacy, call recording, handover to a human, and what happens when it gets it wrong. Don't name or recommend specific products or prices. Don't invent stats.
Then keep chatting
Write a missed-call text message I could send automatically instead.
Write a short voicemail greeting that tells people when I'll call back.
Turn the 10 questions into a table I can fill in for each provider.
Step by step
- For one week, keep a tally of calls: when they came, what they wanted, and which you missed.
- Fill in the prompt and read the answer. Be honest about how many jobs you lose from missed calls.
- Try the cheaper fixes first, like a missed-call text or a better voicemail.
- If you still want one, use the 10 questions with at least two providers, and take a free trial before any contract.
Worked example
Example details are made up. Your results will vary, so always read and check before you use them.
Watch out for
- Privacy: an AI receptionist collects callers' personal information and often records calls. Under the Privacy Act 2020 you need to tell people what you collect and why. Check where the provider stores recordings. See privacy.org.nz.
- Be upfront. Telling callers they're speaking to an automated system avoids misleading them. The Fair Trading Act bans misleading conduct (comcom.govt.nz).
- Check the contract. Look for minimum terms, per-minute charges and cancellation fees before you sign. Prices change, so get them in writing.
Go further
If the cheaper fixes do the job, the appointment reminder messages use case writes the texts. Comparing AI subscriptions too? The AI tool prices use case shows how to work out the real NZ cost with GST.
