When the phones are overwhelming the front desk, most practice owners think first about hiring another receptionist. It's a natural instinct, and sometimes it's the right answer. But a new hire is a large, ongoing cost, and it doesn't solve every phone problem, especially after hours. AI receptionists are now a realistic alternative for part of the workload.
This guide compares the two honestly, using a framework you can fill in with your own numbers.
Key takeaways
- The true cost of a hire is much more than salary: super, leave, payroll tax, workers' compensation, recruitment, training and cover.
- An AI receptionist costs a predictable monthly fee, with usage-based charges above included minutes.
- AI handles volume, overlapping calls and after-hours calls well. People handle relationships, complex situations and in-person work.
- For many practices, the answer is both: AI for routine and overflow calls, people for what needs a human touch.
The full cost of hiring a receptionist
Salary is just the start. Work through each line for your practice:
- Base wage: check the applicable modern award with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Many dental practice support roles fall under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award, and experienced staff are often paid above award.
- Superannuation: the Superannuation Guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025.
- Leave: full-time employees get four weeks of annual leave and ten days of personal leave a year under the National Employment Standards, and you may need to pay for cover.
- Payroll tax: depends on your state and total payroll.
- Workers' compensation insurance.
- Recruitment: advertising, agency fees and interview time.
- Training: weeks or months of reduced productivity while the new person learns your systems.
- Turnover: if they leave, you pay to recruit and train again.
- Equipment and space: a workstation, phone headset and software licences.
A worked example
Using illustrative figures only, replace these with your own:
- Base salary: $60,000
- Superannuation at 12%: $7,200
- Payroll tax, workers' compensation and other on-costs: say $4,000
- Recruitment and training, spread over the first year: say $5,000
That's around $76,000 in the first year, or roughly $6,300 a month, for one full-time receptionist working business hours.
The cost of an AI receptionist
AI receptionist pricing is usually a monthly subscription with included call minutes, plus charges for extra usage. Check:
- Monthly plan fee and included minutes
- Overage rates above the included minutes
- Phone number and SMS costs
- Setup or onboarding fees
- Any AI model costs if you use your own API keys
- Contract length and notice period
For comparison, IntelliDent plans start at A$99 a month (excluding GST) with 300 voice minutes, and the Professional plan is A$249 a month with 1,500 voice minutes. Enterprise pricing for groups is custom. See pricing.
What each one does well
An AI receptionist
- Answers every call, including several at once
- Works 24/7, including weekends and public holidays
- Books routine appointments, reschedules and cancels
- Answers common questions consistently
- Sends reminders and recall messages
- Never gets flustered by a busy Monday morning
A human receptionist
- Welcomes patients in person and handles the counter
- Manages payments, HICAPS and treatment plan conversations
- Handles complex, emotional or sensitive calls
- Solves problems that don't fit a process
- Builds long-term relationships with patients
What each one can't do
An AI receptionist can't check patients in, take payments at the counter, comfort a nervous patient face to face or use judgement in unusual situations. It must also never give clinical advice.
A human receptionist can't answer three calls at once, work around the clock, or be in two places at the same time.
Making the decision
Ask these questions:
- Is the problem volume or complexity? If the desk is overloaded by routine calls and peaks, AI fits well. If it's complex patient conversations, you probably need a person.
- When are calls missed? If it's mostly after hours and peaks, a full-time hire won't fix it. See after-hours phone cover.
- What's the counter workload? If in-person work is growing, you may need another person regardless.
- What would the new hire actually do? If most of their time would go on routine calls and reminders, AI could do that for much less.
The hybrid answer
Most practices that adopt AI don't replace staff. They use AI to take routine calls, overflow, after-hours calls and reminders off the desk, so the existing team can focus on patients in front of them. That often delays or avoids the need for an extra hire, and makes the front desk a better place to work. See covering the receptionist shortage.
Frequently asked questions
Will patients be put off by an AI receptionist?
Most callers care most about getting a quick answer and a booking. Being upfront that it's an AI and making it easy to reach a person helps. See will patients accept an AI receptionist?
How do I measure whether AI is worth it?
Track missed calls, bookings and staff time before and after. Our guide to measuring ROI from automation shows how.
Can AI replace a receptionist completely?
For most dental practices, no. The counter, payments and personal care still need people.
Next steps
Fill in the hiring cost worksheet above with your own numbers, then compare it with the cost of AI cover for your call volume. To see what IntelliDent would cost for your practice, book a demo.