AI secretary vs a hired receptionist
Total monthly cost at different workloads. The AI secretary costs 3% of a receptionist at small-business load and 41% even when the receptionist is fully used on calls, while covering 24/7 and taking several calls at once. Calls are set against two AI receptionists, and messages against three of the best AI support agents on the market.
Try a workload
What it hands to your staff: judgment calls, upset callers and anyone at the counter.
Calls, against AI receptionists
Messages, against the top AI agents
Inbound: Esek against hiring
| Workload per month | Esek | Receptionist | Answering service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small5 calls + 5 chats a day · 275 min, 110 conversations | ₪310 | ₪10,400half time ≈ ₪5,200 | ₪539 |
| Busy clinic20 calls + 15 chats a day · 1,100 min, 330 conversations | ₪1,225 | ₪10,400 | ₪2,180 |
| Very busy50 calls + 40 chats a day · 2,750 min, 880 conversations | ₪2,923 | ₪20,8002 people: calls + chats | ₪5,464 |
| Receptionist fully usedphone only · 6,500 talk min | ₪4,307 | ₪10,400 | ₪12,926 |
| 24/7 coveragebusy-clinic load | ₪1,225 | ₪46,000 to 50,0004.4 full-time staff | not offered |
Answering service: the published packages of a leading Israeli answering service, ₪469 for 240 minutes then ₪1.99 a minute; Sunday to Thursday 8:00 to 23:00; calls only, no chats.
Calls: Esek against AI receptionists
| Calls per month | Esek | Competitor A | Competitor B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small5 calls a day · 110 calls, 275 min | ₪244 | ₪800 | ₪428 |
| Busy clinic20 calls a day · 440 calls, 1,100 min | ₪941 | ₪2,667 | ₪1,178 |
| Very busy50 calls a day · 1,100 calls, 2,750 min | ₪2,095 | ₪6,673 | ₪2,677 |
| Receptionist fully used2,600 calls, 6,500 min | ₪4,307 | ₪15,777 | ₪6,084 |
Competitor A, a well-known US AI receptionist, prices by the call, whatever its length: free for 25 calls then $3 a call; $150 for 75 calls then $2; $500 for 300 calls then $1.67. Competitor B, a US AI front desk: $99 for 200 minutes then $0.25 a minute. Esek includes the AI phone line.
Messages: Esek against the top AI agents
| Conversations per month | Esek | Competitor C | Competitor D | Competitor E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small5 customers a day · 110 conversations | ₪66 | ₪501 | ₪1,014 | ₪800 |
| Busy clinic15 customers a day · 330 conversations | ₪284 | ₪1,293 | ₪2,613 | ₪2,399 |
| Very busy40 customers a day · 880 conversations | ₪828 | ₪3,272 | ₪6,611 | ₪6,397 |
| Very high volume200 customers a day · 4,400 conversations | ₪4,313 | ₪15,937 | ₪32,197 | ₪31,983 |
These are the AI agents of three leading customer-support platforms, used by large support teams and connected through the official messaging channels. Competitor C: $0.99 per resolved conversation plus one $29 seat. Competitor D: $2.00 per automated resolution after 5 included, plus one $69 seat. Competitor E: $2.00 per conversation.
C and D bill only conversations their AI resolves; the figures assume every conversation resolves, their maximum. At a 60% resolution rate, C's very-high-volume month is about ₪9,600, still more than twice Esek. An Esek conversation is everything one customer writes in a day, so a back-and-forth over hours is still one.
Outbound: calling leads
| Workload per month | Esek | Competitor A | Competitor B | Junior telemarketer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual dialing at full capacityabout 2,000 talk min | ₪2,28017% | not offered | capped20 calls a day | ₪13,300 |
| With an auto-dialer at full capacityabout 7,400 talk min | ₪7,62657% | not offered | capped20 calls a day | ₪13,300 |
Competitor A answers only. Competitor B dials out, but its standard plan stops at 20 calls a day, far below a telemarketer's load; above that it quotes. Esek charges outgoing minutes on the same balance, from the first call, with no daily cap.
What you get for the money
| Esek | Hired receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours covered | 24/7, about 168 h a week | about 42 h a week (25%) |
| Calls at the same time | Several | One |
| After hours, or while on another call | Answered | Missed or voicemail |
| Cost per handled call, busy clinic | about ₪2.14 | about ₪23.60 |
| Sick days, holidays, turnover | None | Yes, plus recruiting and training |
| Judgment, upset callers, walk-ins | Handed to staff | Better |
Assumptions
- Esek prices from October 2026: messages ₪0.99 per conversation with one customer per day; incoming minutes ₪0.99, ₪0.79 and ₪0.59 by monthly volume (1 to 500, 501 to 2,000, 2,001 and up); outgoing ₪1.29, ₪1.09, ₪0.99. Free every week: 10 message conversations and 10 incoming minutes. AI phone line ₪14.90 a month.
- Calls on 22 working days a month; 4.33 weeks a month.
- Receptionist ₪8,200 gross, about ₪10,400 to the employer (pension, severance, national insurance, recreation pay, travel). One person handles about 6,500 talk minutes a month at 80% occupancy. The telemarketer figure includes commission.
- Dollar prices are converted at ₪3.08 plus 18% VAT, so every AI and service price on this page includes VAT; employer costs carry none. A VAT-registered business reclaims the 18%, so its real cost for any of the AI options is about 15% lower than shown.
- Staff are sized by calls and messages together: one person handles about 6,500 talk minutes or about 1,150 chat conversations a month at full pace (the top of the 660 to 1,150 benchmark), and the two loads add up.
- Competitor prices are as published on 4 October 2026. We don't name other companies.