How much does an AI receptionist cost in NZ?
Every cost, in plain numbers: the monthly fee, included minutes, extra minutes, setup, your phone line and GST. Then what a real month looks like at three call volumes.
From $70/mo + GST
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· All prices exclude GST · No contracts
After-hours call, 7:12 pm
Answered automatically
Call comes in
7:12 pmForwarded from your existing number after hours
AI answers
< 1 secAnswers the caller's questions and books the job into your calendar
Summary sent
7:15 pmTranscript and AI-written summary to your email or CRM
3 minutes used of your 100 included
After 100 minutes: $0.35+GST/min
Built for NZ businesses like
Member, AI Forum New Zealand
The short answer
An AI receptionist from Automate AI costs From $70/mo + GST, which includes 100 inbound minutes a month. Extra inbound minutes are $0.35+GST/min, and most setups have a one-off $295+GST one-off setup for most setups. A business using 300 minutes a month pays $140.00 + GST, or $161.00 including GST.
Cost components
Everything you could pay for
Read straight from our current price list. .
| Cost | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $70+GST/mo | Month-to-month. No contracts, cancel anytime. |
| Included minutes | 100 inbound minutes a month | Calls your agent answers, 24/7, up to 20 at once by default. |
| Extra inbound minutes | $0.35+GST/min | Only for inbound minutes over the 100 included each month. |
| Outbound calls | $0.35+GST/min + $0.15+GST/min NZ termination | Reminders and follow-ups your agent makes. Charged separately, not taken from your 100 included minutes. |
| Transfers to your team | $0.15+GST/min | When the agent transfers a caller back to your team, that leg is an outbound call from us. |
| Setup | $295+GST one-off for most setups | Agent configuration, voice selection and tuning, call flow design, knowledge base setup, and go-live testing. More complex integrations are quoted separately during initial scoping, before work begins. |
| Phone number and forwarding | Keep your existing number | Calls are forwarded from your current phone service. Your phone provider may charge for forwarded calls, and that cost is separate from your voice agent charges. |
| Integrated business phones (optional) | Quoted separately | An optional upgrade through our partner, Dynamite IT, assessed and quoted on your requirements. |
| GST | 15% on top | Every price on this page excludes GST. |
Worked examples
What a month costs at three call volumes
The maths, shown in full. Each example uses $70+GST/mo with 100 minutes included and $0.35+GST/min after that.
Quiet
100 minutes a month
About 33 calls if they average 3 minutes. A sole trader whose agent picks up after hours and when they're on a job.
- Monthly fee
- $70.00
- Within 100 included minutes
- $0.00
- Subtotal (excl. GST)
- $70.00
- GST at 15%
- $10.50
- Total incl. GST
- $80.50
Steady
300 minutes a month
About 100 calls if they average 3 minutes. A small team that sends busy-period overflow and after-hours calls to the agent.
- Monthly fee
- $70.00
- (300 − 100) × $0.35
- $70.00
- Subtotal (excl. GST)
- $140.00
- GST at 15%
- $21.00
- Total incl. GST
- $161.00
Busy
800 minutes a month
About 267 calls if they average 3 minutes. A business that has the agent answer most inbound calls during the day.
- Monthly fee
- $70.00
- (800 − 100) × $0.35
- $245.00
- Subtotal (excl. GST)
- $315.00
- GST at 15%
- $47.25
- Total incl. GST
- $362.25
Your first month
Add the one-off setup fee once. At 300 minutes, a first month on a standard setup is $140.00 + $295.00 = $435.00 + GST. These examples cover inbound minutes only. Outbound calls ($0.35+GST/min + $0.15+GST/min NZ termination), transfers back to your team, and any forwarding charges from your phone provider are extra. The 3-minute call length is an assumption for illustration, not a measured average.
What moves your monthly cost
Six things decide where your bill lands. We go through each one with you during scoping.
How long your calls run
Minutes, not calls, are what count. A month of short booking calls uses far fewer of your 100 included minutes than long enquiries do.
When calls are forwarded
Forward every call, or only when you're busy or after hours. The fewer calls the agent takes, the fewer minutes you use.
Outbound and transfers
Reminders, follow-ups and transfers back to your team are outbound minutes, charged separately at $0.35+GST/min + $0.15+GST/min NZ termination.
Your phone provider's plan
Some phone plans include forwarding, others charge for it. We check your setup during scoping and tell you what to confirm with your provider.
Integration complexity
Most setups are $295+GST. More complex integrations are quoted separately during initial scoping, before work begins.
High volume or bespoke needs
A Custom plan covers volume minute discounts, multi-number setups and bespoke integrations. We scope it with you.
Want your own numbers? We'll work out your call volume and setup with you.
Free 30-min call · We'll show you 2–3 things to automate first · No obligation
Privacy Act 2020 and call recording
Privacy compliance isn't an extra line on the bill. Every agent supports call recording consent notices, do-not-call preference management, and configurable data retention and deletion policies. You can display a brief notice about call recording and analytics where it applies, and recordings are deleted on the schedule you choose.
We've used Automate AI for an AI phone bot to answer the phone in our very noisy bowling alley. Andy was great to deal with, he was super efficient and fast at setting everything up. He was also very quick to make the changes that we needed. We have since also added a text function from the front counter and he's even added buttons to the messages we get from the chatbot so staff simply need to click a button to send a text to the customer to say we have actioned the changes they have requested.
Angela
Owner, Retro Bowl
AI receptionist cost FAQs
Keep exploring
Know your number before you commit
$70+GST/mo with 100 minutes included. We'll scope your calls and setup on a free call.
Free 30-min call · We'll show you 2–3 things to automate first · No obligation