Question 1

Will AI replace my receptionist?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. Many businesses use Frontly to handle after-hours calls, overflow, and routine enquiries while keeping their human receptionist for in-person visitors and complex client interactions. It's about augmentation, not replacement.

Question 2

How much can I save by switching to an AI receptionist?

Accepted Answer

A full-time receptionist costs $55K-75K/year in salary alone, plus $15K-20K in on-costs. Frontly costs a fraction of this while providing 24/7 coverage. Most businesses save $50K-70K annually.

Question 3

Does Frontly work after hours and on weekends?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Frontly answers 24/7/365, including weekends and public holidays, at no extra cost. A human receptionist works about 38 hours a week, and weekend or public holiday cover is paid as overtime, so the calls that arrive outside 9-5 are exactly the ones a single receptionist misses.

Question 4

How many calls can Frontly handle at once?

Accepted Answer

Unlimited. Frontly handles concurrent calls in parallel and can answer 100 at once with no hold times and no missed calls. A human receptionist takes one call at a time, so when several people ring together the rest drop to voicemail.

Question 5

What are the hidden costs of a human receptionist?

Accepted Answer

On top of the $55K-75K salary come superannuation at 11.5%, leave loading at 17.5%, workers compensation, training and onboarding, and recruitment costs when they leave. That takes the true annual cost to $70K-95K+. Frontly carries none of these on-costs.

Question 6

Are there things a human receptionist still does better?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In-person visitor reception, relationship building in person, and complex judgment calls are still a human's strength. Frontly transfers anything that needs real judgment straight to your team, which is why many businesses run it alongside their receptionist rather than instead of one.

Question 7

Can Frontly do more than take messages?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Frontly qualifies the caller, captures the booking or lead in your Frontly dashboard, books appointments, and runs outbound campaigns. A human receptionist typically does these manually, or not at all, and quality varies from person to person.

Feature	Frontly	Human Receptionist
Consistent Call Quality	Yes	Varies
Multi-Language Support	Yes	Rare
Cross-Call Memory	Yes	Varies
Outbound Campaign Calling	Yes	No
Automated Appointment Booking	Yes	Manual

Feature	Frontly	Human Receptionist
Base Annual Cost	From ~$6K/year	$55K-75K/year
Superannuation (11.5%)	N/A	$6.3K-8.6K
Training & Onboarding	$0	$2K-5K
Leave Loading (17.5%)	N/A	$1.7K-2.3K
Workers Compensation	N/A	$500-1.5K
Recruitment (when they leave)	N/A	$3K-8K
True Annual Cost	From ~$6K	$70K-95K+

Frontly vs Hiring a Human Receptionist

Availability

Capabilities

Cost Comparison (Annual)

Where Humans Still Win

Key Differences Explained

The True Cost of a Human Receptionist

Frontly Augments, Not Replaces

24/7 Coverage vs a 38-Hour Week

Unlimited Calls at Once vs One at a Time

Consistent Capability on Every Call

How Pricing Compares

Is Frontly right for your industry?

Also See

Frequently Asked Questions

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Test Call

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Feature	Frontly	Human Receptionist
24/7/365 Coverage	Yes	No
Unlimited Concurrent Calls	Yes	No
No Sick Days or Leave	Yes	No
Instant Scale During Peak	Yes	No
Weekend & Public Holiday Coverage	Yes	Overtime
No Recruitment or Turnover Risk	Yes	No

Feature	Frontly	Human Receptionist
In-Person Visitor Reception	No	Yes
Complex Judgment Calls	Transfers to team	Yes
Relationship Building in Person	No	Yes