The three real options most UK SMEs consider when enquiries start piling up — side-by-side, with no spin.
UK-typical figures from ONS, Glassdoor UK and Upwork. Your actual costs will vary.
| What you compare | AI-Assist for SMEs From £49/month | Part-time receptionist UK employee, 20h/wk | Virtual assistant Upwork / Fiverr / agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (UK typical) | £49 – £299 | £800 – £1,400 part-time | £400 – £1,200 |
| Available hours | 24/7 | 4 – 8 hrs/day | 4 – 8 hrs/day |
| Days per week | 7 (incl. weekends + holidays) | 5 typically | 5 – 6 |
| Time to go live | 1 – 2 weeks (done for you) | 4 – 8 weeks (advert + interview + onboard) | 2 – 4 weeks (vet + brief + trial) |
| Sick days | None | UK avg 5.7/year (ONS 2023) | Variable |
| Holiday cover | Never needs cover | 28 days statutory + bank holidays | Variable |
| Scaling for busy season | Instant (same plan handles peaks) | Hire another (months) | Hire more VAs |
| Consistency of tone + responses | Trained once on YOUR voice | Depends on the person + mood | Depends on the person |
| Captures bookings overnight | Yes — books at 11pm | No | No |
| Handles complex one-off tasks | Limited — flags to your team | Yes | Yes (better for messy work) |
| UK employment overhead | None | PAYE, pension, contract, HR | None (usually self-employed) |
Receptionist cost based on ONS UK average for part-time admin roles. VA cost based on Upwork UK hourly rates for 20h/week. Your actual cost will vary by location, experience, and hours.
We'd rather you not sign up than sign up and not get value. Here's when a human is the better answer.
If your enquiries are bespoke, technical, or sales-heavy where every conversation needs real judgement and rapport-building, a trained human will outperform AI. We can still handle reminders + after-hours capture, but the front-line conversation should stay with you.
If your enquiry volume is genuinely low, AI-Assist might be overkill — answering 5 emails a month yourself takes less time than the dashboard learning curve. We'd rather you wait until you're missing real business before signing up.
If each customer interaction involves diagnosing problems, on-site visits and bespoke quotes, AI can qualify and book but won't replace the expertise. Pairs best with a human team — see 'hybrid model' below.
AI-Assist handles the 24/7 capture, qualification and reminders. Your team handles the complex conversations and the actual service. It's rarely a binary choice — and AI-Assist works hardest when it's freeing up a human to do the work only a human can do.
No charge during the trial. Set up takes 1-2 weeks done-for-you. Cancel any time.
Or see exactly what the platform does · run the numbers for your business →