AI phone answering has gone from novelty to a real option for Australian businesses in a couple of years, and there are now several solid providers to choose from. They are not all the same. Some are built for sole traders who just want missed calls caught, others for multi-site operations that need full managed reception. This is an honest look at the main options, including where each one is strong and who it actually suits. Yes, we make one of them, and we have tried to be fair about the rest.
What to look for
Before the providers, the things that actually matter when you compare them:
- Managed or self-serve. Do they build and tune the agent for you, or hand you a dashboard and leave you to it?
- Total first-year cost. Monthly fee plus setup plus likely overage, not just the headline price. See our guide to AI receptionist cost for how to work this out.
- How it handles your calls. Booking, order taking, FAQs, transferring the urgent ones, and whether you get a written summary of every call.
- Keeping your number. Most let you forward your existing number. Check there is nothing to rip out.
- Onshore data. If you work in medical, legal or financial services, Australian hosting and Privacy Act alignment may matter.
- Lock-in. Month-to-month with short notice is the norm now. Be wary of long contracts.
The main providers at a glance
| Provider | From (per month) | Setup | Style | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RelayDesk | $199 | $400 | Managed | Owner-operated local businesses |
| Sophiie | ~$300 | ~$800 | Managed, all-in-one | Trades wanting an office manager |
| Valory | $149 | $990 (waivable) | Managed, tiered | Small to mid-market, multi-site |
| AiDial | Volume based | Quote | Managed, compliance-led | Higher-volume, regulated work |
Pricing is correct as of June 2026. Check each provider’s site for current rates.
RelayDesk
RelayDesk is an AI receptionist built for owner-operated local businesses: florists, mechanics, tradies and similar. It answers every call, books the job or takes the order, handles common questions and emails you a summary of every call with a recording. It is confidently AI, so it never pretends to be a person, and it discloses that it is AI if a caller asks.
Strengths: simple public pricing from $199 a month with a $400 setup fee, GST included and no lock-in. Managed setup with most businesses live in about 48 hours. You keep your existing number. Pages tuned to specific trades like florists and mechanics.
Worth knowing: it is focused on call answering done well rather than being a do-everything platform, and the vertical range is still growing.
Sophiie
Sophiie is an Australian-built AI office manager aimed at trades and service businesses. It goes beyond call answering into an all-in-one platform with its own CRM, web chat, and email and SMS handling, plus appointment management. It has a large customer base and a strong presence in the trades.
Strengths: breadth. If you want call answering plus a CRM and messaging in one place, it covers a lot of ground.
Worth knowing: it does not publish pricing, so you need to book a demo to get a quote, which is reported around $300 a month plus a setup fee near $800. The all-in-one approach is more than a sole trader who only wants calls answered may need.
Valory
Valory is a managed AI phone agent for Australian service businesses, hosted in Sydney and built around Privacy Act obligations. It is priced in tiers from sole trader through to mid-market, and has a wide range of industry pages and guides.
Strengths: clear tiered pricing that scales from small to multi-location, onshore hosting, and a managed service that covers call-flow design and ongoing tuning.
Worth knowing: the entry price is low at $149 a month, but the $990 setup fee (waived on a longer commitment) lifts the first-year cost, so compare the full picture.
AiDial
AiDial is an onshore Australian provider with a strong compliance and data-sovereignty focus, storing data in Australian data centres. It leans towards call routing, lead qualification and contact-centre style use cases as well as reception.
Strengths: compliance and onshore data, plus intelligent call routing that suits businesses with more complex call handling or regulated work.
Worth knowing: pricing is volume based and provided on request, so it takes a conversation to work out your cost. The positioning is more call-centre than single-shopfront.
Which one should you choose?
It comes down to the shape of your business:
- An owner-operated local business that wants calls answered, jobs booked and a tidy summary in the inbox, with simple pricing and no lock-in: RelayDesk.
- A trades business that wants one platform for calls, CRM and messaging together: Sophiie.
- A growing or multi-site business that needs tiered plans and onshore hosting: Valory.
- A higher-volume or regulated operation that needs compliance and call routing: AiDial.
Whichever way you lean, work out the total first-year cost before you sign, and ask for a live test call so you can hear how the agent actually sounds. If RelayDesk looks like a fit, see how it works for your industry or read more about our AI receptionist.