Ready to decide
Questions to ask before hiring an AI voice answering vendor
A buyer's checklist for evaluating any AI receptionist, not just ours.
Before hiring any AI voice answering vendor, ask about setup time, what happens when the AI can't resolve a call, how pricing scales with call volume, what integrations are supported, and whether you can hear the agent handle real scenarios before committing. These questions apply to any vendor you're evaluating and will surface the differences that actually matter for your business.
How long does setup actually take, and who does the work
Ask whether setup requires your team to do technical configuration, or whether the vendor builds and tests the agent for you. Also ask for a specific timeline, not a vague range.
With AIBooka, most businesses are live in 3 to 5 days, and the vendor (us) handles building, configuring, and testing the agent around your specific business information, not your internal team.
What happens when the AI can't handle a call
Every AI system has edge cases it can't resolve. Ask specifically what happens next, does it hand off to a human, take a message, or just fail silently, and how quickly your team is notified.
AIBooka hands the call to a staff member or takes a detailed message and texts your team immediately, so nothing falls through unnoticed. Ask any vendor to demonstrate this specific behavior before you commit.
How pricing scales as your call volume grows
Ask whether pricing is a flat monthly rate, per-minute, or per-call, and what happens if you exceed your plan's call volume in a given month, since this determines whether costs stay predictable.
AIBooka's plans are flat monthly rates by tier ($69 to $399 per month), with clear notification if you're approaching your limit and simple options to add capacity, rather than a surprise overage bill.
What integrations does it actually support
If you use a specific calendar, POS, or CRM system, ask whether the vendor integrates directly with it, or whether you'll need a manual workaround to connect the AI's output to your existing tools.
AIBooka supports Google Calendar sync and POS integrations like Square and Toast on Growth and Enterprise plans, plus CRM integration on Enterprise, so bookings flow into systems you already use.
Can you actually hear it work before deciding
Ask for a live demo using your own business name and real scenarios, not a generic canned recording, so you can judge how it actually sounds and behaves for your specific use case.
AIBooka offers a free demo where you can hear the agent live, configured with your actual business name, answering real questions, before you decide anything.
Frequently asked
Should I ask for references from other clients in my industry?
Yes, that's a reasonable request of any vendor. Ask specifically about businesses similar in size and call volume to yours, not just any client in a broad category.
Is a longer contract term always a red flag?
Not automatically, but ask about cancellation terms either way. AIBooka has no long-term contracts, it's month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel.
What's a reasonable timeline to expect from quote to going live?
For most AI receptionist deployments, a few days to a couple of weeks is reasonable depending on complexity. Be cautious of vendors promising same-day setup with no configuration or testing period at all.
Should I test it with a difficult or unusual call before committing?
Yes. Testing edge cases, an unusual request, an angry caller, a question outside normal scope, tells you more about a vendor's handoff quality than testing only straightforward calls.