IVR vs an AI receptionist
An IVR is the “press 1 for this, press 2 for that” menu. It decides where a call goes. An AI receptionist talks to the caller. Here’s what each costs, and when a menu still makes sense.
The short answer
IVR stands for interactive voice response: a recorded menu that sends the caller wherever they press. It’s cheap. SipTalk lists an IVR menu at A$1.10 a month on its phone system, and OfficeHQ sells one on its own for A$10 a month plus 20c a minute, with A$149 to set it up.
A menu can’t answer a question, though. In a one-person trade business every option ends up at the same phone, the one in your pocket while you’re under a house.
An AI receptionist asks what’s wrong, answers from what you’ve told it and books the job. It costs more, and it does the part a menu skips.
Side by side
| IVR menu | AI receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| What the caller hears | A recording and a list of numbers to press | A voice asking what they need |
| Answers questions | No, it plays recordings | Yes, from what you’ve told it |
| Books the job | No | Yes, if it’s set up to |
| When nobody picks up | Wherever you’ve sent it, often voicemail | It takes the details, books the job or texts you |
| What it costs | From A$1.10 a month on SipTalk’s phone system, GST included. On its own at OfficeHQ, A$10 a month plus A$149 setup, before GST | From A$20 a month for 10 calls at OfficeHQ, before GST. Ours is A$299 a month for a sole trader |
IVR prices from SipTalk’s pricing page and OfficeHQ’s IVR page and terms, read on 12 October 2026. AI prices from OfficeHQ’s AI receptionist page, read the same day, and our prices page.
Where “press 1” goes wrong for a trade business
A menu works when there are departments to send people to. Most trade businesses don’t have departments. They have a ute.
Someone with a burst pipe doesn’t want to work out whether that’s option 2 or option 4. After hours, a menu just takes them the long way round to the same voicemail.
A menu needs looking after, too. Change your hours or your services and the recording has to change with them.
You’ll see figures online for how many callers hang up on phone menus. The ones we found didn’t say where they came from, so we’ve left them out.
What each costs over a year
SipTalk’s IVR menu is A$13.20 a year, GST included, on top of the phone system it runs on. OfficeHQ’s standalone IVR is A$269 in the first year (A$149 setup plus 12 months at A$10), plus 20c a minute for calls, before GST.
Ours is A$3,887 in the first year for a sole trader: A$299 setup plus 12 months at A$299. That’s a lot more than a menu.
The fair comparison is what each one does with a job. If a menu sends one blocked drain a month to voicemail and the caller rings someone else, that’s A$3,840 gone by the end of the year at What’s The Damage’s typical A$320.
When an IVR is the right call
If you’ve got an office, staff in different roles and someone to answer each option, a short menu gets callers to the right person for a few dollars a month.
OfficeHQ’s own example is a plumber sending urgent calls to a mobile and the rest to its receptionists. That works when there’s a receptionist at the other end. OfficeHQ also pitches its IVR as a way to stop robocalls reaching a person, which is a fair use for a busy office.
If that’s you, keep the menu short and make one option reach a person. Short is cheaper too: OfficeHQ charges A$10 a month for up to five options and A$25 for six to ten, before GST.
For a sole trader, a menu adds a step in front of the same phone.
Test your own phone line
Ring your number after hours
From a phone it won’t recognise, the way a customer would.
Count the steps
How many recordings, menus or beeps before anyone, or anything, asks what you need?
Ask it a question
“How much for a blocked drain in Kooringal?” A menu can’t answer that. Can anything on your line?
See what reached you
A text, a booking, a message? Or did the call just end?
IVR questions
What is IVR?
Interactive voice response: the recorded menu that says “press 1 for sales, press 2 for service” and sends the call where the caller picks.
How much does IVR cost in Australia?
SipTalk lists an IVR auto attendant at A$1.10 a month, GST included, on its cloud phone system. OfficeHQ sells one on its own for A$10 a month plus 20c a minute and A$149 setup, before GST. Both checked October 2026.
What is an auto attendant?
Another name for an IVR menu. SipTalk sells its menu as an “IVR auto attendant”.
Is an AI receptionist better than IVR?
For a small trade business where every call ends up at the same phone, usually. If you have staff in different roles answering, a menu can still do the sorting.
Will callers know they’re talking to an AI?
With ours, yes. It tells them straight up it’s your assistant.
This phone is answered.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
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