Guide
What should an Australian small business look for in an AI receptionist?
Updated July 2026
The short answer
Look for five things: it answers 24/7 in seconds and handles simultaneous calls; it books real appointments into your actual calendar, not a message pad; it's honest — refuses times that aren't available instead of agreeing to anything; it keeps your existing phone number via call forwarding; and the pricing is a flat fee without per-minute surprises. Australian businesses should also check how caller data is handled under the Privacy Act.
The booking test (run this first)
Call the demo line and try to book a job. Then check: did it offer only times that could genuinely exist, did it get your name and address, and would that booking land in a real calendar? Plenty of products demo beautifully and then just email you a transcript. A receptionist that can't put a job in your diary is a message-taker with better marketing.
The honesty test
Push it. Ask for tonight. Ask for 6am Sunday. Insist. A well-built receptionist holds the line — real hours, real slots, no invented promises — because every fake 'yes' becomes an angry customer standing on a doorstep. If it caves to pressure in a demo, it will cave to your customers.
Your number, your callers, your data
You should keep your existing number (conditional forwarding makes that trivial) and your customer data should be handled under the Australian Privacy Act, with a privacy policy that says plainly where processing happens and who touches what. Ask whether call recordings are used to train anyone else's models; the right answer is no.
Setup: done-for-you beats DIY for trades
The difference between a receptionist that sounds like your business and a generic bot is configuration: your services, hours, prices, service area, and emergency rules. Done-for-you services build that with you in days. DIY platforms hand you a dashboard and wish you luck — fine for tinkerers, expensive in evenings for everyone else.
Related questions
Do AI receptionists work with Australian accents?
The good ones, yes — including regional accents and everyday slang. Test with your least clear-spoken mate, not your clearest.
Can I try one before moving my number?
You should be able to call a live demo line before paying anything, and start with partial forwarding (only unanswered calls) rather than moving everything on day one. That's how Kora onboards.
Hear it answer a call, live
The fastest way to judge an AI receptionist is to ring one. Call Kora now and try to book a job.