Voice AI for Customer Service: ROI Breakdown

Fully-loaded cost per human agent: - Salary: $35,000-$50,000/year - Benefits: 25-35% of salary - Training: $3,000-$5,000/year - Technology/tools: $1,500-$3,000/year - Management overhead: 15-20% - Facilities: Variable by location

All-in cost: $55,000-$85,000 per agent per year

Cost per call (human): - Average handle time: 6-8 minutes - Calls per hour: 7-10 - Calls per agent per year: ~15,000 - Cost per call: $3.50-$6.00

The math on 50,000 calls/year: Human-only: $175,000-$300,000 annually

Implementation costs: - Simple voice AI agent: $8,000-$15,000 - Custom integrations: $10,000-$30,000 - System connections (CRM, inventory, etc.): $5,000-$15,000 each - Training and change management: $3,000-$8,000

Typical total implementation: $25,000-$75,000

Ongoing costs: - Platform/API fees: $500-$2,500/month - Telephony costs: $0.01-$0.05/minute - Maintenance and updates: $500-$1,500/month - Monitoring and optimization: $500-$1,000/month

Monthly ongoing: $2,000-$6,000

Cost per AI-handled call: Including all costs, typically $0.50-$1.50 per call—80-90% less than human agents.

What voice AI typically handles: - Account balance and status inquiries - Order tracking and shipping updates - Appointment scheduling and confirmation - Hours and location questions - Basic troubleshooting with decision trees - Payment processing and billing queries - FAQ and product information

Achievable automation rates by industry: - Ecommerce: 60-75% - Healthcare (scheduling): 70-80% - Financial services: 50-65% - Telecommunications: 55-70% - Hospitality: 65-80%

Conservative planning: Assume 50-60% automation initially, improving to 70%+ after 6 months of optimization.

Calls that still need humans: - Complex complaints - Emotional situations - Multi-step problem resolution - Policy exceptions - High-value customer retention

For a business with 50,000 calls/year:

Current state (human-only): - Cost per call: $4.50 - Annual cost: $225,000

With voice AI (65% automation): - AI-handled calls: 32,500 × $1.00 = $32,500 - Human-handled calls: 17,500 × $4.50 = $78,750 - Annual operating cost: $111,250 - Implementation cost (year 1): $40,000

Year 1: - Total cost: $151,250 - Savings: $73,750 - ROI: 184%

Year 2+: - Total cost: $111,250 - Annual savings: $113,750 - ROI: 284%

Payback period: 6-8 months

Strong GO signals: - Call volume exceeds 1,000/month - 40%+ of calls are routine inquiries - High call costs limiting service expansion - After-hours call volume significant - Customer satisfaction suffering from wait times

Proceed with caution: - Call volume 500-1,000/month - Complex call mix - Highly regulated industry - Older customer demographic - Limited internal technical capability

Not yet ready: - Under 500 calls/month - Most calls require judgment - No clear routine call types - Major system upgrades needed first - Culture resistant to automation

Recommendation: If in doubt, pilot with limited scope. Test automation on one call type before broad rollout.