AI vs Hiring: The Real Cost for Australian Businesses

Start With the Cost of the Work

Compare the specific work you need done before comparing an employee with software. A receptionist may answer phones, greet visitors, take payments and help colleagues. An AI phone system covers only the tasks it has been configured and tested to handle.

Use your payroll and supplier records to establish the current cost. Include salary, employer superannuation, applicable insurance and payroll tax, equipment, recruitment and supervision. Some costs arise once, some recur, and some remain even after you introduce AI. Keep those categories separate.

The super guarantee rate became 12% on 1 July 2025. For a simplified example with $65,000 of earnings subject to that rate, employer super is $7,800 and the subtotal is $72,800. Other employment costs depend on the role and your circumstances. The ATO source below explains the rate and its application.

Paid leave already included in an annual salary should not be added to that salary a second time. Record any actual replacement coverage cost separately. Check the applicable award or agreement before assuming leave loading applies.

Identify Tasks an AI System Could Cover

Record a representative week of work. Separate information requests, appointment changes, data entry and follow-up from work requiring a person on site or a professional decision. Track how often each task occurs and how long it takes.

Then identify what the software needs: access to a calendar, approved answers, identity checks, a permission to update a record, or an escalation contact. A task is not ready to automate simply because it is repetitive. It also needs reliable information and a safe way to handle exceptions.

For a clinic, an initial trial might cover opening hours and appointment requests. Clinical advice remains with the clinical team. For a trade business, a trial might capture job details while the owner decides whether to quote.

A Worked Example of Recovered Capacity

These figures are hypothetical, not client results or a Yes AI quote. Suppose a trial reduces routine administration by 8 hours a week for 48 working weeks. At an internal value of $40 per hour, that represents $15,360 of staff capacity a year.

Suppose the system costs $1,000 to set up and $600 a month, plus $1,500 a year in internal review time. The first-year cost is $9,700. Against the assumed capacity value, the difference is $5,660.

That difference is not automatically a cash saving. If wages stay the same, the benefit is time available for other work. Cash savings require an actual reduction in expenditure; additional revenue requires completed, paid business. Test a lower case too: if only 3 hours a week are saved, the capacity value falls to $5,760 and the example no longer covers its first-year cost.

Measure Missed Calls Without Counting Every Call as a Sale

A missed call can be a supplier, an existing customer or a repeat attempt from the same person. Counting every missed call as a lost sale inflates the forecast.

Measure distinct enquiries, the share that becomes a booking, and the share of bookings completed and paid. Apply your contribution margin after delivery costs. Compare the same measures during the trial, including calls transferred to a person and bookings that needed correction.

Keep staff time and additional sales in separate columns so you do not count the same benefit twice. An appointment created by the system is useful evidence of task completion, but it is not yet proof of earned revenue.

When Hiring Still Makes Sense

Hire for work that requires physical presence, professional accountability, judgement or ongoing relationships. Software may support those roles, but that does not remove the need for a person to do them.

A mixed arrangement can be appropriate: the system handles agreed routine work, while the team covers exceptions and customers who need a person. Include the time spent supervising the system when assessing that arrangement.

Build Your Own Comparison

Use six columns: task, current hours, current cost, proposed coverage, trial result and remaining human work. Add setup, ongoing service, usage, integration and internal review costs.

Before expanding a trial, confirm that its errors are manageable, the team can recover from an outage, and the measured benefit exceeds the total cost. Book a 30-minute consultation to discuss your requirements. It is free for businesses with 20 or more full-time staff; otherwise AUD $200 including GST.