Conduit vs a human answering service
Traditional answering services put a real person on your line — typically billed per minute or per call, effectively $1–2/min with monthly minimums (July 2026 ranges; plans vary widely). Real humans are genuinely better at a few things, and we'll say so below. But most of what a service business needs at 9pm isn't empathy — it's a booked job on the calendar.
| Human answering service | Conduit | |
|---|---|---|
| Warmth on a hard call | A skilled human is still the gold standard | Good and disclosed as AI — emergencies hand off to YOUR humans fast |
| Books directly into your schedule | Usually messages or a shared calendar at extra cost | Yes — real availability, capacity-aware, confirmation texted |
| Knows your prices & policies | A script binder, updated by request | Your live price book and policies — updated by you, effective immediately |
| Two calls at 7:05am | Hold queue | Both answered |
| Quotes & invoice follow-up | Not offered | Included |
| Cost shape | $1–2/min effective; a busy month costs more | Flat monthly price, minutes included, degrades gracefully at the cap |
| Turnover & training | New operators learn your account over time | The assistant never forgets the price book and never quits |
If your callers are mostly grieving families or crisis lines, hire humans — sincerely. For trades and local services, the honest math is different: what you're paying an answering service for is availability, and what you actually need is outcomes. Conduit is priced against the outcome: the booked job, the sent quote, the paid invoice.
Common questions
Don't customers hate talking to an AI?
Some prefer humans — which is why every call opens with an honest AI disclosure and why pressing for a human always works: the assistant takes a message or escalates rather than trapping anyone. What customers hate more, measurably, is voicemail: most hang up and call the next business.
What does a human answering service actually cost?
As of July 2026, typical plans work out to $1–2 per minute with monthly minimums — a busy service business easily spends $300–800/mo for message-taking alone. Conduit's Full Office is $499 flat with 1,200 minutes included and the follow-up work done, not just noted.