AI follow-up rep vs a part-time callback person: what each really costs
Federal wage data, a flat software price and a break-even formula you can check yourself.
By EastSherman · Last reviewed: October 25, 2026
A part-time callback person working 10 hours a week costs about $792 a month in wages at the national median receptionist pay of $18.27 an hour, before payroll taxes. EastSherman's AI Follow-Up Rep costs $197 a month for 600 connected minutes. The AI handles routine consented callbacks. A person handles judgment, texting and negotiation.
The numbers below come from federal wage data, with links, so you can check them. EastSherman sells the AI Follow-Up Rep.
The short answer
At national median wages, a part-time person working 10 hours a week costs several hundred dollars a month in wages alone. The AI Follow-Up Rep costs $197/month for 600 connected minutes. They don't do the same job, so compare the work you actually need done, not just the price. For plenty of contractors, the honest answer is both.
What a part-time callback person costs
Wages
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes national median pay for the two jobs closest to a callback person. Receptionists earn a median of $18.27 an hour ($38,010 a year), and customer service representatives earn $21.53 an hour ($44,770 a year). Both figures are from May 2025.
These are national medians. Pay in your area may be higher or lower depending on location and experience.
Here's the math for hours: 10 hours a week × 52 weeks ÷ 12 months = 43.3 paid hours a month.
Illustration, wages only. Rounded to whole dollars.
| Hours/week | Paid hours/month | At $18.27/hr (receptionist median) | At $21.53/hr (customer service rep median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 43.3 | ≈ $792 | ≈ $933 |
| 20 | 86.7 | ≈ $1,583 | ≈ $1,866 |
Payroll taxes and benefits
Wages aren't the whole cost. Employers pay 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare, 7.65% in total (IRS Topic 751). That brings 10 hours a week at $18.27 to about $852 a month.
There's a second way to look at it. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation report for June 2026 puts average total compensation for part-time private-industry workers at $25.20 an hour. Of that, $20.15 is wages and $5.05 is benefits. At 10 hours a week, that's about $1,092 a month. At 20 hours, it's about $2,184.
One caution: the ECEC figure is an average across all part-time jobs, not just callback work, and it already includes legally required benefits like Social Security and Medicare. Don't add the 7.65% on top of it.
Costs that are real but hard to price
These don't fit neatly in a table, but you'll feel them:
- Time spent recruiting and interviewing
- Training on your services, prices and scripts
- Turnover, and starting over when someone leaves
- Cover for sick days and vacations
- A phone line and a seat in your CRM or scheduling software
We haven't put dollar figures on these, because they vary too much from shop to shop.
What the AI Follow-Up Rep costs
The AI Follow-Up Rep costs $197 a month, or $1,967 billed yearly, which works out to $163.92 a month. That's for one business with 600 connected minutes. There's no setup fee, no overage charges and no rollover. Practice calls count toward your minutes.
600 minutes is 10 hours of connected call time. The site says that "could cover 100 calls averaging six minutes." Actual counts depend on how long the calls run.
A fairness note: 10 connected hours is not the same as 43 paid hours. A person's paid time includes dialing, leaving voicemails, writing notes and other office work. So the AI doesn't replace a part-timer. It can take on the routine consented callbacks, which frees up the person's time for everything else.
What a person can do that the AI can't
Being straight about the gaps:
- Negotiate and use judgment. A person can offer a discount or handle an unusual situation. The AI gives only approved answers and records everything else as a team request.
- Text and email customers. EastSherman's customer SMS and email sequences are off.
- Confirm a time on your calendar. The AI does not confirm a calendar booking. It offers your booking link or records a request.
- Work from any source. A person can call walk-ins, leads from several sources or anyone in your CRM. EastSherman connects one reviewed source from your own business.
- Do other office work between calls. Answering the phone, filing, chasing invoices.
What the AI does that's hard to staff
- Works the queue without anyone remembering to. The queue is checked every five minutes, up to five jobs per run, during your approved calling windows. Timing isn't guaranteed. More on how the callback queue works.
- Says the same approved answers every time. Every outcome is logged to a 30-day private call history in your portal, and your team gets email notices.
- No recruiting, no benefits. It handles routine callbacks without recruiting, adding another salary, or budgeting for employee benefits.
- Built-in guardrails. Each callback needs recorded permission for the AI call, and each contact is reviewed before the call goes ahead. A quote or past purchase alone is not consent.
Whoever makes the calls, calling back sooner tends to matter. Read speed to lead for contractors for what the research does and doesn't show.
A break-even formula you can run
Here's a simple way to compare options:
Monthly cost ÷ average gross profit per job = jobs needed per month to cover the cost.
Illustration. Use your own numbers.
Say your average job earns $500 in gross profit.
- AI Follow-Up Rep: $197 ÷ $500 ≈ 0.4 jobs a month.
- A part-time person at 10 hours a week, at $852 (median receptionist wages plus FICA): $852 ÷ $500 ≈ 1.7 jobs a month.
This shows what each option needs to recover. It doesn't predict that either one will.
Want to try it with your figures? Run your own numbers in the calculator.
When to hire, when to use the AI, and when to do both
| Situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| You need someone to negotiate, text, juggle many lead sources, or handle office work | A person |
| You have consented, routine callbacks (open quotes, new enquiries, past customers) and no time to make them | AI Follow-Up Rep |
| Both of the above | The AI handles routine callbacks and sends requests to the person, who handles judgment calls |
If your real problem is missed inbound calls rather than callbacks, read AI receptionist vs AI follow-up rep. Comparing software options? See AI quote follow-up tools compared.
FAQ
How much does a part-time person cost to make follow-up calls?
At the May 2025 national median for receptionists ($18.27 an hour), 10 hours a week is about $792 a month in wages, or about $852 with employer Social Security and Medicare. Local wages vary.
Is the AI Follow-Up Rep cheaper than hiring?
It costs $197 a month for 600 connected minutes, which is less than the wage cost of a part-time person in this illustration. But it does a narrower job, so compare the work you need done.
Can the AI replace a part-time office person?
Not entirely. It makes consented callbacks, answers approved questions, and offers a booking link or records a request. It does not text, negotiate, confirm calendar bookings, or do other office work.
How many calls do 600 minutes cover?
EastSherman says 600 connected minutes could cover 100 calls averaging six minutes, and actual counts depend on duration. Practice calls count, and unused minutes do not roll over.
Is there a setup fee or contract?
There is no setup fee. You can cancel before your next monthly or yearly renewal. Annual billing is paid upfront and is not automatically refunded on cancellation.
Can I use both a person and the AI?
Yes. A common split is to let the AI handle routine, consented callbacks and record requests, and have your person handle negotiation, texting and anything outside the approved answers.
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