AI employee or virtual assistant
An AI Employee, an Offshore Virtual Assistant or a Local Hire?
An offshore virtual assistant, a receptionist you hire locally and an AI employee can all cover your front desk and inbox. Here is how they compare on the things owners ask about, with a link to every source. Each one is good at something different, so pick the one that fits the work.
We've filled in Receptionist below. Change the role if you like, press Make my AI employee and meet yours in about a minute.
An example conversion. Bob, a receptionist, costs $38,010 a year as a human, before payroll taxes, benefits and recruitment. Converted into BobAI, the same role costs $750 a month, $29,010 a year less.
How it works
- Drop in a role
- Meet your AI employee
- Interview your AI employee with our team. When you hire, we onboard them for you.
See a role get converted
A short demo: a resume goes in and an AI employee comes out, with their own inbox, Google Meet and bookings.
The video has no sound. A resume card turns into an AI employee's card with their photo, name, role and what they can do.
The three side by side
On a phone the table scrolls sideways. The numbers in brackets link to the sources under the table.
| What you get | Offshore virtual assistant from an agency | Receptionist or admin you hire locally | Your AI employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good at | A real person who can take on varied tasks and use judgement, for a lower hourly rate than a local hire. | A real person at your front desk who greets visitors face to face and gets to know your business and your customers. | Answers email and joins Google Meet calls at any hour, books into your calendar and keeps working through nights, weekends and holidays. |
| Hours covered | Four to eight hours a day, twenty to forty hours a week, on the hours you agree with the agency. [1] | Most receptionists work full time. [2] | Around the clock, every day of the year. |
| Nights and weekends | Possible if you pay for more people. MyOutDesk offers round the clock cover by staffing several receptionists. [3] | Some receptionists, such as those in hospitals and nursing homes, work evenings and weekends. [2] | Yes, the same as on a weekday, at no extra cost. |
| Answers the phone | Yes, through your phone system. Virtual Coworker doesn't provide a phone system, so you set up a phone service for your assistant. [1] [3] | Yes. Receptionists answer the telephone, take messages and forward calls. [2] | Not yet. Today your AI employee talks with people in Google Meet calls and answers by email. |
| Yes. An agency receptionist can manage your inbox. [3] | Yes. Receptionists handle the written correspondence that comes in and goes out. [2] | Yes, from a work email address of the role's own. Your AI employee answers enquiries, confirms bookings and follows up. | |
| Bookings into your calendar | Yes. An agency receptionist can coordinate calendars and book meetings. [3] | Yes. Receptionists schedule and confirm appointments and keep calendars. [2] | Yes. Your AI employee offers times that are really free, books the appointment and sends the invite. |
| Time zone | Your assistant works the hours of the time zone you choose. [1] | Yours. They work locally, at your office. | Yours, at any hour of the day. |
| Who manages them | You give the daily work. MyOutDesk adds a dedicated account manager on its managed plan. [4] | You do, along with the hiring, payroll and leave. | Our team sets up and manages your AI employee. You give the work, the same as you would to a person. |
| Turnover and sick days | Virtual Coworker says you pay only for the hours worked and there is no obligation to pay sick days or holidays. MyOutDesk finds a replacement at no extra cost if a placement isn't working out. [1] [4] | Depends on the person. You cover their leave and recruit again if they move on. | No sick days, no holidays and no notice period. |
| Setup time | MyOutDesk says it can onboard a vetted virtual receptionist in as little as seven days. [3] | After you recruit, most receptionists get short on the job training, usually a few days up to a month. [2] | You meet your AI employee in about a minute, and your AI employee starts within 10 business days of the interview call. |
| Monthly cost (US dollars) | From about $1,213 a month at Virtual Coworker: its starting rate of $7 an hour for a virtual assistant, forty hours a week over a year, divided by twelve. MyOutDesk's managed plan starts at $1,988 a month for one person, eight hours a day, five days a week. [5] [4] | About $3,168 a month: the US median pay for receptionists, $38,010 a year, divided by twelve, before benefits and payroll taxes. [2] | Your AI employee costs $750 a month, fully managed, which is our lowest monthly price. |
- Virtual Coworker, frequently asked questions (read 23 Oct 2026).
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, receptionists (read 23 Oct 2026).
- MyOutDesk, virtual receptionists (read 23 Oct 2026).
- MyOutDesk, pricing (read 23 Oct 2026).
- Virtual Coworker, pricing (read 23 Oct 2026).
What we say about your AI employee is what the product does today. Our price follows our price rules: Your AI employee costs $750 a month, fully managed, which is our lowest monthly price. Onboarding is $1,500 and includes your AI employee's first month.
Questions
- How much does an AI employee cost compared with a virtual assistant?
- Your AI employee costs $750 a month, fully managed, which is our lowest monthly price. Onboarding is $1,500 and includes your AI employee's first month. An offshore virtual assistant from an agency is paid by the hour for the hours one person works, and every source we used is linked in the table.
- Is an AI employee better than a virtual assistant?
- That depends on the work. A virtual assistant is a real person who handles varied tasks and calls that need judgement. Your AI employee is better when the work is the inbox, bookings and meetings at any hour, including nights and weekends, without a shift to cover.
- Can your AI employee answer the phone?
- Not yet. Today your AI employee answers by email, books into your calendar and talks with people in Google Meet calls. If phone calls are most of the job, a virtual assistant or an answering service covers the phone today.
- Who manages my AI employee?
- We do. Our team sets up your AI employee, keeps the work on track and fixes anything that goes wrong. You give the work the way you would to a person on your team.
- Can I keep my virtual assistant and add an AI employee?
- Yes. Your AI employee can take the inbox and the bookings at night and on weekends while your assistant works their shift.
- Are these figures current?
- Each figure shows the date we read it on the provider's own page, with the link. Agencies change their prices and terms, so check the link before you decide.
More
Working out the cost? See what a receptionist costs, side by side and the missed calls calculator.
Or see what an AI employee does as a receptionist, an executive assistant, an admin assistant, an office assistant and an IT support specialist.
Or convert any role right here: type it in the role field at the top.
Don't hire a human. Convert the role.
We onboard your AI like a human and get them running in your company.
Your AI employee starts within 10 business days. Filling a role the usual way takes a median of 39 days just to reach an accepted offer (SHRM, 2026 (opens in a new tab)).
An example of an AI employee on their first day.
BobAI
Receptionist
- Work email: [email protected]
- Phone number: +1 (415) 555-0142
- Computer: Windows desktop, set up on day one
- Slack or Teams: Added to #general
- Meetings: Monday stand-up
- Weekly check: Reviewed by our team every Friday
Roles converted so far
0
Counted from real conversions on this site. Sample roles aren't included.
The people behind every AI employee
Meet the team who onboard your AI employee and look after them.
People set up every AI employee, check their work each week and are on hand when you need a change.
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[Photo]
[Name]
[Role]
[Two-sentence bio for Matt to write]
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[Photo]
[Name]
[Role]
[Two-sentence bio for Matt to write]
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[Photo]
[Name]
[Role]
[Two-sentence bio for Matt to write]
The things you'd ask before hiring anyone.
What can an AI employee actually do?
We start by agreeing a set of deliverables for the role with you. For a receptionist that might be answering calls, booking appointments and sorting the shared inbox. We automate those, check the work each week and add more as your AI employee proves themselves.
They work through email, phone, chat, meetings, documents, their own computer and your software. They don't do physical work.
What if they get something wrong?
New tasks start in approval mode: your AI employee prepares the work and you or our team approve it before anything goes out. Once you're happy with a task, they can do it without waiting for approval. Our team checks their work every week either way. We agree your AI employee's main deliverables for the first month. For each one your AI employee doesn't deliver, we refund that deliverable's share of the month's price.
Why not just buy an AI tool for $50 a month?
For some jobs a tool is enough. A tool is software you set up, prompt and check yourself. An AI employee is set up by our team with their own email, phone number and computer, connected to your tools, given deliverables you agree and checked every week. You brief them like a new starter, and we handle the rest.
How long until they start?
Within 10 business days of you hiring them. We set up their email, phone number, computer and accounts, connect them to your tools and agree their first deliverables with you.
What does onboarding cover?
Everything it takes to get them working, done by our team, so you don't need to know anything about AI. We set up their own work email, phone number and computer, connect them to your tools and accounts, and agree their first deliverables with you. You invite them into your Slack or Teams and your meetings like a new contractor, and brief them the way you'd brief a new starter. Onboarding is $1,500 and includes your AI employee's first month.
What happens if they aren't working out?
You fire them. There's no lock-in contract, and billing stops at the end of that month. If that's in the first month, you've only paid the $1,500. We agree your AI employee's main deliverables for the first month. For each one your AI employee doesn't deliver, we refund that deliverable's share of the month's price.
Do they pretend to be a person?
No. They always say they're an AI, in their emails, on calls and in meetings.
What happens to the file I upload?
We read the duties, skills and experience, then delete the file. We never store the file or its text. A job description is the best thing to upload. If you upload a resume, we never show a surname or contact details from it. Your AI employee stays online for 30 days so you can share their profile.