AI Receptionist for Interior Designers: Book the Consult, Keep the Site Moving
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Two sorts of people ring a design studio. There’s the couple who’ve just got the keys to a Californian bungalow and want to talk about the kitchen. Then there’s everyone on your live jobs: the joinery supplier, the tiler, the client who’s changed their mind about the pendant lights. You can’t take any of them with a tray of samples in your hands. An AI receptionist can.
Free · Niel rings you to pick a time
Describe a renovation. Hear what he asks.
Quick Answer
What is an AI receptionist for interior designers? An AI receptionist for interior designers answers your studio line while you’re on site or with clients. It asks new enquiries about rooms, budget, builder and timing, books consultations into your calendar, sends supplier and trade messages to the right designer, and texts you urgent site questions straight away.
Four calls a design studio gets in a typical week
A new enquiry wants a chat about their house. A supplier wants a delivery window. A tiler wants an answer now. We set Steve up to treat them differently.
| The call | What Steve does | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowner: "We're redoing the kitchen and living area. What do you charge?" | Explains that fees depend on scope, then asks about the rooms, the property, whether a builder or architect is involved, timing and budget range. Books an initial consultation. | A scoped enquiry and a consult in your calendar, instead of a price-shopper who never calls back. |
| Supplier: "The sofa for the Hawthorn job is ready. Can we deliver Thursday?" | Takes the supplier, job name, item, proposed delivery window and the driver's number, and sends it to whoever runs that project. | A delivery note against the right job, so you can check site access with the client. |
| Client on site: "The tiler needs to know the grout colour before lunch." | Recognises a time-critical site question, takes the details and texts the lead designer straight away as urgent. | An urgent SMS while there's still time to answer, not a tiler guessing. |
| Business owner: "We're fitting out a new café, about 120 square metres." | Captures the business type, size, location, lease and opening dates, and whether there's a builder yet. Flags it as commercial. | A commercial lead with the dates that decide whether you can take it. |
Studio rules we set with you
Fees stay with you
Design fees depend on scope, so Steve doesn't quote them unless you tell him to share a starting consult fee. He books the conversation where you explain your process.
Live projects come first
Calls about live jobs (deliveries, trades waiting on a decision, a client worried about a finish) are routed to the right designer, with urgent ones texted straight away.
Taste questions go to people
Steve won't advise on colours, finishes or layouts. That's your expertise. He takes the question and gets it to you.
Scenarios are illustrative composites of common interior design calls.
A first enquiry, in full
Steve: Hello, Hartley Interiors, this is Steve. How can I help today?
Caller: Hi, we've just bought a 1920s house in Malvern and need help with the whole interior. Is that something you do?
Steve: It is. Are you planning building work as well, or mostly furniture, lighting and finishes?
Caller: Some building. We've got a builder quoting a new kitchen and bathroom.
Steve: Thanks. Olivia does an initial consult at the house. She has next Tuesday at 10 or Friday at 2. Which works?
Caller: Friday at 2, please.
Steve: Booked. I'll text you a confirmation now. If you have the builder's plans, bring them along.
The studio name is made up. The caller walked away with a time, and Olivia walks into that first meeting with the builder’s plans already in front of her.
What you’ll know before you ring them back
New project enquiries
- Name, phone, email and suburb
- Residential or commercial
- Rooms or floor area involved
- Builder or architect engaged, or not yet
- Budget range and target finish date
- Style notes or inspiration they mention
Live project calls
- Job name or client address
- Caller type: client, supplier or trade
- What’s needed and the deadline
- Delivery windows and site access notes
- Callback number
You get each summary by SMS and email within seconds of the call ending. Recordings and transcripts are kept in your portal. Consultations book into Google Calendar. It works alongside Programa, Houzz Pro or Studio Designer: the details come to you ready to file, and direct integration is quoted on request.
A small profession, stretched thin
Jobs and Skills Australia estimates about 19,300 people work as interior designers in Australia, with roughly 30% working part-time (Jobs and Skills Australia). Most studios are two or three people and a dog under the desk. Nobody’s job is just the phone, so when the designer doubles as the receptionist, calls wait until after school pick-up or later.
Solo or a small team: which plan
Solo designer. About 35 calls a month at 2.5 minutes each is roughly 87.5 minutes, inside Starter (100 minutes, $149/mo).
Two or three designers. Design callers like to describe their project, so calls run longer. At 55 calls averaging 3.5 minutes, that’s about 192.5 minutes, which fits Business (250 minutes, $299/mo).
All prices in AUD, excluding GST. Your Australian phone number and call charges are included.
All plans are listed on the pricing page.
The tiler who couldn’t wait
Illustrative example based on common patterns
Olivia runs a two-person residential studio in Malvern, Melbourne. On presentation days her phone sits face down for hours. One Tuesday a client rang three times about grout colour while the tiler waited. By the time Olivia saw the calls, the tiler had picked one himself, and it was wrong.
With Steve on the phone, that first call gets flagged urgent and lands as a text between sample boards. Olivia sends a thirty-second reply. No re-grout, and no awkward chat with the client.
Related industries
Interior designer questions
Put the phone down and get back to the samples
In a free demo we’ll run a renovation enquiry and a supplier call through Steve, set up the way your studio actually runs. Live in 3 business days, month to month.
Speak to a person: 0417 460 236.