AI for Sales Calls: AI That Makes the Call, Helps You on It, or Reviews It (2026)
Updated
“AI for sales calls” means three different things. A voice agent makes or answers the call itself, with a synthetic voice. A live assistant helps a human rep during the call. A conversation intelligence tool records the call and analyses it afterwards. They cost different amounts, fall under different rules and suit different calls, so it helps to know which one you are shopping for.
From the vendors’ pricing pages and law firm summaries of the FCC ruling, checked in November 2026. We make Realtimer, a live assistant. This is general information, not legal advice.
Three kinds of AI for sales calls
| Kind | What it does | Examples | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice agent | Makes or answers the call with an AI voice: qualifies, books, reminds | Retell AI, Vapi | Per minute: $0.07 to $0.31 on Retell |
| Live assistant | Helps a human rep during the call with answers or prompts | Realtimer, Aircall AI Assist Pro, Dialpad, Trellus | Free to about $150 per user a month |
| Conversation intelligence | Records the call, summarizes it and scores it afterwards | Gong, Avoma, Otter | From free to custom contracts |
AI that makes the call: voice agents
A voice agent chains together speech recognition, a language model, a synthetic voice and a phone line. Teams use them for calls that follow a script: qualifying inbound leads, answering after hours, booking meetings and sending reminders. Platforms such as Retell AI and Vapi let you build one and pay by the minute.
Retell AI charges $0.07 to $0.31 a minute for voice agents, depending on the voice and the model, with $10 in free credits and 20 concurrent calls included on pay-as-you-go. Its own example breaks a minute into the voice infrastructure ($0.055), the language model and the text-to-speech voice. Vapi bills the same parts separately (transcription, model, voice and telephony), starts with $5 in free credits and sells support packages from $29 a month.
Voice agents also come with rules. In February 2024 the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices count as an “artificial” voice under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. An AI voice call therefore needs the same consent as a prerecorded call, and for telemarketing to mobile numbers that usually means prior express written consent. In practice that rules out using a voice agent to cold call mobile numbers without consent.
AI that helps you on the call: live assistants
Here a person still makes the call, and the AI listens alongside. Realtimer, which we make, runs on the rep’s Mac and works on Zoom, Meet, Teams and web dialers without joining the call. When the buyer asks about price, terms or a competitor, the rep presses a key and the answer appears in about a second from the company’s own price lists and documents, with the source. It is free with your own API keys, or €29 a month on Pro, which needs no keys.
Phone systems have their own versions. Aircall AI Assist Pro shows a live transcript and tracks the call against a framework such as BANT or MEDDIC for $49 per user a month on top of Aircall. Dialpad shows cards a manager wrote in advance. Trellus is a cold-calling dialer that nudges the rep to pause or set next steps. The differences are in real-time sales coaching, and a longer list is in 20 real-time AI sales assistants.
AI that reviews the call: conversation intelligence
The third kind works after the call. Gong records calls, usually with a bot, and uses them for coaching and forecasting; buyer reports put it at about $1,300 to $1,600 per user a year plus a platform fee. Avoma combines notes, coaching and live cards from $19 per recorder seat a month. Otter transcribes and summarizes calls with 300 free minutes a month. Prices for these and other tools are in AI sales assistant software.
Which AI for which sales call
The kinds combine: a voice agent for scripted, high-volume calls to people who agreed to be called, and a live assistant or coach for the calls a person still has to win.
| The call | Kind of AI |
|---|---|
| Hundreds of short qualification or reminder calls to leads who opted in | Voice agent, with the consent the TCPA requires |
| Inbound calls after hours | Voice agent |
| Demos and negotiations where the buyer asks about price, terms and competitors | A live assistant that answers from your documents |
| New SDRs on cold calls | A coaching dialer such as Trellus |
| Managers who want to review every call | Conversation intelligence such as Gong or Avoma |
Keep a person on the call, with answers ready
Realtimer runs on your Mac and joins nothing. When the buyer asks about price, terms or a competitor, press a key and the answer appears in about a second from your own files, with the source. Free with your own API keys. Realtimer for sales →
AI for sales calls: FAQ
Can AI make sales calls for me?
Yes. Voice agents built on platforms such as Retell AI or Vapi can make and answer calls with a synthetic voice, mostly for scripted calls like qualification, booking and reminders.
Is it legal to use AI to make sales calls?
In the US, the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA, so the consent rules for prerecorded calls apply. Telemarketing calls to mobile numbers usually need prior express written consent.
How much does AI for sales calls cost?
Voice agents are billed per minute, about $0.07 to $0.31 on Retell AI. Live assistants range from free to about $150 per user a month, and conversation intelligence from free plans to custom contracts.
Which AI helps a rep during a sales call?
Live assistants such as Realtimer, which answers the buyer’s questions from your documents, and coaching tools inside phone systems such as Aircall AI Assist Pro, Dialpad and Trellus.
Sources: Retell AI: pricing · Vapi: pricing · Cooley: FCC says AI-generated robocalls fall under the TCPA · Orrick: did the FCC really ban AI-generated voice calls? · Aircall: AI Assist Pro · Dialpad: AI Live Coach Cards · Trellus: pricing · Avoma: real-time guidance · Otter: pricing