Independent setup · Gyms, studios & coaches · Tested October 23, 2026
AI receptionist for gyms and coaches, picked from real test calls
We called 7 AI receptionists pretending to be customers of a gym and of a coach. We’ll run the same tests on your own call script, set up the agent that passes, and keep checking it every month.
Or call our demo receptionist: (412) 435-1844
The problem: you’re coaching, not watching the phone
During classes and sessions, calls about memberships, prices and tours go to voicemail, and a new member who can’t get an answer may join somewhere else.
An AI receptionist can answer every call. In our tests they all handled prices and bookings well for a gym, so what sets them apart is after-hours answers, interruptions and reply speed, which a sales demo won’t show you.
What we found calling 7 agents as a gym and a coach
On October 23, 2026, every platform got the same gym prompt (listed membership price, open tour and class slots, hours) and the same career-coach prompt (listed session prices and slots). Our test caller asked for prices, booked a slot, raised an emergency, called after hours and cut the agent off mid-sentence. Round 5 results.
- Gym prices and bookings: every agent passed. All 7 quoted the listed price and offered the listed slot on both calls.
- Emergencies: every agent passed. When the caller said a friend collapsed on a treadmill, all 7 said to call 911 (Vapi said “901” before correcting itself).
- After-hours: one miss. Ultravox said the gym was open until 9 PM, then offered to book a 10 PM tour.
- Interruptions: Ultravox (0.42 s) and Retell (0.46 s) stopped talking fastest when cut off; Bland kept going for 1.84 s.
- Coaching prices were harder. Five agents quoted the listed coaching prices on both calls; LiveKit got 1 of 2 (unconfirmed) and Bland never stated a price.
- ElevenLabs replied fastest in both: 1,100 ms median for gym and 1,070 ms for coaching.
Gym results by agent
Calls passed out of calls made (1–2 per cell). Interrupt = seconds the agent kept talking after the caller cut in. Reply = median milliseconds, replies measured in brackets.
ElevenLabs
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 1.48 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1100 (15)
Millis
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.60 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1300 (15)
Retell
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.46 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1280 (16)
Ultravox
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 0/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.42 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1520 (15)
Vapi
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1¶
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.92 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1780 (15)
LiveKit
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 1.12 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1880 (15)
Bland
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 1.84 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1800 (10)
- Quote
- Quoted the listed price
- Booking
- Offered the listed slot
- Emergency
- Told the caller to call 911
- After-hours
- Handled a 10 PM tour request
- Markers
- ¶ said “901” before correcting to 911
Callback read-backs aren’t shown for gym: our test caller misspoke the number on most calls, so those results aren’t valid.
Coaching results by agent (career-coach script)
Same columns. The emergency call was a caller having a panic attack: a pass means calming guidance plus 911/urgent care and/or 988 before, or instead of, booking.
ElevenLabs
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 1.00 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1070 (16)
Millis
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.64 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1500 (15)
Retell
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.46 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1280 (15)
Ultravox
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.38 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1340 (15)
Vapi
- Quote
- 2/2
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 0.84 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1680 (15)
LiveKit
- Quote
- 1/2#
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1
- Interrupt (s)
- 1.76 s
- Reply (ms)
- 2300 (15)
Bland
- Quote
- 0/2**
- Booking
- 2/2
- Emergency
- 1/1
- After-hours
- 1/1††
- Interrupt (s)
- 2.44 s
- Reply (ms)
- 1830 (8)
- Quote
- Quoted the listed prices
- After-hours
- Handled a Sunday request to talk to a coach
- Markers
- # listed $135, our speech-to-text heard $35, miss unconfirmed · ** never stated a price · †† gave hours, no slot or message
LiveKit, Millis, Retell and Vapi offered booking slots after the safety guidance. Read-backs are omitted for the same reason as gym. LiveKit is our own self-hosted pipeline, not a hosted product. OpenAI was not tested in this round.
Full Round 5 results and methodology →
What we set up and test
Membership and price questions
Quotes your listed prices and plans, and never makes up a discount.
Tours, classes and sessions
Offers real open slots or takes a booking request for your team to confirm.
Emergencies
Tells the caller to call 911 when someone is hurt, instead of booking them in.
After-hours answering
States your real hours and key-fob rules and takes a message; no false promises.
Interruptions
Stops talking quickly when the caller cuts in, then answers the new question.
Every kind of studio
Gyms, CrossFit and yoga studios, personal trainers, recovery studios, and fitness, nutrition and business coaches.
How it works
- 1
Audit
We look at how your phones are answered today: missed calls, after-hours, common requests, and what your booking or membership software can connect to.
- 2
Shortlist
We pick the 2–3 agents from our benchmarks that fit your call mix, budget and integrations.
- 3
Private test on your script
We run the shortlist through our call battery using your hours, prices, class schedule and emergency policy, with fictional caller data.
- 4
Setup
We configure the winner on your own platform account: prompts, knowledge, call transfer, and booking integration where supported.
- 5
Go-live QA
Before your number points at it, we re-run the tests on the final setup and only sign off when it passes.
Monthly QA
Agents change when platforms update models. Every month we call your live agent with fictional caller details and run the same checks we use in our benchmarks.
✓ Prices
Quotes your listed prices exactly; never invents one.
✓ Booking + read-back
Offers only real slots and reads back the caller’s name and callback number exactly.
✓ Emergency routing
Tells the caller to call 911 when someone is hurt.
✓ After-hours
States your real hours and takes a message.
✓ Interruptions
Stops talking within 2.0 s when the caller cuts in.
✓ Reply speed
Median reply gap and p90, measured over the phone line.
You get a pass/fail table for each check, reply times, and the exact failing lines with timestamps.
Pricing
The same price for every type of business.
Setup (one time)
$1,500
$995 for our first 5 clients
Monthly QA
$449/mo
- You pay the agent platform for usage directly, on your own account. No markup from us. See what a call costs.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
FAQ
What does an AI receptionist do for a gym or fitness studio?
It answers membership and class questions, quotes your listed prices, books tours and classes into real slots, tells callers your real hours after closing, and tells a caller to call 911 if someone collapses, instead of trying to book them in.
Which AI receptionist is best for gyms?
In our Round 5 gym calls, all 7 agents quoted the listed price and offered the listed slot on both calls, and all passed the emergency call. The differences were after-hours (only Ultravox failed), how fast they stopped when interrupted (Ultravox 0.42 s and Retell 0.46 s fastest, Bland 1.84 s slowest) and reply speed (ElevenLabs fastest at 1.10 s). With 1–2 calls per cell, we test the shortlist on your own script before picking.
Does it work for coaches?
Yes. We also tested a coaching business (a career coach). Five of 7 agents quoted the listed prices on both calls; LiveKit got 1 of 2 (miss unconfirmed) and Bland never stated a price. All 7 handled a caller having a panic attack by giving immediate-help guidance before any booking.
Does it work with my booking or membership software?
It depends on your software and the agent platform. We check this in the free audit before you pay for setup. Where a direct integration isn’t available, the agent takes the request and sends it to your team.
How much does it cost?
$1,500 one-time setup ($995 for our first 5 clients) and $449/mo for monthly QA, the same for every type of business. You pay the agent platform for call minutes directly, with no markup from us. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Will callers know they’re talking to an AI?
Yes. We set the agent to introduce itself by name as your agentic assistant at the start of the call, and to transfer to a person or take a message when asked.
Keep reading
Round 5 benchmark →
Gym, coaching and roofing & HVAC results, with full method and limits.
Best AI receptionist for small business →
Tested picks and prices.
Voice AI cost per call →
Measured cost per call, with a calculator.
AI receptionist cost →
What AI and human answering services charge.
AI receptionists for home services →
The same offer, with our roofing & HVAC results.
AI receptionist setup for any business →
How the service works for every industry.
Conflict-of-interest disclosure
- Paid setup work never affects our benchmark results or rankings.
- If a platform pays us an affiliate commission on your account, we tell you before you sign up and credit it to you. See how Cozzo makes money.
Find out how your phones are answered today
A free 15-minute call audit. Email us and we’ll reply to set a time.