Trillet vs My AI Front Desk: Which AI Answering Service Actually Closes Leads? (2026)

Quick Decision Guide (30-Second Read)

Bottom line: If you're too busy to return calls within 24 hours, you need automated follow-up (Trillet). If you have staff dedicated to callbacks, professional message-taking (My AI Front Desk) works fine.

The "Callback Gap": Where Revenue is Lost

To understand the difference between these platforms, we first need to look at the math of lead management.

In a typical scenario, a potential client calls a plumber, therapist, or lawyer. They are often comparing 3-4 providers. If they don't book immediately, they might say, "Let me check with my spouse and call you back."

What Happens When a Customer Says "I'll Think About It"?

This is where the two services diverge most dramatically.

The My AI Front Desk Approach

1. Customer calls: "I need someone to check my brakes, but I'm getting quotes from a few shops."

2. My AI Front Desk AI: "No problem! What's the best number to reach you?" → Captures number and sends you notification

3. You receive notification: "Lead: Mike Rodriguez, needs brake service, comparing prices."

4. Ball is in your court: You manually call back, text, or email

5. If he doesn't answer: You play phone tag (often for days)

Result: You're accessible, but you're still doing manual follow-up work. By the time you connect, he's often already booked with the first shop that followed up.

Research shows that 67% of people don't listen to voicemails from business contacts , even when they recognize the number, making phone tag even more challenging.

The Trillet Approach

1. Customer calls: "I need someone to check my brakes, but I'm getting quotes from a few shops."

2. Trillet AI: "Totally understand. Just so I can give you accurate pricing, what's the make, model, and year of your vehicle?" → Captures intake details

3. Trillet AI: "Got it. I'll text you a quote range for your 2019 Honda Accord in the next hour, and you can book directly if it works. Sound good?"

4. 3 days later (if no booking): Trillet automatically sends: "Hi Mike, this is Trillet for [Auto Shop]. I know you were considering brake service. We have an opening Thursday at 2 PM if you're ready: [booking link]. No pressure."

Result: The lead gets a proactive follow-up without you lifting a finger. Industry data suggests leads reached within 5 minutes are 21 times more likely to convert , and 40-60% of "I'll think about it" leads convert when followed up within 3-5 days . Trillet automates this entirely.

Why This Matters for Your Revenue

This scenario highlights the lost revenue from leads you already paid to acquire.

Scenario: Solo therapist receiving 20 inquiry calls per week

• Immediate bookings: 8 clients (40%)

• "I'll think about it" leads: 12 calls (60%)

With My AI Front Desk

• You manually call back 12 leads.

• Due to phone tag and client anxiety, you convert 3–4 (25–30%).

• Total clients booked: 11–12 per week.

With Trillet

• Automated follow-ups reach all 12 leads consistently.

• Empathetic, low-pressure texts convert 7–8 (58–66%).

• Total clients booked: 15–16 per week.

Revenue impact: 4 additional clients/week × $150/session = $600/week in recovered revenue.

This equates to $31,200/year in recovered revenue from leads you were already getting. No new marketing spend is required.

Studies show that 80% of sales require five or more follow-ups , yet 44% of salespeople give up after just one follow-up attempt .

Feature Comparison: Where Revenue Gets Lost

Core Capabilities: The 3-Step Conversion Framework

Trillet's ethos is built on the belief that answering the phone is only 10% of the job. Securing the booking requires three distinct steps. Here is how the two platforms compare on this framework.

1. Vetting the Call (The Industry Standard)

Goal: Filter out spam and identify genuine customers.

Comparison: Both Trillet and My AI Front Desk handle this effectively. Both systems use AI to detect robocalls and greet valid callers professionally.

2. Automating Intake (The Deep Dive)

Goal: Collect the specific technical details required to do the job, rather than just a name and number.

• My AI Front Desk: Generally captures standard contact info and the "reason for calling," then directs the owner to follow up.

• Trillet: Is trained to act like a technician or intake specialist.

  • Example (Vet Clinic): Instead of just taking a message, Trillet asks for the breed, age, and vaccination status.

  • Example (Auto Mechanic): Trillet asks for the car make, model, year, and last service date.

3. Handling Follow-Ups (The Trillet Differentiator)

Goal: Convert the 60% of callers who are "just browsing" or "need to think about it."

The Difference: This is the single biggest operational difference. Most AI receptionists do not have post-call automation. Trillet was built around it.

Text message follow-ups receive a 112.6% higher conversion rate  than other methods, and SMS messages have a 98% open rate .

The Financial Impact of Automated Follow-Up

Why does this "Revenue Engine" approach matter? Because the math of manual callbacks works against the business owner.

Let's look at a solo practice receiving 20 inquiries a week:

• Immediate Bookings: 8 callers (40%)

• Hesitant/Callback Needed: 12 callers (60%)

With a standard receptionist tool, you manually call those 12 leads back. Due to phone tag and delays, you might convert 3 of them. Research shows that 35-50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first , and businesses that respond within 5 minutes are 100 times more likely to connect .

With Trillet's automated SMS sequences, response rates typically increase because the lead is contacted instantly and consistently. Even converting just 4 more leads per week leads to significant revenue gains over a year.

SMS marketing campaigns achieve conversion rates between 21% and 32% , with abandoned cart SMS messages converting at 24.6%-39.4% .

Summary: Which Tool Is Right For You?

Choose My AI Front Desk If:

• You have a dedicated front-desk team who just needs help filtering calls.

• You prefer to personally vet and call back every single inquiry.

• Your primary goal is simply ensuring the phone is answered 24/7.

Choose Trillet If:

• You are an owner-operator who is too busy to play phone tag

• You're a therapist/counselor who knows that potential clients ghost after saying "I'll call back"

• You need an intake process that filters for technical details (breed, car model, case type)

Studies show that businesses answering only 37.8% of inbound calls  means nearly two-thirds of potential customers hang up without connecting.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does Trillet really handle follow-ups without me doing anything?

Yes. Follow-up automation is built into the core platform, not sold as an add-on. When a caller expresses hesitation ("I need to think about it," "I'm comparing options," "Let me check my budget"), Trillet automatically initiates a multi-touch follow-up sequence via SMS tailored to their specific objection.

You control the timing (Day 3, Day 5, etc.) and messaging tone during setup. After that, it runs on autopilot. My AI Front Desk does not offer this functionality, you're responsible for all follow-up contact.

Can My AI Front Desk integrate with my CRM like Trillet does?

Yes, both platforms integrate with major CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, etc.). The difference isn't whether they integrate, it's what data flows through.

• My AI Front Desk sends: Contact info, call transcript, date/time.

• Trillet sends: Contact info, call transcript, intake form responses, lead qualification score, follow-up engagement history, and conversion status.

If you're using a CRM to track lead quality and conversion rates, Trillet provides actionable data. My AI Front Desk provides documentation.

What happens if the AI can't answer a question?

Both platforms handle edge cases similarly:

1. Acknowledge the question

2. Collect the caller's information

3. Escalate to you with full context

The difference is what happens next. My AI Front Desk waits for you to call back. Trillet sends the caller an immediate text: "Great question! I've flagged this for [Owner Name] to follow up with you directly. Expect a call within 2 hours, or reply here if you need anything sooner."

The follow-up text buys you time and keeps the lead warm while you're unavailable.

Does Trillet work for multiple locations or team members?

Yes, but it's optimized for owner-operators and small teams (1-10 people). If you're running a franchise with 20+ locations and need enterprise call routing, My AI Front Desk's Pro plan is better suited for that complexity.

For most small businesses, Trillet's team features (call forwarding to specific team members, department-based routing, shared inboxes) are more than sufficient.

Can I test Trillet risk-free?

Yes. Trillet offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the system doesn't reduce your callback workload or increase your booking rate within 30 days, request a full refund.

My AI Front Desk offers a 14-day free trial, which sounds generous but isn't long enough to measure conversion impact. You need at least 30 days of call volume to assess whether follow-up automation is actually closing more jobs.

What if I already use a scheduling tool like Calendly?

Both platforms integrate with Calendly, Acuity, Square Appointments, and similar tools. The AI can send booking links during calls.

The question is: What happens when someone doesn't book immediately?

• My AI Front Desk ends the call and hopes they click the link later.

• Trillet sends a reminder text 24 hours later: "Hi [Name], this is Trillet for [Business]. You mentioned wanting to book [service], here's that link again: [Link]. We're filling up for next week, so grab your preferred time while it's available."

That second touch is the difference between a 30% booking rate and a 60% booking rate. SMS click-through rates average 19-20% , compared to email's 0.77%-4.36%.

The Bottom Line: Reception vs. Revenue

My AI Front Desk is an excellent virtual receptionist. It answers calls professionally, captures detailed information, integrates with your tech stack, and provides comprehensive reporting. If you have a team member whose job is to review lead summaries and make callback decisions, it's a solid choice.

But if you're an owner-operator who's tired of losing jobs because you're too busy to follow up immediately, reception isn't your problem, revenue conversion is.

Trillet eliminates the gap between "someone called" and "job secured." It blocks spam before it reaches you, completes business-critical intake during the initial call, and automatically pursues hesitant leads until they convert or explicitly opt out. Most importantly, it's designed to run without requiring your daily involvement.

The businesses that switch from My AI Front Desk to Trillet don't do it because the receptionist was bad. They do it because they realized answering the phone isn't the same as securing the customer.

Research shows that 78% of customers buy from the first company that responds , and calling a lead within the first minute can boost conversion rates by 391% .

If you're spending 5+ hours per week on callbacks and follow-ups, you're not paying for a receptionist, you're paying to create more work for yourself. Trillet eliminates that work entirely. Start Now →