Cost and ROI

Voice AI ROI: A Worked Example, Step by Step

A step-by-step voice AI ROI example for a Saudi contact center: inputs, formulas, monthly results and a sensitivity analysis showing what changes the outcome.

Ranen teamUpdated 7 October 20266 min read

A voice AI business case should fit on one page: what calls cost today, what they would cost with a voice agent handling part of them, and how sensitive the answer is to each assumption. This article works through that calculation with the default inputs of the Ranen ROI calculator, showing every formula so you can repeat it with your own numbers.

The figures below are model defaults, not results from any client. Every one of them should be confirmed on your own call recordings and reports before it goes into a budget.

Short answer

With 4,000 incoming calls a month, a 4-minute handle time and SAR 65 per agent hour, a voice agent that completes half the calls end to end saves about SAR 1,362 a month (SAR 16,347 a year), frees about 167 agent hours, and answers 320 calls that are missed today. The result turns negative if the completion rate falls below about 43%, the handle time below about 3.5 minutes, or the loaded hourly cost below about SAR 57.

The inputs and why each matters

Input	Default	Why it matters and how to check it
Incoming calls per month	4,000	Volume offered, including calls that are missed. Take it from your ACD or carrier reports.
Average handle time	4 minutes	Talk, hold and after-call work. Longer calls mean more agent cost per call.
Fully loaded cost per agent hour	SAR 65	Salary, allowances, social insurance, benefits and overheads per paid hour. See how to calculate cost per call.
Occupancy	75%	Share of available time spent handling calls. Agents also wait between calls, and that waiting is paid.
Calls completed end to end by the voice agent	50%	The most important assumption. It depends on your call reasons and system integrations.
Voice agent time before a handover	0.5 minutes	Time spent identifying intent and collecting details before transferring.
Calls missed today	8%	Abandoned or unanswered calls. Take it from your ACD reports.

The model, step by step

1. Cost per agent minute

Occupancy is handling time divided by available time, so each handled minute carries the cost of the waiting around it:

Cost per agent minute = 65 ÷ 60 ÷ 0.75 = SAR 1.444 (shown as SAR 1.44).

2. Today's agent cost

With 8% missed, agents answer 3,680 of the 4,000 calls:

3,680 calls × 4 minutes × 1.444 = SAR 21,262 a month (14,720 agent minutes).

3. Agent cost with the voice agent

The voice agent answers all 4,000 calls. It completes 2,000 and hands over 2,000. Because each handover arrives with a summary, the caller's intent and the steps already taken, the model assumes agents spend 10% less time on those calls:

2,000 × 4 × 0.9 × 1.444 = SAR 10,400 a month (7,200 agent minutes).

4. Voice agent minutes and plan

Completed calls take the full 4 minutes; handed-over calls take 0.5 minutes before the transfer, and time after the transfer is not counted:

2,000 × 4 + 2,000 × 0.5 = 9,000 minutes

That fits the Growth plan (10,000 minutes for SAR 9,500 a month). The Starter plan would cost 2,900 + 7,000 extra minutes × 1.45 = SAR 13,050, because extra minutes are charged at the contract's own per-minute rate. Growth is cheaper.

The results

Measure	Today	With voice agent
Calls answered	3,680	4,000
Agent minutes	14,720	7,200
Agent cost	SAR 21,262	SAR 10,400
Voice agent plan	–	SAR 9,500
Total monthly cost	SAR 21,262	SAR 19,900
Net saving	–	SAR 1,362 a month; SAR 16,347 a year
Agent hours freed	–	(14,720 − 7,200) ÷ 60 ÷ 0.75 = 167 hours a month
Previously missed calls answered	–	320 a month
Cost per minute	SAR 1.44 (agent)	about SAR 1.06 (9,500 ÷ 9,000)

Reading the results carefully

The comparison is conservative on volume. Today's cost covers 3,680 answered calls; the new cost covers 4,000. If agents answered the 320 missed calls today, the agent cost would be 4,000 × 4 × 1.444 = SAR 23,111, and the monthly difference would be about SAR 3,211.
Freed hours are capacity, not cash, until you act. The saving becomes real when you reduce overtime, absorb growth or seasonal peaks without hiring, avoid backfilling attrition, or move agents to complex work.
Missed calls carry value outside the model. The 320 answered calls may include sales, renewals or complaints that would otherwise escalate. Keep that value as a separate line.

Sensitivity: what makes the result negative or larger

Each row changes one input and keeps the others at the defaults. The plan is whichever of Starter or Growth is cheaper for the minutes used, with extra minutes at the contract rate.

Change	Voice agent minutes	Total with voice agent	Monthly saving
Defaults	9,000	SAR 19,900	SAR 1,362
Completion 30%	6,200	SAR 23,550	−SAR 2,288
Completion 40%	7,600	SAR 21,980	−SAR 718
Completion 60%	10,400	SAR 18,200	SAR 3,062
Completion 70%	11,800	SAR 17,450	SAR 3,812
Handle time 3 minutes	7,000	SAR 17,300	−SAR 1,353
Handle time 6 minutes	13,000	SAR 27,950	SAR 3,943
SAR 55 per agent hour	9,000	SAR 18,300	−SAR 309
SAR 80 per agent hour	9,000	SAR 22,300	SAR 3,869
No handover time reduction	9,000	SAR 21,056	SAR 207
Occupancy 85%	9,000	SAR 18,676	SAR 84

What drives the result

Completion rate. Break-even is near 43%. Below it, the plan costs more than the agent time it replaces. This is the number to test first.
Handle time. Break-even is near 3.5 minutes. Short calls are cheap for agents to handle, and a plan sized for 10,000 minutes is under-used.
Loaded agent cost. Break-even is near SAR 57 an hour. Higher costs, overtime or Ramadan hours raise the saving.
Occupancy. Higher occupancy lowers the cost of an agent minute and shrinks the saving.
The 10% handover assumption. Without it, the saving falls to about SAR 207. Measure handle time on transferred calls during a pilot.

Seasonal volume changes the picture too; see handling Ramadan, Hajj and seasonal call peaks.

Confirming the numbers with Ranen

Every input above should come from your own data. A demo on your own call recordings shows which call reasons Ranen can complete end to end, which sets the completion rate. Launching on one line and measuring before expanding gives the real handover time and agent time on transferred calls; the rules for transfers are covered in when a voice agent should hand over to a human. Minutes count only the time Ranen handles, and the summary, intent and outcome of every call are recorded, so the inputs can be checked month by month. Run your own figures in the ROI calculator and compare plans on the pricing section.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the ROI of a voice AI agent?

Compare today's agent cost for the same calls with the remaining agent cost plus the voice agent's cost. Agent cost is calls × handle time × cost per agent minute, where cost per agent minute is the loaded hourly cost ÷ 60 ÷ occupancy.

What completion rate does voice AI need to pay off?

With these defaults, about 43%. Your break-even depends on your handle time, loaded cost, occupancy and plan, so recalculate it with your own inputs.

Why divide by occupancy?

Agents are paid while they wait between calls. Dividing by occupancy spreads that paid waiting time over the minutes actually spent on calls.

Are these results from a real client?

No. They are the default inputs of the ROI model, used to show the method. Confirm every figure on your own recordings and reports.

Sources

Hear Ranen on your own calls

Book a demo and we run Ranen on a sample of your call recordings, then size the plan with you.

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Cost and ROI7 min read