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#185 · How to pick the right niche for AI automation

youtube ↗Niches

Are hotels a good niche for an AI voice agent? Any other service recommendations?

My first thought is that hotels could work because the average order value isn't high, but there are two big issues. First, the industry is hospitality-focused - if a voice agent sounds robotic, it hurts the guest experience. Second, most bookings happen online via Booking.com or similar; only about 20% involve a phone call, so the value of a voice agent that answers calls is low. Voice agents only make sense in businesses where you need to pick up the phone immediately to capture a lead, like a salon appointment. In hotels, you could outsource routine questions to a call center anyway, so the upside is limited.

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youtube ↗AI & Automation

What's the use case for AI receptionists and voice agents? Could it be customer support for dental clinics, med spas, hair salons, local shops, etc.?

Voice agents make the most sense in low-lifetime-value situations. For a private equity firm making $5-10M per deal, a voice agent would be pissing away that value to save ~$100/call — pointless. But in a business where a visit is worth $30 and someone visits about 5 times ($150 LTV), the low LTV means it's worth saving time on the call. Hair salons make sense; after-hours plumbers can make sense. I wouldn't automate dental clinics or med spas — a dental implant can be $5,000 done in an hour, extremely high LTV, and you shouldn't risk even a 2% lower close rate on intake calls to save time. Customer support can make sense for low-cost products since the customer's already paid — you're optimizing experience on a smaller slice of that LTV, not risking the sale itself. Local shops just depend on their specific LTV.

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youtube ↗Niches

What kinds of niches would you recommend for voice agents and workflows?

I was thinking local businesses, but in a previous video I said I would stay away from local businesses. There's nuance: I would definitely stay away from local businesses in general because they're less scalable and you don't get straightforward access to local leads, unlike fully digital leads. However, if you're selling voice agents, local businesses can be your best bet because they're high volume and have big consequences if they miss a call or inquiry, which creates strong search intent and need‑based demand. They also tend to have relatively low average order values, which matters because if a business you reach has a high average order value, the opportunity cost of losing even a small percentage of conversion rate by switching to an AI voice agent (instead of a human) can outweigh the savings. You might save $2,000 a month, but the opportunity cost could lose you $20,000 a month, which isn’t a trade I’d make.

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youtube ↗AI & Automation

Is there still strong business demand for selling voice AI agents, and what core pain points do they solve?

Demand for voice agents has slowed down significantly compared to a year or two ago. The initial hype has settled, and businesses realize that current voice AI technology still makes too many mistakes to be truly effective. The core problem businesses face is missing phone calls, but hiring real humans currently offers much better leverage and ROI. Voice agents cost a fraction of human setters, but they generate far less revenue due to lower performance. Give the technology another year or two to improve, but right now it is rarely worth selling.

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