The short answer: OfficeHQ is an Australian answering service whose MyAI Receptionist comes with live Australian receptionists ready to take over a call, on flexible month-to-month plans. Chirp is the better choice for a business that wants an agent built around its own operating rules and improved by a local team every week: our Melbourne team maps how you handle calls, so it sorts emergencies from quotes, books the job into your software and puts the call through to your office when it should. Chirp resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, and plans start from $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee.
Everything here about OfficeHQ comes from its own website, checked in September 2026. Prices and features change, so check their site before you buy.
Chirp vs OfficeHQ: the comparison table
| As at September 2026 |  Chirp |  OfficeHQ |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Built and managed by Chirp's team | Set up for you. Marketed as live in minutes |
| Starting price | From $16 a day, plus a one-off build fee | MyAI Receptionist $20 a month for 10 calls, plus GST |
| Integrations | Any software you use. 6,000+ integrations, plus custom builds | Zapier, HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Calendar, Insightly, ServiceM8 and more |
| After go-live | Every call scored. Tuned by our team every week | Says it continually updates the AI from calls and your requirements |
| Emergency triage | Sorts emergencies from quotes. Safety calls triaged after hours | Scripted escalation to reach the correct on-call person |
| Channels | Phone, web chat and SMS | Phone. Call details sent to you by email, SMS or both |
| Australian voice | Natural Australian voice. Melbourne team | AI voice personas. Receptionists mostly in Australia, some overseas overflow |
| Human handover | Puts the call through to your office | Live Australian receptionist takes over, on every AI plan |
| Contract | Set out in your proposal | Month to month, no lock-in, cancel by email |
What OfficeHQ is good at
OfficeHQ runs a live call answering service, and its AI product builds on it. Here's what it does well, in its own words where we could.
A real person behind every AI plan
Every MyAI Receptionist plan includes a live Australian-based receptionist. OfficeHQ says that "if the AI cannot assist or the caller asks to speak with someone, the call is smoothly transferred to one of our live Australian-based receptionists." That lowers the risk of a caller getting stuck with a bot and no way out.
A choice of AI voices, matched to your industry
OfficeHQ offers three named AI receptionists, Maya, Katie and Charlie, each with its own personality and a list of industries it suits best, from healthcare and legal to real estate and trades. You can listen to a sample of each before you choose.
Named software connections
OfficeHQ lists direct integrations with Zapier, HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Calendar, Insightly and ServiceM8, plus a range of allied health practice systems. It says its receptionists "can schedule appointments using your preferred calendar or booking platform, log leads into your CRM and much more."
Cheap to start, easy to leave
MyAI Receptionist starts at $20 a month for 10 calls, plus GST, with extra calls at $1.50 each. Plans run month to month with no lock-in contract, you can cancel by email, and there's a 7-day free trial.
Fast answering, with a number to back it
OfficeHQ says it answers calls "in under 15 seconds, on average", and it has teams in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US to cover overflow and after-hours calls.
It keeps tuning the AI after setup
OfficeHQ says it keeps working on the AI once it's live, using real calls and your changing needs: "we continually update the AI's knowledge from these interactions and your requirements."
Who OfficeHQ suits: A business that wants calls answered fast with real Australian receptionists standing behind the AI, and would rather start cheaply on a flexible monthly plan. It also suits a buyer still deciding between live answering and AI, since OfficeHQ sells both.
Where Chirp is different
Chirp is a managed service built around your business. Our team builds the agent around how you work, connects it to your systems and improves it every week.
Built around your operating rules
Our Melbourne team maps how your business handles calls and writes those rules into your agent. It sorts emergencies from quotes, books the job into your software and puts the call through to your office when it should. You're live in weeks.
Scored and retrained every week
Every Chirp call is scored and the misses surface. Our team retrains the agent, tests the change against last week, then ships it. That loop runs every week with a person in it. Chirp resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, rising about 1 point a month.
Connects to any software you use
Chirp works with 6,000+ integrations, APIs and data connectors. If your software isn't on the list, our team builds a custom integration, so the booking lands where your team already works.
Phone, web chat and SMS, with proof
Chirp answers on phone, web chat and SMS in a natural Australian voice. It resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, and has booked more than 10,000 appointments and handled more than 20,000 successful customer calls.
It gets better every week
Every AI receptionist gets things wrong. With Chirp, every call is scored, the misses surface on their own, and our team ships the fix that week.
Chirp's resolution rate
80.3% and rising
It works with every system you use
Chirp connects to the software you already run, and if yours isn't on the list, our team builds the connection.
Chirp works with the software you already use
6,000+
integrations, plus any custom connection you need
Ready-made connections
More than 6,000 apps, including ServiceM8, simPRO, Fergus, HubSpot and Google Calendar.
APIs and data connectors
Chirp reads and writes to your systems directly, so it can look up a customer and book the job.
Custom integrations
If your software isn't on the list, our team builds the connection for you.
simPRO
Fergus
ServiceTitan
HubSpot
Salesforce
Pipedrive
Google Calendar
Microsoft Outlook
Shopify
Notion
Zapier
Make- Don't see your software? We build the integration for you.
What Chirp costs
What Chirp costs
Plans start from
$16a day
All 24 hours covered, every day of the week
A team, not a login
Custom built, fully managed and tuned by an Australian team.
Tuned every week
The self-healing loop is part of the service, not an extra.
90% lower cost than a part-time receptionist
And it answers at 2am on a Sunday.
The Go-Live Guarantee
Run it live for 60 days. If it hasn't delivered, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back.
The verdict
If you want an AI receptionist built around your own operating rules and managed by a local team, choose Chirp. Our Australian team builds the agent around your rules, connects it to the software you already run, puts calls through to your office when they need a person, and scores and retrains the agent every week. Chirp resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, and works with businesses like Riser Bespoke Builders and Gaslec Safety. Plans start from $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee, and the Go-Live Guarantee means that fee comes back if Chirp hasn't delivered after 60 days live.
Sources
As at September 2026
If you work at OfficeHQ and something here is out of date, email hello@agentchirp.ai and we'll fix it.
See it on your own calls
Book a 15-minute discovery. We'll map how your calls come in today and show you what your agent would do with them. You can also read our case studies, try the missed-call calculator, or see how Chirp compares with every alternative.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between Chirp and OfficeHQ?
OfficeHQ is an Australian call answering company. Its MyAI Receptionist answers calls with AI, works with named calendar and CRM software, and hands over to a live Australian receptionist when needed, on month-to-month plans. Chirp is a custom-built AI agent, managed by a Melbourne team, built around how your business handles calls. It sorts emergencies from quotes, books the job into your software and puts the call through to your office, and our team scores every call and retrains the agent every week.
Is Chirp better than OfficeHQ?
Yes, for a business that wants an agent built around its own operating rules and tuned by a local team every week. Chirp connects to any software you use, and Chirp resolves 80.3% of customer requests on average, rising about 1 point a month. Run it live for 60 days, and if it hasn't delivered, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back.
How much does OfficeHQ cost?
On the pages we read in September 2026, MyAI Receptionist started at $20 a month for 10 calls, plus GST, with extra calls at $1.50 each. OfficeHQ's live message-taking plan, MessageExpress, started from $25 a month, plus GST. We didn't find a setup fee stated either way. Check officehq.com.au for current pricing. Chirp starts from $16 a day, plus a one-off Build & Implementation Fee.
Is Chirp built and supported in Australia?
Yes. Chirp is custom built and fully managed by an Australian team based in Melbourne, and your agent speaks with a natural Australian voice.
Does Chirp integrate with my software?
Yes. Chirp connects to any software your business uses, through 6,000+ integrations, APIs and data connectors. If yours isn't on the list, our team builds a custom integration for you.
What happens if Chirp doesn't work for my business?
Chirp is backed by the Go-Live Guarantee. Run it live for 60 days, and if it hasn't delivered for your business, your Build & Implementation Fee comes back.