DEMOGOD
The Voice AI ROI Calculator: Why Companionship Pays for Itself
Calculate exactly how much visitor abandonment is costing you—and how much you'd save with Voice AI.
If you're still debating whether Voice AI is worth it, you're asking the wrong question.
The real question: How much is visitor abandonment costing you right now?
Let's run the numbers.
# Most SaaS companies track obvious metrics:
The Hidden Cost of Abandonment
- Churn rate
- Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
But they miss the biggest leak: Visitor abandonment.
The visitors who land on your site, get confused, can't find what they need, and leave forever.
That's your biggest expense. You're just not measuring it.
# Let's start with typical numbers for a $5M ARR SaaS:
## Monthly Trial Signups: 10,000
The Standard SaaS Math
Your Current Funnel (Without Voice AI):
- Complete trial: 3,300 (33%)
- Convert to paid: 330 (10% conversion rate)
- ARPU: $50/month
MRR from trials: $16,500
Annual value from trials: $198,000
- Convert to paid: 330 (10% conversion rate)
##
Now let's calculate what you're LOSING:
Those 6,700 abandoned trials represent:
- Potential customers who WANTED your product
- Already gave you their email
- Started using it
- Then got lost and left
If even 30% of them had stayed (with guidance):
- 2,010 additional active trials
- 301 additional conversions (15% with better onboarding)
- $15,050 additional MRR
- $180,600 additional ARR
You're losing $180K/year because visitors browse alone.
#
The Voice AI ROI Formula
- $15,050 additional MRR
Let's plug Voice AI into your funnel:
- 301 additional conversions (15% with better onboarding)
##
Your Funnel WITH Voice AI:
Monthly Trial Signups: 10,000 (same top-of-funnel traffic)
- Abandon during trial: 3,000 (30% - reduced from 67% due to guidance)
- Complete trial: 7,000 (70%)
- Convert to paid: 1,050 (15% conversion - improved from 10% due to better onboarding)
- ARPU: $50/month
MRR from trials: $52,500
Annual value from trials: $630,000
- Convert to paid: 1,050 (15% conversion - improved from 10% due to better onboarding)
##
The Improvement:
- Complete trial: 7,000 (70%)
Without Voice AI: $198,000 ARR from trials With Voice AI: $630,000 ARR from trials
- Started using it
Net gain: $432,000 ARR
- Already gave you their email
Cost of Voice AI: $12,000-24,000/year ($1,000-2,000/month)
ROI: 18x-36x
That's not a nice-to-have. That's a no-brainer.
# Use these formulas to calculate your specific numbers:
## Abandonment Rate = 67% (industry average) Abandoned Trials = Monthly Signups × 0.67 Potential Additional Conversions = Abandoned Trials × 0.30 × 0.15
(30% could have stayed, 15% would convert with better onboarding) Lost MRR = Potential Conversions × Your ARPU
Lost ARR = Lost MRR × 12 Example:
Calculate YOUR ROI
Step 1: Calculate Current Abandonment Cost
Monthly Trial Signups = [YOUR NUMBER]
- 151 lost conversions (3,350 × 0.30 × 0.15)
- $50 ARPU
- $7,550 lost MRR = $90,600 lost ARR
##
Step 2: Calculate Voice AI Return
Improved Abandonment Rate = 30% (industry data: voice AI reduces abandonment 55%)Active Trials = Monthly Signups × 0.70
Conversions = Active Trials × 0.15
New MRR = Conversions × Your ARPU
New ARR = New MRR × 12
- $50 ARPU
Voice AI Cost = $12,000-24,000/year
ROI = (New ARR - Old ARR - Voice AI Cost) / Voice AI Cost
Example:
- 5,000 monthly signups
- 3,500 active trials (70%)
- 525 conversions (15%)
- $50 ARPU
- $26,250 new MRR = $315,000 new ARR
- Gain: $126,000 ARR
- Cost: $12,000
- ROI: 10.5x
#
Real Company Examples
##
SaaS A: Project Management Tool
- Cost: $12,000
Before Voice AI:
- 8,000 trials/month
- 5,360 abandon (67%)
- 264 conversions (10% of remaining)
- $75 ARPU
- $19,800 MRR from trials
After Voice AI:
- 8,000 trials/month
- 2,400 abandon (30%)
- 840 conversions (15% of remaining)
- $75 ARPU
- $63,000 MRR from trials
Result: $43,200 additional MRR = $518,400 additional ARR Cost: $24,000/year ROI: 21.6x
##
SaaS B: Marketing Automation
- $75 ARPU
Before Voice AI:
- 3,000 trials/month
- 2,010 abandon (67%)
- 99 conversions (10% of remaining)
- $200 ARPU
- $19,800 MRR from trials
After Voice AI:
- 3,000 trials/month
- 900 abandon (30%)
- 315 conversions (15% of remaining)
- $200 ARPU
- $63,000 MRR from trials
Result: $43,200 additional MRR = $518,400 additional ARR Cost: $24,000/year ROI: 21.6x
Notice: Higher ARPU × Same volume = Same absolute gain
- $200 ARPU
##
SaaS C: E-Commerce Platform
- 315 conversions (15% of remaining)
Before Voice AI:
- 15,000 trials/month
- 10,050 abandon (67%)
- 495 conversions (10% of remaining)
- $30 ARPU
- $14,850 MRR from trials
After Voice AI:
- 15,000 trials/month
- 4,500 abandon (30%)
- 1,575 conversions (15% of remaining)
- $30 ARPU
- $47,250 MRR from trials
Result: $32,400 additional MRR = $388,800 additional ARR Cost: $24,000/year ROI: 16.2x
Lower ARPU but higher volume still delivers 16x ROI.
- $30 ARPU
#
The Compounding Effect
- 1,575 conversions (15% of remaining)
The ROI calculation above is conservative. Here's what it doesn't include:
- 4,500 abandon (30%)
##
1. Reduced Support Costs
Without Voice AI:
- 73% of support tickets are "Where is...?" questions
- Average ticket costs $15 to resolve
- 10,000 trials × 73% = 7,300 support tickets
- Cost: $109,500/year
With Voice AI:
- Voice AI answers "Where is...?" proactively
- Support tickets drop 60%
- 2,920 tickets remain
- Cost: $43,800/year
Additional savings: $65,700/year
##
2. Improved Word-of-Mouth
- 2,920 tickets remain
Visitors who get lost: Frustrated, don't recommend Visitors who are guided: Delighted, become advocates
- Support tickets drop 60%
NPS improvement: +25 points average (Dell study) Referral rate increase: 3-5x
##
3. Longer LTV
- 10,000 trials × 73% = 7,300 support tickets
Better onboarding → Better retention
- Users who complete onboarding: 40% longer LTV
- Voice AI ensures complete onboarding
- Additional LTV per customer: +$600 average
##
4. Competitive Moat
First-mover advantage in UX compounds:
- Visitors compare experiences
- "Their site has that helpful voice guide, yours doesn't"
- Switching cost advantage
#
When Voice AI DOESN'T Make Sense
Let's be honest about when ROI is questionable:
- "Their site has that helpful voice guide, yours doesn't"
##
1. Very Low Traffic
- < 500 trials/month
- Abandonment cost too small to justify
- Better: Focus on growth first, add Voice AI later
##
2. Very High Touch Sales
- Enterprise-only, full white-glove onboarding
- Every customer already has dedicated CSM
- Better: Voice AI for post-sale product usage
##
3. Extremely Simple Product
- Single-feature tool, no onboarding needed
- Visitors can't get lost (nothing to get lost in)
- Better: Voice AI for customer support instead
If you have >1,000 trials/month and any product complexity, Voice AI pays for itself.
#
The Break-Even Point
- Visitors can't get lost (nothing to get lost in)
At what scale does Voice AI become a no-brainer?
Minimum to break even (2x ROI):
- Every customer already has dedicated CSM
Monthly trials needed = Voice AI Cost / (Improvement × ARPU × 12)
Example:
$24,000 / (216 conversions × $50 × 12) = 185 trials/month
- Abandonment cost too small to justify
If you have 185+ trials/month at $50 ARPU, Voice AI breaks even in Year 1.
- Voice AI ensures complete onboarding
Most SaaS companies have 1,000-10,000 trials/month.
- Average ticket costs $15 to resolve
That's 5x-50x above break-even.
- $30 ARPU
#
The Opportunity Cost
- 495 conversions (10% of remaining)
Here's the real question:
- 10,050 abandon (67%)
What else could you do with that lost ARR?
- 900 abandon (30%)
If you're losing $200K ARR to visitor abandonment:
- Hire 2 full-time sales reps ($100K each)
- Run paid acquisition campaigns ($200K budget)
- Build new features ($200K dev cost)
- Open new market ($200K expansion budget)
OR: Fix the abandonment problem for $24K, recover $200K, and use that for growth.
#
The Decision Framework
- Build new features ($200K dev cost)
Should you invest in Voice AI? Ask yourself:
- Run paid acquisition campaigns ($200K budget)
##
✅ YES if:
- You have >500 trials/month
- Trial-to-paid conversion < 15%
- You get "Where is...?" support tickets
- Visitors abandon during onboarding
- You want to scale support without scaling headcount
##
❌ NO if:
- You have <200 trials/month
- Every customer is white-glove enterprise
- Your product is single-feature simple
- You have unlimited support budget
For 90% of SaaS companies, the answer is YES.
#
How to Start
- Your product is single-feature simple
Three options:
- Every customer is white-glove enterprise
##
Option 1: Build It Yourself Time: 6-12 months Cost: $200K-500K (dev time + infrastructure) Ongoing: $50K-100K/year (maintenance + servers) Risk: High (technical complexity, ongoing updates)
##
Option 2: Use Voice AI Infrastructure (Demogod) Time: 24 hours (one-line integration) Cost: $500-2,000/month ($6K-24K/year) Ongoing: $0 (handled by vendor) Risk: Low (proven technology, instant updates)
- Visitors abandon during onboarding
##
Option 3: Wait and See Time: 0 Cost: $0 Ongoing: Losing $200K+ ARR to abandonment every year Risk: Competitors adopt first, create UX moat
- You get "Where is...?" support tickets
Most companies choose Option 2.
- Trial-to-paid conversion < 15%
#
The Bottom Line
Voice AI isn't a "nice to have" feature. It's infrastructure that pays for itself 10x-30x.
- $200 ARPU
The math is simple:
1. Calculate how much abandonment costs you (Step 1 above)
2. Calculate Voice AI return (Step 2 above)
3. Compare ROI to other investments
- 99 conversions (10% of remaining)
If ROI > 5x, it's a no-brainer.
- 2,010 abandon (67%)
For most SaaS companies, ROI is 15x-30x.
- 840 conversions (15% of remaining)
#
Try It Yourself
- 2,400 abandon (30%)
Want to experience Voice AI before calculating ROI?
Visit demogod.me/demo
- $75 ARPU
The AI will stay with you throughout the demo. You'll feel what "never alone" means immediately.
- 264 conversions (10% of remaining)
Then run the numbers for your company.
- 5,360 abandon (67%)
The ROI will speak for itself.
- Gain: $126,000 ARR
---
- $26,250 new MRR = $315,000 new ARR
#
Your ROI Worksheet
- $50 ARPU
Fill in your numbers:
- 525 conversions (15%)
STEP 1: CURRENT STATEMonthly Trial Signups: _______
Abandonment Rate: 67%
Abandoned Trials: _______ (Signups × 0.67)
Current Conversions: _______ (Remaining × 0.10)
ARPU: $_______
Current Trial MRR: $_______
- 3,500 active trials (70%)
STEP 2: WITH VOICE AI
Monthly Trial Signups: _______ (same)
Abandonment Rate: 30%
Active Trials: _______ (Signups × 0.70)
New Conversions: _______ (Active × 0.15)
ARPU: $_______ (same)
New Trial MRR: $_______
STEP 3: ROI CALCULATION
MRR Improvement: $_______ (New - Current)
ARR Improvement: $_______ (MRR × 12)
Voice AI Cost: $12,000-24,000/year
ROI: _______x (ARR Improvement / Cost)
If your ROI > 10x, what are you waiting for?
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Understand the category: Why Every SaaS Will Have a Companionship Layer by 2027 See what replaced chatbots: The End of Chatbots: A Category Obituary