AI Marketing
How to set up AI lead generation in Australia: what to do first
Short answer: To set up AI lead generation in Australia, work in this order: an instant reply to every enquiry, then a form or chat that asks your quoting questions, then a chaser for quotes that go quiet, then ranking leads by hand, and content last. The first three steps cost little on published prices: one Australian dollar price list shows a free plan, an A$12 plan and an A$25 plan. Paid lead scoring is the one to leave, because on that list it first appears on a plan priced at A$824 a month. The law attaches to the messages you send, not to the word “AI”.
Many small businesses have a gap between the moment someone fills in the form and the moment anyone answers it. Closing it is cheap.
This page is about the doing: the order, the cost of each step and which law touches it. Our guide to AI lead generation in Australia covers what it is, and this page covers setting it up.
Who should wait before setting any of this up
“Not yet” is a fine answer. Hold off in four cases.
If your website gets almost no traffic and few enquiries, there is nothing to automate. If you already get more enquiries than you can service and close most of them, you have a capacity problem. If enquiries mostly arrive by phone and nobody can honour a booked callback, a booking link promises what you cannot deliver. And if your quoting process is broken, automation makes it faster, not better.
The order, and why vendors sell it backwards
- An instant reply to every enquiry.
- A form or chat that asks your quoting questions.
- A chaser for the quotes that go quiet.
- Ranking your leads by hand, before paying for scoring.
- Content, once the first four hold.
Step 1 recovers enquiries you have already paid to attract. Content comes last because more traffic into a leaking funnel loses enquiries faster.
In our view, vendor pages tend to lead with scoring, AI content and big plans, which is the reverse of this list. On the one price list we read, scoring sits on the dearer tier (figures below). That is one example, not a rule.
Step 1: an instant reply to every enquiry
Build one acknowledgement that confirms the enquiry arrived, answers the two or three usual questions, and offers a booking link or a callback time. Test it by submitting your own form from a phone at 9pm.
On speed, a 2011 Harvard Business Review study of 1.25 million leads at US firms found that firms which tried to reach a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that tried even an hour later (our marketing automation guide covers it). Read it as direction only: a US study, and an old one.
The Spam Act point: ACMA says that if you plan to send marketing messages or emails, you must first have consent from the person who will receive them, even if someone else sends them for you. In our reading, a reply about the job the person asked about (an acknowledgement, a quote, a booking confirmation) answers their enquiry, though ACMA’s page does not spell this out for enquiry replies. What it does spell out is that a message must accurately identify you, with your correct legal business name or your name and ABN, and correct contact details for at least 30 days after sending.
If you add SMS, ACMA’s tip is that name-only (alphanumeric) headers are generally not capable of receiving return messages, so “Reply STOP” will not work from one. ACMA’s own examples are “Reply STOP” and an unsubscribe phone number.
Step 2: a form or chat that asks your quoting questions
Write down the questions you ask every enquiry before you will quote, and put exactly those on the form, with the job itself as free text. Chat is optional; the detail is in our guide to AI chatbots for lead generation.
Add one optional, unticked marketing opt-in. ACMA says express consent means the person knows and accepts they will receive marketing from you, and it can be given by ticking a box on a website. You cannot send a message to ask for consent, because that is itself marketing. It is up to you to prove consent, so keep a record of who gave it, when and how. In our reading, an unticked box stored with the date is a sensible way to do that.
The Privacy Act point: it may not cover you at all. The OAIC says a small business is one with an annual turnover of $3 million or less, counting all income from all sources, and “Most small businesses are not covered by the Privacy Act 1988, but some are”. Covered whatever the turnover: a health service provider, a business trading in personal information, a contractor under a Commonwealth contract, a business related to a covered business, and a business that has opted in. Even under the threshold, our advice (not a legal duty) is to say on the form what you collect and why, collect little, and decide how long you keep it.
Step 3: a chaser for the quotes that go quiet
Write two or three short messages over a week or so, each about the quote the person asked for, stopping on any reply.
In our reading, a chaser about the quote answers the enquiry. A “just checking in” email months later, or a seasonal offer, is marketing and needs its own consent. ACMA says inferred consent usually needs a provable, ongoing relationship with marketing directly related to it, and does not cover messages after someone has just bought from you. Use the step 2 box instead.
Every message needs sender identification and an unsubscribe option: clear instructions, honoured within 5 working days, free, working for at least 30 days after sending, and needing no login or extra personal information.
Step 4: rank your leads by hand before paying for scoring
You can do the useful part of lead scoring with three questions: is it in our area, is the job a size we want, is the date soon. Count the yes answers and call the top ones first. With a handful of enquiries a week this takes minutes.
In our view, paid scoring starts to make sense when volume is too high to read every enquiry. Not before.
On Brevo’s Australian dollar list, read on 13 October 2026, the Professional plan is A$824 a month on monthly billing (A$741 billed yearly), from 150,000 emails a month, and it is the first plan on that page that lists contact scoring. We are not saying scoring costs A$824. The plan includes much else and is sized for large lists. Our guide to lead scoring with AI for small teams covers what scoring involves when you do need it.
In our reading, if the Privacy Act covers you, a score about a person is still personal information you hold.
Step 5: content, once the first four hold
Turn one piece of real source material, such as a finished job, into a few posts and an email. It goes last because every new visitor needs somewhere to land.
What each step costs and returns
| Step | What you need | Published price, as the vendor prints it | What it returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Instant reply | Email on form submit, booking link | Brevo: free plan, up to 300 emails a day; Starter A$12 a month monthly (A$10.83 billed yearly). Calendly: “Always free” plan with one event type and one calendar connection; Standard $10 a seat a month as displayed, no currency code | Enquiries answered while the person is still looking |
| 2. Form or chat | A form with your quoting questions | Brevo Starter includes forms that trigger a follow-up email on sign-up; SMS credit is sold separately. Chat: Tidio shows a free plan and Starter at US$24.17 a month as displayed; Intercom shows its AI agent from $0.99 per outcome plus seats from $29 a seat a month, no currency code | Enquiries that arrive ready to quote |
| 3. Chaser | A multi-step workflow that stops on a reply | Brevo Standard: A$25 a month monthly (A$22.50 billed yearly). Twilio SMS: $0.0515 per message segment to Australian mobile numbers and $8.25 a month for a mobile number, no currency code | Quotes that would have gone quiet |
| 4. Hand ranking | Three questions and a list | Nothing to buy. For comparison, Brevo Professional: A$824 a month monthly (A$741 billed yearly), first plan listing contact scoring | Callbacks made in a sensible order |
| 5. Content | One real piece of source material | Nothing further on this list | More enquiries, slowest to arrive |
Prices were read on 13 October 2026 (Tidio and Intercom on 11 October 2026), each shown in the currency the vendor prints, none converted. They change often, and they are examples of how pricing is structured, not recommendations. We use Brevo because it publishes an Australian dollar price list, not as an endorsement. Sources: Brevo, Calendly and Twilio.
On tax: if you are not registered for GST, expect 10% on top of an overseas vendor’s price; if you are registered, give the supplier your ABN. Our marketing automation platforms comparison covers the ATO rule. A US$ price is not an A$ price, and we have converted nothing.
The real cost is your hours: writing the reply, the questions and the chaser is an afternoon of work no plan includes.
A four-week implementation plan
Week 1: measure. Count last month’s enquiries, how many got a reply within an hour, and how many quotes had no answer.
Week 2: the instant reply. Write it, connect the form, add the booking link, and test it at night.
Week 3: the form and the chaser. Add your quoting questions and the unticked opt-in, then build the chaser.
Week 4: rank by hand and compare. Score enquiries with the three questions, set the month beside week 1, and decide whether anything needs paying for. Content comes after.
A hypothetical Adelaide removalist, worked through
This is a hypothetical example, not a client. Picture a two-truck removalist in Adelaide. Enquiries are quote requests with a moving date, two suburbs and a rough load. The owner is on a truck all day.
Instant reply. Moments after the form is sent, the customer gets a message confirming the request, saying the owner will call by a stated time that evening, and linking to a booking page. It carries the legal name, ABN, phone number and an unsubscribe line.
The form. Three questions: the moving date, the from and to suburbs, and the number of bedrooms or a rough load. One unticked box offers moving tips by email.
The chaser. Two days after a quote: “A quick note on the quote for your move. Is the date still on? Reply and we will hold the truck.” It stops on a reply.
Hand ranking. A move within a fortnight goes to the top of the call list.
Content waits. Photos of a tricky job make a good post, but until the first three steps work they send people to an unanswered form.
With turnover under A$3 million, the business is generally outside the Privacy Act per the OAIC page. The Spam Act applies regardless, because ACMA’s page describes no exemption for small businesses.
Which law touches which step
| Step | Spam Act 2003 | Privacy Act 1988 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Instant reply | Sender details, unsubscribe | Only if covered |
| 2. Form or chat | Unticked opt-in; keep proof | Often not covered |
| 3. Chaser | Stay on the quote; sender details, unsubscribe | Only if covered |
| 4. Hand ranking | Sends nothing | A score is information you hold, if covered |
| 5. Content | Marketing emails need consent first | Only if covered |
The Spam Act follows the messages you send. The Privacy Act depends on who you are. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the ACMA page and the OAIC small business page for your own case.
What to count before and after
Take four numbers from the week 1 baseline, then again a month after the system runs.
Time to first reply: how long a new enquiry waits before anything comes back. Check it against real test submissions, sent out of hours, not against what the tool says it does.
Share of enquiries answered: any reply counts. If this is not every enquiry, find the channel the reply does not reach before building anything else.
Enquiries that became booked jobs: the check on the first two. A fast reply to people who never book has changed nothing.
Cost per booked job: tool and ad spend divided by booked jobs, not enquiries.
If the first two move and the third does not, the leak is in the quote or the price, and no further tool on this page will fix it.
Connecting these pieces into one system is the part Nexiiom builds for clients as AI automation.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up AI lead generation for an Australian small business? Set it up in this order: an instant reply to every enquiry, then a form or chat that asks your quoting questions, then a chaser for quotes that go quiet, then ranking leads by hand, and content last. The first three cost little on published prices, with Brevo listing a free plan and an A$12 a month plan. Check the Spam Act at each step that sends a message.
What should I set up first for AI lead generation? The instant reply. It is the only step that recovers enquiries you have already paid to attract, and it needs no extra traffic. Write one acknowledgement that confirms receipt, answers the two or three usual questions and offers a booking link or a callback time, then test it from a phone at 9pm. Everything else, including content, comes after it.
How much does it cost to set up AI lead generation in Australia? On published prices the first three steps are cheap. Brevo’s Australian dollar list shows a free plan, Starter at A$12 a month and Standard at A$25 a month on monthly billing. Calendly has a free plan and a paid Standard at $10 a seat a month as displayed on its page, with no currency code printed. These are examples, read on 13 October 2026 and not converted. Your own hours are the larger cost.
Do I need to pay for AI lead scoring? Probably not at first. On Brevo’s Australian dollar list, contact scoring first appears on the Professional plan at A$824 a month on monthly billing, a plan sized for large lists. A business with a handful of enquiries a week can rank them by hand with three questions: is it in our area, is the job a size we want, is the date soon. In our view, paid scoring makes sense once you can no longer read every enquiry.
Does the Spam Act apply to an automatic reply to an enquiry? In our reading, a reply about the job the person asked about answers their enquiry, but ACMA’s page does not spell this out. We would still put your correct business name and contact details and an unsubscribe option on every message. Moving the same address onto a promotions list is marketing and needs its own consent. ACMA’s page describes no exemption for small businesses.
Does the Privacy Act apply to the leads my small business collects? Often not. The OAIC says most small businesses are not covered by the Privacy Act, but some are, and a small business is one with annual turnover of $3 million or less. A health service provider or a business trading in personal information is covered whatever its turnover, and a business can opt in. Check the OAIC page for your own case.
Who should not set up AI lead generation yet? Wait if you have almost no website traffic or enquiries, because there is nothing to automate. Also wait if you already get more enquiries than you can service and close most of them, if enquiries mostly come by phone and nobody can honour a booked callback, or if your quoting process is broken, since automation makes a broken process faster, not better.
Want a second opinion on where your own enquiries leak? Get a free AI marketing audit. No jargon, no pressure.
Nexiiom Team
AI-powered marketing for growing businesses. We write about what actually works: automation, ads, websites and AI search.