Cognexa — custom-built AI receptionists from Centurion
Cognexa is a two-founder AI automation agency in Centurion, Gauteng, that builds AI receptionists and voice agents to order, alongside WhatsApp chatbots, workflow automation and custom CRMs. It publishes no price list: every build starts with a free scoping call and ends in one fixed monthly figure in rand, with no minimum term. Voice minutes, WhatsApp messages and AI model usage are billed to you separately by the platforms that carry them.
Key facts
| Who they are | An AI automation agency based in Centurion, Gauteng, run by its two co-founders, Ronnie James Botes (search and front end) and Keegan Shane Haumann (integrations and data). Cognexa says there is no account-manager layer and no offshore build team: the people who scope a project build it. It works with South African and international clients. No company registration number is published on the site. |
| What it builds | Four service lines: AI receptionists and voice agents for inbound calls and outbound follow-up, WhatsApp and website chatbots on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, workflow automation for quoting, invoicing, bookings and inbox triage, and custom CRMs. It also designs 3D websites, which it calls the smallest part of the business. |
| The AI receptionist | Answers a new number or calls forwarded from the line you already have, so you keep your number. It answers from a knowledge base written from your own material, reads your calendar to book, move or cancel appointments, qualifies leads, screens spam, and transfers live to a person or books a callback. Every call is logged, and the agent says it is an AI by default. |
| Languages | English by default. Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho and Setswana are offered, with Cognexa’s own caveat that quality varies by language and that voice is harder than text; each language is tested on real transcripts with a native speaker before launch, and calls route to a person where it is not good enough. |
| Time to go live | A receptionist that answers questions and takes messages can be live within days. One that books into a calendar and writes into a CRM takes longer, because it waits on access to those systems; Cognexa puts most chatbot and voice-agent builds at a few weeks from scoping. |
| Data and POPIA | The privacy policy (14 October 2026) names Cognexa as the responsible party under POPIA and says some of its operators — host, email, analytics and the telephony, messaging, calendar or CRM platforms a build connects to — process data outside South Africa under section 72 safeguards. Enquiries that do not become projects are deleted within 24 months. |
| ICASA licence | None is referenced. Cognexa builds on third-party telephony and messaging platforms rather than carrying calls itself, so ask which provider supplies the number and the voice minutes. |
| Pricing | No published prices. A free scoping call produces a written plan and one fixed monthly figure in rand, agreed before work starts, with no minimum contract. Some builds are a once-off development cost plus a small monthly running fee, others a single monthly fee. Voice minutes, WhatsApp messages and AI model usage sit outside that fee, are billed to you by each platform and, where charged in US dollars, move with the exchange rate. |
| Listed In | AI Voice Agent Providers |
A build-to-order agency rather than a ready-made plan
Cognexa sells a project, not a subscription tier. You describe the calls you miss and the admin they create, it maps an agent around your existing calendar and CRM, and it quotes one monthly number you can hold it to. The upside is fit: the agent can write bookings into the system you already run, hand the next job to a workflow that raises the quote or invoice, and carry on into WhatsApp with the same history. The trade-off is that there is no figure to compare until after the scoping call, and the fixed fee is only part of the bill. Voice minutes, WhatsApp messages and AI model usage scale with your volume and are billed to you directly, several of them in US dollars, so ask for the quote to show what is fixed and what moves. Being a two-person team means you deal with the builders themselves; ask too who covers support if a call flow breaks out of hours.
Who Cognexa is a fit for
- Practices and clinics that want the agent booking straight into their own diary
- Trades and service firms that want calls, quotes and invoices joined up in one build
- Businesses whose CRM or booking system rules out an off-the-shelf AI receptionist
How Cognexa sits in the AI voice agent category
- 17 verified AI receptionist and voice agent providers on WhichVoIP; 3 carry a Google rating.
- No published Google rating for Cognexa (3 of 17 in the category have one; median 10 reviews).
Computed from the WhichVoIP provider register; refreshes as ratings and reviews change.
Weighing a custom build against a ready-made plan?
Set Cognexa beside the AI voice agents WhichVoIP has reviewed, read the guide, or ask for quotes — free for buyers, with no obligation.
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Some AI receptionists in South Africa publish a monthly plan with minutes included; others, like Cognexa, quote per build. WhichVoIP’s comparison lays the reviewed services out on channels, local languages, integrations and how the bill is made up, so you can tell what a fixed quote has to beat.
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Every AI receptionist WhichVoIP reviews is scored on the same rubric. Having a published plan or two next to a scoped quote makes it easier to judge whether a custom integration is worth what it adds.
Compare AI voice agents →Commonly asked questions
How much does a Cognexa AI receptionist cost?
Cognexa publishes no price list. After a free scoping call it quotes one fixed monthly figure in rand before you commit (checked 27 October 2026). Call volume, the systems the agent connects to, extra languages and after-hours coverage move that figure, and voice minutes, WhatsApp messages and AI model usage are billed separately by the platforms. Compare published prices or get up to 3 quotes.
Is there a minimum contract?
No. Cognexa works month to month with no minimum term or lock-in. Depending on the build, the quote is either a single monthly fee or a once-off development cost with a smaller monthly running fee.
Can I keep my existing business number?
Yes. The agent can answer calls forwarded from the number you already have, or a new number.
Does it speak Afrikaans or isiZulu?
Cognexa offers Afrikaans, isiZulu and other South African languages but says quality varies, and that voice is harder than text. It tests each language on real transcripts before launch and routes callers to a person where quality falls short, so test it with your own callers first.
How quickly can it go live?
An agent that answers questions and takes messages can be live within days. One that books into your calendar and writes into your CRM takes longer, usually a few weeks, because it depends on access to those systems.
Where is Cognexa based?
In Centurion, Gauteng. You can reach it on 066 241 2155 by phone or WhatsApp, or at [email protected]; it says it replies within one business day.
This listing is maintained by WhichVoIP, an independent South African telecoms comparison service running since 2019. Details are verified against the provider’s public website and were last reviewed on 27 October 2026.