AI receptionist for home service businesses

One phone number, many kinds of job

A home service company that has grown past one van usually has a mix: a cleaning team, an electrician, a pest technician, a handyman. They share one number on the van and the website. The person answering has to know what each crew does, where each one works and what each charges. When that person is out, or on another line, the call is lost.

This page is about the sorting problem. The single-trade versions, such as plumbers, have a narrower script. The wider method is on our AI voice agent development page.

Routing by trade and area

The core of the build is a decision table. We write it with you, then test it with strange calls: a caller who describes two problems at once, a caller who does not know the word for the part that broke, and a caller who is renting and cannot authorize the work. Each of those needs a calm, short answer, and the table shows what the agent should do in each case.

Service-area screening that saves fuel

Every out-of-area job you accept costs drive time, and it often comes from a customer who then expects the same price as someone next door. The agent can compare the address against a list of ZIP codes, postcodes or a radius and stop at the first question. It can also apply travel surcharges if you use them. If your area changes by season, such as extra landscaping coverage in summer, a staff member edits one list and the agent follows it.

• Minimum job values per trade, so a ten-minute job is quoted with a call-out fee if that is your policy.
• Opening hours per crew, rather than for the whole company.
• Recurring jobs flagged differently from one-off visits.

Connecting to your job system

Typical tools in this sector include Jobber, Housecall Pro and ServiceTitan. We check whether yours has an API for creating jobs and reading availability. If it does, the agent writes the booking and the crew sees it in their app. If not, the office receives a structured summary by email or SMS and confirms it in a minute.

Reviews matter in this trade, so the agent can also send a review request after a finished job. Customers who had a poor visit are better routed to the manager first, which is a rule you set. Customers often ask for text confirmations. The agent can send them if the caller agrees, and your texting provider's rules apply. Check opt-in wording with your adviser.

Your first month

1. Week 1We list your trades, rules and common call types, and we agree what the agent must never do.
2. Week 2We build the routing table and connect the calendar.
3. Weeks 3 and 4The agent answers overflow and after-hours calls while your office reviews each one.
4. After month oneWe widen coverage and add recurring-job reminders if you want them.

Price

Projects start at $1,500 and our rate is $30 an hour. More trades means more call flows, so a three-trade firm costs more than a single-trade one. The fixed quote shows the split, so you can start with the two busiest trades and add the rest after you have heard real calls. Starting small also lets your office staff get used to the summaries before the volume rises. Telephony is billed separately by the provider. Read the voice agent cost guide for the factors, and use the AI vendor evaluation checklist if you are comparing suppliers.