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AI Receptionist

An AI receptionist for contractors and home service businesses.

It answers every call and text on your own business number, day or night, finds out who is a real customer, and sends you one text and one email per lead. Sales calls and robocalls never reach you.

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Across home services, 52% of calls are answered by a person, from 32% to 74% by sub-industry, per Invoca's 2026 home services benchmark. Construction sits at the bottom. To find your own rate, see how to tell how many calls your business is missing.

A real call, word for word

A homeowner called a concrete lifting and foundation repair contractor in October 2026. This is the transcript, with the business name, the caller's name and every number removed.

Assistant
Thanks for calling [the company]. I'm the automated assistant, so I can take your details for the owner. What's going on with your concrete or foundation?
Caller
We have some driveway sections that are settling and cracking. And we want to know whether foam lifting is a durable repair or whether individual panels should be replaced.
Assistant
Yes, [their foam lifting process] is a durable, permanent fix for settled driveway panels, and it's usually cheaper than replacing sections. Can you tell me where on the driveway the settling is worst?
Caller
It's at the top of the driveway near our garage door. We have a sloped driveway.
Assistant
Got it, thanks. Can I get your name, please?
Caller
[first and last name, spelled out]
Assistant
Thanks, [first name]. Are you calling from the best number to reach you, or is there a better one?
Caller
This is the best number.
Assistant
Great. And when are you usually home or easiest to reach for the call back?
Caller
Anytime.
Assistant
Thanks, [first name]. We've got everything we need, and the owner will call you back today. Have a great day!

After the call, the owner got one text with a one-line summary and one email with the details and this transcript. They called the homeowner back the same day, already knowing the job, the name and the best time to reach them.

How the AI answering service works

We write it from your business: your services, your prices, the jobs you turn down. Then every call runs the same way.

  1. 1

    Picks up on the first ring

    Day or night, weekends included, on the number your customers already have. Our first client moved their own business number onto it.

  2. 2

    Says what it is

    The first sentence tells the caller it's your automated assistant. It never claims to be a person.

  3. 3

    Answers from your facts

    Questions about your services and published price ranges get answered from what you gave us. It never makes up a price and never promises an appointment time.

  4. 4

    Takes the details, one question at a time

    What's going on, the caller's name, whether this is the best number, and when they're easy to reach. It doesn't re-ask what the caller already said.

  5. 5

    Sorts the caller and promises a call back

    Real lead, existing customer, sales pitch or robocall, a job you don't do, or a wrong number. Leads hear you'll call back today during business hours, or the next business day after hours. Sales calls get one polite no. A job you don't do gets pointed elsewhere.

  6. Danger first

    A caller describing real danger, like a gas smell or a collapsing wall, is told to call 911 or the utility first.

    Texts too

    Texts to the same number get the same treatment, and customers can text photos of the problem.

What you get from each call

One text and one email per real lead, always from the same number and the same sender. The text is a one-line summary you can read between jobs. The email has the caller's details and the full transcript. That's it: no daily digests, no "just checking in" messages, and the junk calls never reach you at all.

Your text inbox

The text inbox conversation list: customer threads with a first name or a new contact, a short job note like front driveway or back patio, an unread badge, and one contact marked as texted STOP. One conversation in the text inbox: a customer says their driveway sank by the garage, an auto-reply confirms the text, the owner replies to set up a visit, and the customer confirms the time.
The owner's text inbox, an app on their phone: every text to the business number, with names, notes and photos. They can reply, or call a customer back with the call showing that number, not their cell. It handles STOP opt-outs. Screenshots use demo data.

What your missed calls are worth

Missed calls in a normal week, times the share who book, times your average job. Our guide shows how to count them.

What the AI receptionist costs

$200 /mo

That covers a local business's normal call volume. High-volume lines (hundreds of calls a week, multiple locations, a call center) get a custom quote, because the cost grows with call minutes.

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It works by itself, and it works alongside a website plan or Managed SEO. Our first client uses it on its own: we don't run their website, just their phones.

Setup is part of it. We write the assistant from your services and published prices, move your number over, and tune it as the calls come in.

ChatGPT sends the call. The assistant answers it.

Getting named by ChatGPT and the other AI answer engines is what our SEO and AI search work does. Diamond Pest Pro, a pest control client, gets calls from customers who found it through ChatGPT. Those people ask at all hours, and an answer engine recommendation is wasted if the call it sends goes to voicemail.

The receptionist covers that gap. If you want to see where you stand first, our guide on how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT walks through the check.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an AI receptionist cost?
Ours is $200 a month. That covers a local business's normal call volume. A high-volume line, like hundreds of calls a week, several locations, or a call center, gets a custom quote, because the cost grows with call minutes. Self-serve AI phone tools cost less, but you set them up and write the script yourself. We set this one up, write it from your business, and keep tuning it.
Does it tell callers it's AI?
Yes, in the first sentence. It introduces itself as your business's automated assistant and never claims to be a person.
Will customers hang up on an AI?
Some will. We keep it short: it asks one thing at a time, doesn't repeat questions, and tells the caller a real person will call them back, so the ones who stay on the line end up with exactly that.
Can I keep my business number?
Yes. Our first client moved their existing business number over, so customers call the same number they always have. Moving a number and registering it for business texting takes some time with the phone carriers, so plan for a short wait before it goes live.
Can it transfer the call to me?
No, by design. It takes the details and sends them to you, and you call back with everything in hand instead of getting pulled off a job by a call you weren't ready for.
Can it book appointments?
No. It never promises a time. You set the time when you call the customer back, so nothing lands on your calendar that you did not agree to.
What happens to spam and sales calls?
They get one polite no and the call ends. You never hear about them: no text, no email.
Can customers text it photos?
Yes. Texts to your business number get the same treatment as calls, and customers can send photos of the problem. You see them in your text inbox.
Is it an answering service? How is it different?
An answering service is people taking messages, usually billed by the minute. This answers instantly on the first ring, sorts out the junk so only real leads reach you, and costs a flat monthly fee.
What does it run on?
Vient built it on Claude, Anthropic's AI model, with Twilio handling the calls and texts.

Sources

Outside figures here were checked against this page on the date shown.

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