An AI receptionist
for your trade.
Every call answered on the first ring, qualified, and booked into your calendar — 24/7, even when you're on a job. We tune it to how calls actually come in for your trade: the emergencies that jump the queue, the routine work that gets scheduled, the seasonal surges that bury a one-person office. Pick yours below.
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that answers a business’s phone calls in a natural voice 24/7 — greeting the caller, working out what they need, and booking the job into the calendar during the call instead of taking a message.
What does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Ours is $1,197/month flat with a $4,500 setup, inside the Always Open tier — which also carries the website, missed-call text-back, two-way SMS, review automation and estimate follow-up. Dedicated answering services bill per minute instead: at roughly 107 calls a month (about 25 missed calls a week, at 2–3 minutes of receptionist time per call) that lands around $395–$720/month for the answering function on its own. If a phone answered is all you need, a per-minute service is the cheaper buy — see how we compare against Ruby, PATLive, AnswerConnect and Abby Connect, or the full comparison index. Not sure what the terms mean? Start with what a virtual receptionist actually is.
AI receptionist vs answering service vs voicemail
| AI receptionist | Answering service | Voicemail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Software, instantly | A person, when one is free | Nobody |
| Hours | 24/7/365 | Plan-dependent | Always, uselessly |
| Twenty calls at once | All twenty, in parallel | A hold queue | Twenty voicemails |
| Outcome of the call | Job booked in your calendar | Usually a message | A callback you owe |
| Billing unit | Flat monthly | Per minute of talk time | Free |
| Typical published cost | $1,197/mo flat (Always Open) | $395–$720/mo at ~107 calls | $0, plus the jobs you lose |
Does it book into ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro or ServiceM8?
Yes — the AI books into the system you already run rather than replacing it, so the job lands where your team already looks.
How does an AI receptionist answer a plumbing call?
It picks up on the first ring, asks what is happening, and triages against rules you set once. A burst pipe with water in the house is flagged urgent and escalated to your phone; a slow drain or a re-pipe quote is scheduled into an open slot. It reads your live availability, offers real times, writes the booking in, and texts the customer a confirmation.
What does an AI receptionist cost per month?
Titan’s is $1,197/month flat with a $4,500 setup, included in the Always Open tier alongside the website, missed-call text-back, two-way SMS, review automation and estimate follow-up. Dedicated answering services bill per minute instead — at roughly 107 calls a month (about 25 missed calls a week at 2–3 minutes each) a per-minute vendor lands around $395–$720/month for the answering function alone, per the rate cards cited on our comparison pages. If all you need is a phone answered, a per-minute service costs less.
Does it book into ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro or ServiceM8?
Yes. The AI books into the CRM you already run rather than replacing it, so the job appears where your team already looks. There is a dedicated page for each integration.
When is a human answering service the better choice?
When your call volume is low, when your callers are frequently distressed or elderly and a human voice matters more than speed, or when you only need someone to take a message and you already have a website and review system you are happy with. Under roughly 100 minutes of talk time a month, a per-minute human service is both cheaper and a better fit.
Will callers know it is AI?
Some will. It uses a low-latency conversational voice that handles interruptions, accents and follow-up questions rather than a phone tree, and the callers who do notice still get booked — what they wanted was an answer and an appointment.
Don't read about it. Talk to it.
Call in like a real customer and watch the AI qualify the job and book it — right here, no signup.
Most owners land here after trying something cheaper first. If that's you, start with what an AI chatbot on your site actually catches — it answers typing, not ringing, which is why it never moved the needle on booked jobs. The pricing side is in how much an answering service costs in 2026, and everything we believe about this market came out of 200+ cold calls to plumbing shops.
The AI answers and books your calls 24/7, then hands you clean lead details to drop into the tools you already use.
See how a 24/7 AI answering service compares to a traditional per-minute call center for your trade — flat rate, books the job, no hold queue.