For electricians, plumbers and other home-service teams, the phone is the shop front. When it goes unanswered, the job goes to whoever picks up next. In one example, calls booked rose from 50% to 80% after adding an AI agent.
The phone is the shop front
Most home-service work still starts with a call, and callers want an answer now: a leak, a power cut, a broken boiler. Someone on a ladder or under a sink cannot take it.
A missed call is rarely followed by a voicemail and a patient wait. The caller simply tries the next number on the list.
What the agent does
The agent answers every call, asks what is wrong, collects the address and how urgent it is, and offers the next free slot. It can then text the customer a confirmation with the time and the visit details.
Riley Plumbing is one example of the effect: calls booked went from under 50% to 80% once the agent was answering.
Keep the human parts human
Quotes for bigger jobs, emergencies and anything that sounds unusual should go straight to a person. The agent’s job is to catch the call and gather the facts, not to replace the tradesperson’s judgement.
Decide in advance which words or situations trigger an immediate hand-over, and test them with real call examples.
Measure calls booked
The simplest measure is the share of calls that end in a booked visit. Track it before the change and after, and look at when the remaining unbooked calls happen.
If most of them arrive at the same times, that tells you where staffing or opening hours need attention next.
- Calls booked rose from 50% to 80% in one home-services example.
- Answer every call, collect the job details, offer a slot.
- Send emergencies and quotes straight to a person.
- Track the share of calls that end in a booking.
