You're tired of missing calls. You've got two options: an answering service that charges you per minute to take messages, or an AI that costs half as much and actually books jobs. Not a hard choice. But let's look at the numbers anyway.
We've talked to hundreds of contractors who've tried both. Here's what actually happens with your money.
Side by side. No BS.
Here's what you get for your money. Read this table and tell me which one makes sense:
| Feature | AI Receptionist | Answering Service |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $297-$597/mo | $800-$1,500/mo |
| Per-Minute Billing | No (flat rate) | Yes ($0.75-$1.50/min) |
| Books Appointments | Yes | No (takes messages) |
| 24/7 Availability | Yes | Usually (extra cost) |
| Consistent Quality | Yes | No (varies by agent) |
| Knows Your Trade | Yes (trained) | No (generic scripts) |
| Hold Times | 0 seconds | 30-120 seconds |
| Callback Required | No | Yes (always) |
Bottom line: AI costs half as much. Does twice as much. The savings alone pay for it 2-3x over. That's before you count the extra jobs booked.
The money. Let's talk about it.
Two completely different pricing models. One punishes you for being busy. The other doesn't.
Answering service: they charge by the minute.
Base rate plus per-minute billing. The busier you get, the more you pay. Here's what that looks like:
| Component | Typical Cost | Monthly Total* |
|---|---|---|
| Base fee | $150-$300/mo | $250 |
| Per-minute rate | $0.75-$1.50/min | -- |
| Average call length | 3-4 minutes | -- |
| 200 calls/month | 600 minutes @ $1.00 | $600 |
| After-hours premium | 25-50% more | $150 |
| Total | $1,000-$1,500 |
*Based on a busy contractor receiving 200 calls/month
Here's the kicker: your busiest month is also your most expensive month for answering services. Summer? Calls triple. So does your bill. $2,000-$3,000 just for someone to write down names and numbers.
AI receptionist: flat rate. Period.
Same price whether you get 50 calls or 500. No per-minute garbage. No surprise bills:
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $297/mo | Unlimited calls, basic booking |
| Professional | $497/mo | + CRM integration, custom scripts |
| Enterprise | $597/mo | + Multiple locations, priority support |
No per-minute charges. No after-hours premiums. No surprises. Busy month? Same price. Slow month? Same price.
What you actually get for your money
Price matters. But what they DO with the call matters more. This is where it gets embarrassing for answering services.
What an answering service does
- Take messages - Write down caller's name, number, and issue
- Forward emergencies - Call you for urgent situations
- Follow basic scripts - Read from generic prompts
- Send notifications - Email or text you the message
That's it. They can't book appointments. Can't answer "Do you service Carrier units?" Can't do anything useful. They write down a name and number. For $1,000+/month.
What an AI receptionist does
- Book appointments directly - Access your calendar and schedule jobs
- Answer trade-specific questions - "Do you service Trane units?" "What's your emergency rate?"
- Qualify leads - Ask the right questions (property type, issue severity, timeline)
- Provide service information - Hours, service areas, pricing ballparks
- Handle objections - "You're more expensive than..." gets a thoughtful response
- Send confirmations - Automatic texts with appointment details
- Capture complete information - Address, gate codes, equipment details
The callback problem: Answering service takes a message. You call back 2 hours later. 85% don't answer. So you're paying $1,000+/month to collect phone numbers of people who won't pick up. That's not a solution. That's a receipt for lost money.
The costs they don't tell you about
Per-minute billing has landmines. Here's where the real damage happens:
1. Chatty callers bleed you dry.
Grandma wants to explain her whole plumbing situation. 10 minutes. That's $10-15 for ONE call. And the answering service still can't book the appointment. AI? Same price whether the call is 2 minutes or 20.
2. Summer destroys your budget.
HVAC guys see 2-3x calls in summer. Your answering service bill goes from $1,000 to $3,000. The month you make the most money is the month they charge you the most. AI? Same $297. January or July.
3. You're doing the work twice.
Every message from an answering service requires your time to:
- Read or listen to the message
- Call the customer back
- Actually schedule the appointment
- Enter it into your system
That's 5-10 minutes of YOUR time per lead. 200 calls/month = 15-30 hours just returning calls and booking. That's a whole work week spent on the phone instead of making money. AI books them automatically.
4. By the time you call back, they've already booked someone else.
The biggest hidden cost never shows up on your bill. 5-minute response time makes you 21x more likely to book the job. Answering services guarantee you'll miss that window:
- Time for agent to type message: 2-5 minutes
- Time for message to reach you: 1-15 minutes
- Time for you to see it: 0-60+ minutes
- Time for you to call back: whenever you're free
By the time you call back, that emergency AC customer booked with the guy who answered first. You paid $1,000 to learn about it too late.
24/7? Not really. Here's the truth.
Both claim 24/7. Only one actually delivers.
Answering service "24/7"
- Often charges 25-50% premium for nights/weekends
- After-hours staff are fewer and less trained
- Holiday coverage may cost extra or be unavailable
- Quality varies dramatically between shifts
- Still just takes a message for you to handle later
AI receptionist. Actually 24/7.
- Same flat rate regardless of time
- Identical quality at 3am as 3pm
- No holidays, no sick days, no shift changes
- Can actually BOOK the 2am emergency call
- Caller gets immediate resolution, not a promise of callback
28% of your calls come after hours. These are emergencies. Pipe burst at 11pm. AC died at 9pm with kids in the house. They hire whoever answers first. AI books the job at 11pm. Answering service leaves you a message for tomorrow. Tomorrow is too late.
Real calls. Real money. Real difference.
Same situation, two different outcomes. This is where the money is:
Scenario 1: AC Emergency on Saturday Night
With Answering Service:
- Caller reaches operator after 45-second hold
- Operator takes message: "AC not working, hot house"
- Message forwarded to you
- You get it Sunday morning
- Customer already called someone else Saturday night
With AI Receptionist:
- Caller connected immediately
- AI asks: "How long has the AC been out? What type of unit?"
- AI checks your emergency availability
- Books Sunday morning 8am slot
- Sends confirmation text to customer
- You wake up to a booked job
Scenario 2: Lead Shopping Around
With Answering Service:
- Caller asks: "Do you install Carrier units?"
- Operator: "I can take a message and have someone call you back"
- Caller: "Never mind, I'll call someone else"
- Lead lost
With AI Receptionist:
- Caller asks: "Do you install Carrier units?"
- AI: "Yes, we're a Carrier authorized dealer. We can install and service all Carrier equipment. Would you like to schedule an estimate?"
- Caller: "Yes, what's available this week?"
- AI books the appointment
- Lead converted
Scenario 3: Busy Monday Morning
With Answering Service:
- 20 calls come in between 8-10am
- Hold times increase to 2+ minutes
- 5 callers hang up
- You get 15 messages to return
- Costs you ~$60-80 in per-minute charges
- Takes you 2 hours to return all calls
With AI Receptionist:
- 20 calls come in between 8-10am
- All answered immediately
- 12 appointments booked automatically
- 3 get quotes for you to follow up
- 5 were existing customers checking status (handled)
- No extra cost
- No callbacks needed
Don't take our word for it. Call Jessica.
Pretend your AC just died. See how she handles it. Then imagine that working for your business 24/7.
So which one do you pick?
Honestly? For most contractors, this isn't even close. AI does more and costs less. But here's the fair breakdown:
Answering service makes sense if:
- You only need basic message-taking
- You have very low call volume (under 30 calls/month)
- Your business model doesn't involve appointments
- You prefer the idea of human operators despite the limitations
AI receptionist makes sense if:
- You want calls converted to booked appointments
- You're tired of returning calls that go to voicemail
- You need consistent quality 24/7
- You want predictable monthly costs
- You value your time and want to stop playing phone tag
- You get seasonal spikes that would blow up answering service costs
Here's the deal.
Answering services made sense when they were the only game in town. Better than voicemail. Sure. But they can only take messages. They can't book a job. They can't answer a question. They're a $1,000/month notepad.
AI costs 40-60% less. Books appointments instead of taking messages. Works 24/7 at the same quality. No per-minute billing. No callback problem. No excuses.
The math: $1,200/month answering service to $497/month AI. Save $700/month AND book more jobs. You'd have to hate money to not make that switch.
That's exactly what contractors who've switched are seeing. More jobs. Less cost. Less time on the phone. More time doing the actual work.
Bring your answering service bill.
15-minute demo. We'll show you exactly how it works for your trade and calculate what you'd save. Bring your current bill. Let's do the math together.
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