A plain-English buyer's guide to AI receptionists and answering services for contractors, HVAC, plumbers, auto shops and dental offices. Real prices from vendor sites, no rankings, no hype.
You're on a ladder, under a sink or with a patient. The call goes to voicemail. Some callers leave a message; others just dial the next business in the search results.
If that caller came from a Google ad, you paid for the click and got nothing. An AI receptionist answers, takes the details, books or texts back, and sends you a summary.
It isn't magic. It's a phone line with a script, a calendar and a knowledge base you have to set up. This site shows what each tool says it does and what it costs.
A shortlist by situation, built from published plan details.
Every plan we could verify, side by side, checked Nov 7, 2026.
Calls, missed share, close rate and job value in; lost revenue out.
Emergency transfers, booking and job details that matter in the trades.
What it is, when it's enough and the texting rules to know.
Three popular tools, three different ways of billing.
The cheapest plan depends on how your calls look. Long calls favor per-call or per-caller billing; many short calls favor minutes.
Trial: 7-day free trial. Source: vendor pricing page, checked Nov 7, 2026.
Trial: 14 days or 100 calls, no card required. Source: vendor pricing page, checked Nov 7, 2026.
Trial: Free demo agent; pay when you connect a number. Source: vendor pricing page, checked Nov 7, 2026.
Short videos from AI Marketing Code on using AI in marketing for local businesses.
If you pay for Google Ads, a free audit from High Priority Marketing shows where calls come from, which ones you're paying for and where the spend goes. Same owner as this site.
Software that answers your business phone with a natural-sounding voice, answers common questions from information you give it, takes messages, and on many plans books appointments, texts callers or transfers urgent calls to you.
On the vendor pricing pages we checked Nov 7, 2026, entry plans ranged from a free 25-call plan (Smith.ai) and $24.95 a month (Upfirst Starter) up to $79 to $150 a month for fuller plans. See the pricing table.
It's best at overflow and after-hours calls, and at the same ten questions callers always ask. Calls that need judgment, pricing or empathy still need a person, so most plans include a way to transfer or take a message.
No. We have no affiliate deals with them. The site is owned by Charles Williams, who also runs High Priority Marketing, a Google Ads agency; links to the HPM audit go to that business.