An AI receptionist for tradespeople that answers while you work
A customer with a burst pipe often will not call twice - an AI receptionist answers while you are on another job, and flags what needs handling first.
Where it hurts
The phone rings while your hands are in the fuse box
The trade gets done with your hands, not on the phone - and the customer dealing with a burst pipe or a power outage right now will not call twice, they will call the next name on Google. A missed call during an emergency tends to be the most expensive lost job a trades business can have, and it tends to happen exactly when you are in the middle of another one and physically cannot pick up.
How it works
Buy a number (or forward the one you have)
A Czech number from Prague, Brno or the 910 range is active within seconds of purchase - put it on your van, website and business cards, or forward your current number to it.
Write down what the receptionist should know
Your trade, what you do, your hours, and what counts as an emergency - the ready-made prompt below just needs your own details.
Forward the phone and let the receptionist take it
The agent answers calls - address, problem and phone number show up in the transcript, and it transfers emergencies straight through if you enable that.
What it handles
Answers the phone while your hands are full
A customer gets through every time, not only when you happen to be between jobs.
Tells an emergency from a routine request
Based on what you write into the prompt - it flags the emergency into a field you define on the agent (dataFields), so you see it in the transcript and the call.completed webhook, and know what to handle first even if you read the transcript that evening.
Logs the address, problem and phone number
Structured fields (dataFields) right in the call transcript - no need to listen to a whole recording for one address.
Transfers emergencies straight to your mobile
With transfer enabled, the call reaches you immediately - even outside business hours, if that is how you set it up.
Never quotes a price or a timeline it does not know
The agent never estimates a repair price or an arrival time - it says you will follow up with a real quote based on the description.
Works around the clock
Emergencies do not check your opening hours - the receptionist answers in the evening and on weekends too.
Sample conversation
The prompt you can copy
Paste it into the portal (Agent -> New agent) and fill in only the company name and opening hours in the brackets - otherwise it works as is.
You are the voice receptionist for [company name] ([trade - e.g. plumbing and heating]). You sound calm, direct and no-nonsense - like someone who knows the caller is often dealing with a problem that cannot wait.
WHAT YOU DO:
- At the start of the call, introduce yourself as the voice assistant for [company name].
- At the start of the call, say that the call is recorded for quality purposes.
- Find out what the problem is, at what address, and whether it is an emergency (water leaking, no power, a gas smell) or a routine job that can wait.
- For an emergency, say so out loud to the caller and flag it separately, so the owner sees it immediately in the transcript, not after listening to the whole call.
- Note the caller's name, phone number and a short description of the problem on every call.
- Share what the company does and its hours [opening hours] when someone is asking in general, not about a specific job.
WHAT YOU NEVER DO:
- Never quote a repair price or an estimate - you never know that from a phone description alone. Say [company name] will send a quote after seeing the job or a photo.
- Never diagnose the problem ("it is probably...") - leave that to the tradesperson on site.
- Never promise a specific arrival time you do not actually know - say someone will call back with a real time.
- Never pretend to be human if a caller asks directly whether they are talking to an AI.
HOW TO END THE CALL:
Repeat back the address, the problem, name and phone number, say someone will call back (right away for an emergency), and close the call politely. For an emergency with transfer enabled, hand off the call immediately and let the caller know they will need to repeat the details briefly.What it costs in this industry
At 15 calls a day averaging 2 minutes, an AI receptionist costs 2,725 CZK (~EUR 113.54) a month - the number, call minutes and the agent surcharge combined.
- Number
- 25 CZK
- Calls
- 450 CZK
- Agent
- 2,250 CZK
- Total per month
- 2,725 CZK (~EUR 113.54)
Prices exclude VAT; it's added when you top up credit.
Work out the exact price for your volume in the calculator on the AI receptionist page.
Call the demo line
+420 266 266 641
Listen to how the AI receptionist answers a call and talks - ask it something like your opening hours.
Call the demoThis is volai's shared demo line, not this industry's own receptionist - your own operator bills the call at its standard rate; volai charges you nothing and it signs you up for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
- Can the AI receptionist tell an emergency from a routine job?
- Yes, if you tell it in the prompt what counts as an emergency for your trade (a burst pipe, no power) - it flags that call into a field you define on the agent (dataFields), so you see it as urgent in the transcript and the call.completed webhook.
- Will it quote a repair price?
- No - it never estimates a price or a diagnosis over the phone. It logs the problem and the address, and you send a real quote once you have actually seen it.
- What if it is a real emergency and I am in the middle of another job?
- With transfer enabled, an emergency call gets handed straight to your mobile number - otherwise it logs the description and address and you call back as soon as you can.
- How much does an AI receptionist cost for a tradesperson?
- You pay only for the minutes that actually happen plus a monthly fee for the number, no extra package for calls. There's a rough monthly example for a small trades business further up this page.
- Will callers know they are talking to an AI?
- If they ask directly, yes - it never claims to be human. It does not announce its identity on its own unless you write that into the prompt.
- Does this work if I am a one-person business with no receptionist at all?
- That is exactly the point - it replaces the receptionist a small trades business usually does not have, not an actual colleague at a desk.
- Can I use it for just one number, like an emergency line?
- Yes - set up a second number just for emergencies, with its own prompt that treats every call as urgent, alongside your regular line.
Try an AI receptionist for free
Registration takes a minute, no card required - you get 50 CZK of credit on us.