Elevate
$2,500to set up, then $299 a month
- Website, up to 5 pages
- Missed calls get a text in seconds
- Online booking with reminders
- Review requests after each job
HVAC answering service, powered by AI
When the AC quits in July or the heat goes out in January, homeowners call down the list until someone answers. Your AI receptionist answers first, books the visit and texts you the details.
Free. No card. Usually ready in 2 business days.What is an AI answering service for HVAC companies?
It's a phone receptionist that runs on AI instead of a call center. When a homeowner calls, it answers in your company's name, finds out what the system is doing, books a service visit on your calendar or puts emergencies through to you, and texts you a summary.
It also handles the routine calls that eat up your office time: tune-ups, maintenance plan visits, filter questions and estimate requests for replacements.
Why HVAC companies lose jobs to voicemail
Heating and cooling calls come in waves. On the hottest and coldest days, your phone rings more than your team can answer, and a homeowner without air or heat calls the next company on the list.
No cooling on a 95-degree day
The homeowner calls three companies. The first one to answer usually gets the job.
Your techs are on a roof
Nobody can grab the office phone, and the call goes to voicemail.
Tune-up season
Maintenance calls pile up while your team is busy on repairs.
The calls it handles for your company
No cooling or no heat
Asks about the system and the home, then books the soonest visit or puts it through as urgent, based on your rules.
Gas smell or carbon monoxide alarm
Tells the caller to leave the home and call the gas company or 911, then alerts you right away.
Strange noises, leaks or short cycling
Gathers the details your tech needs and books a diagnostic visit.
Tune-ups and maintenance plans
Books seasonal maintenance and plan visits without tying up your office.
Replacement and install estimates
Takes the home size, system age if known and timing, and books an estimate.
Thermostat and filter questions
Answers simple questions you approve, or takes a message for a tech.
What it asks callers
- Name and best callback number, repeated back to confirm
- Service address and town
- Heating, cooling or both, and what the system is doing
- Whether there are babies or older adults in the home, if you want it to ask
- How soon they need someone
- Whether they're on a maintenance plan with you
Example call
Thanks for calling [Your Company]. How can I help?
My AC is blowing warm air and it's 92 degrees in here.
Let's get someone out to you. I have today at 3 PM or tomorrow at 8 AM. Which works better?
Today at 3, please.
You're booked for 3 PM today. I'll text you a confirmation now.
Built for your busiest days
Heat waves
When the first hot week hits, calls pile up. Your receptionist can answer more than one call at a time, with no hold music.
First cold snap
No-heat calls surge overnight. It answers at 2 AM the same way it answers at 2 PM.
Spring and fall tune-ups
It books maintenance visits so your office can focus on repairs and installs.
AI receptionist vs. answering service vs. hiring
| Compare | Your AI receptionist | Traditional answering service | Part-time receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours covered | Day or night, weekends and holidays | Often 24/7, depending on the plan | About 20 hours a week |
| Books the job on your calendar | Yes | Many take a message instead | Yes, during their hours |
| Knows your services and approved prices | Yes, from your setup | Usually a short script | Yes, once trained |
| Texts you a summary | Right after the call | Varies by service | If you ask them to |
| Texts back the calls you miss | Yes, within seconds | Varies by service | No |
| Monthly cost | Momentum: $600 a month, 500 minutes included | Usually billed per minute or per call | About $1,580 a month in wages alone |
Answering services vary widely by plan. Receptionist wages are an estimate for 20 hours a week.
How to choose an HVAC answering service
Six questions worth asking any answering service before you sign up, including us.
Does it book jobs, or only take messages?
A message still leaves you calling back while the homeowner calls the next company. Ask whether it can book onto your calendar and tell the caller when your tech will be there.
Who decides what counts as an emergency?
You should. No heat in freezing weather or no cooling with an older adult at home might go straight to your on-call tech, while a noisy unit can wait for a booked visit.
What does it do about a gas smell?
Safety comes first: it should tell the caller to leave the home and call the gas company or 911, then alert you right away.
Can it handle maintenance plan calls?
Tune-ups and plan visits are steady work. Ask whether it can book them into open times without tying up your office.
How is it billed?
Many answering services bill per minute or per call, which climbs in a busy month. Ask what's included. Momentum includes 500 minutes a month, and extra minutes are $0.35 each.
Can you test it first?
Call it yourself, ask the hard questions your customers ask, and request changes before it answers a single customer.
How setup works
Step 1
See your website first
We build a free preview of your new website from your business information and real reviews, usually in about 2 business days.
Step 2
Tell us how you run calls
Your services, service area, hours, which prices the receptionist may share, what counts as urgent, and who gets urgent calls.
Step 3
Test it yourself
You call your receptionist, try to stump it, and ask for any changes before it answers a single customer.
Step 4
Go live
Your website and phone answering go live within 10 business days of your yes, or your first month is free. Texting follows once phone carriers approve your number, usually in 1 to 3 weeks.
Packages
Your AI receptionist comes with Momentum and Apex. Each package starts with a website you see before you pay.
Momentum
$3,000to set up, then $600 a month
- Everything in Elevate
- 24/7 AI receptionist, 500 minutes a month
- Urgent calls put through to you
- A page for up to 10 towns you serve
Apex
$4,500to set up, then $1,000 a month
- Everything in Momentum
- 1,000 minutes, English and Spanish
- Monthly local SEO and listings cleanup
- A ranking map, town by town
Questions from HVAC companies
Can it handle emergency calls?
Yes. You decide what counts as an emergency, like no heat or a gas smell, and those calls are put through to you right away.
Does it quote prices?
Only the prices you approve, like your service call fee. For anything else, it takes the details so you can quote.
Will customers know it's AI?
It greets callers as your company. If someone asks, it tells them it's a virtual assistant, and in states that require it, it says so up front.
Do I need a new phone number?
In most cases you keep your number and forward calls when you're busy or after hours. We set it up with you.
Can it book maintenance plan visits?
Yes. It books tune-ups and plan visits into the open times on your calendar.
What happens when I miss a call?
The caller gets a text right away, so they wait for you instead of calling another company.
How is this different from a traditional answering service?
Many answering services take a message and send it to you. Your AI receptionist knows your services and approved prices, so it can book the visit, and it texts you a summary right after the call.
How long does setup take?
Your website and phone answering go live within 10 business days of your yes, or your first month is free. Texting follows once phone carriers approve your number, usually in 1 to 3 weeks.
See your new website before you pay.
We'll build your website for free. If you don't love it, you don't owe us a thing.