AI receptionists for HVAC and plumbing businesses
Last checked: October 21, 2026
AI answering tools pick up when you can't, especially after hours and while you're on a job. Here's what's published, plus what owners say.
Published prices
| Tool | Published price | What's included (per vendor) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobber Receptionist | $29/mo add-on | AI receptionist add-on listed on Jobber's pricing page | Jobber pricing |
| Housecall Pro CSR AI | Price not published on the pages we checked | Answers calls and chats 24/7 (texting in Alpha), books jobs from your Housecall Pro schedule, can hand off to your team or a Housecall Pro Assist rep | CSR AI page |
| Rosie | Professional $49/mo (250 min) · Scale $149/mo (1,000 min) · Growth $299/mo (2,000 min) | English & Spanish; 7-day free trial; website texting add-on $50/mo | Rosie pricing |
| Smith.ai AI Receptionist | Free: 25 calls/mo ($3/call after) · Pro $150/mo (75 calls) · Enterprise $500/mo (300 calls) | Month-to-month (30 days' notice); live-human escalation available | Smith.ai pricing |
What owners report
"…took me 3 weeks to get the knowledge base right… Worth it for HVAC emergency calls though"
r/hvacpeople
"Only issue we've had is it occasionally double-books if two calls come in at the exact same time"
r/hvacpeople
"As a customer, I've never had any AI agent correctly book an appointment. Now I have a rule, if I can't speak to a human I'll find a different company."
r/hvacpeople
"What annoys people usually isn't that it's AI, it's when the AI is a dead end."
r/smallbusiness
What to test during a trial
- Start with after-hours and overflow only, so regular customers still reach a person during the day.
- Make sure "talk to a person" works instantly and emergencies get routed to your on-call tech.
- Check that it reads the address and callback number back to the caller, and that you get the recording, not just a summary.
- If you already use Jobber or Housecall Pro, try the built-in option first: it can book straight into your schedule.
Try Rosie Try Smith.ai Try Jobber
Mentioned on X
An HVAC business owner on X said a "$6m revenue HVAC business" was "missing 55-60% of inbound phone calls" (the poster's own claim, not verified).
X post