Maya, your 24/7 HVAC answering service. Hear her answer an HVAC call.
Thirty-four seconds from hello to a service request with the caller’s name, street and what they need. Maya answers your HVAC company’s line like this day and night, and puts the urgent calls through to your iPhone.
- Issue AC running, blowing warm air Given at 0:04
- Started About an hour ago Given at 0:11
- Caller Alex, 42 Willow Lane Given at 0:17
- Wants Someone today, if possible Given at 0:23
0:00 of 0:34 Recorded call
Cedar Valley Heating and Air · Same-day service request sent to the team with Alex’s details.
A recorded call to a sample business. Names and addresses are fictional.
Built for the calls an HVAC shop can’t get to.
- Mid-jobYour line rings your iPhone. Maya picks up if you can’t.
- The first heat waveCalls don’t queue up. Every caller hears your company’s name.
- No heat at 2 AMYour rules decide who gets woken up, and for what.
- Price shoppersYour diagnostic fee and service area, answered right.
What it handles
The calls that come into an HVAC shop.
Most of them aren’t hard. They just arrive when everyone’s in an attic, on the road or asleep.
-
No heat, no cooling
Gets the address and what’s wrong, and puts the caller through when your rules say it’s urgent.
2:14 AM “Furnace quit and it’s 38 out.” Put through
-
Tune-ups and maintenance
Takes the request with the equipment and the times that work, so confirming it takes one call.
9:10 AM “Can I get my AC checked before summer?” Saved
-
New system quotes
Asks your questions, like the system’s age and the size of the home, and saves it for the estimate visit.
11:32 AM “We’re thinking about a heat pump.” Saved
-
Fees and service area
Answers your diagnostic fee, hours and zip codes from your own price sheet.
12:05 PM “Do you come out to Brookfield?” Answered
-
Maintenance plan members
Knows what your plan covers, and takes the renewal or the visit request.
3:40 PM “Is the filter change included?” Answered
-
Callbacks after a visit
Takes what your tech needs to know: what changed, since when, and which visit.
5:18 PM “It’s making the same noise again.” Message
Your emergency rules
You decide what’s an emergency, even after hours.
Brief Maya the way you’d brief a new dispatcher. She follows your rules on every call, at any hour, and puts the right calls through to whoever you choose.
Maya · InstructionsEmergency rules, used on every call - No heat and it’s below 40°F outside, or there are kids or older people at home. Put through
- Gas smell. Tell them to leave the house and call the gas company’s emergency line first. Put through
- Water coming through a ceiling, or from the air handler. Put through
- Everything else after 7 PM. Take the details. We call back from 7 AM. Take details
- Don’t quote replacement prices. Offer the $89 diagnostic visit. Always
-
Caller: I think I smell gas by the furnace.
-
Maya: Please leave the house now and call your gas company’s emergency line from outside. I’m putting you through to our on-call tech.
Ringing Marco Diaz on his iPhone
Plain language
Write rules like you’d brief a new dispatcher. No flowcharts.
Safety steps first
Tell Maya exactly what callers must hear before anything else.
Change them in a sentence
Test a new rule with a call, and it’s live on the next one.
Answer it yourself
Your business line rings your iPhone.
Calls to your SmallForce number ring the SmallForce app like any other call, on the lock screen, with the app closed. Pick up between jobs. When you’re in an attic, Maya does.
- No second phone. Your business number lives in the app.
- You and your techs ring together. The first answer stops the others ringing.
- Set business hours. Outside them, Maya answers.
- On a roof? Pause calls for 30 minutes, an hour or 8 hours.
SmallForce Audio
(512) 555-0198
Cedar Valley line
What happens when a customer calls
With “Ring people first” on, ringing for 20 seconds
- 0:00
You and your team ring
Your iPhone and the dashboard, like a normal call.
- 0:20
Nobody free? Maya answers
She helps from what she knows, or takes a message.
- After
It’s all in the app
The recording, the transcript and why they called.
Your AI employees can call you too.
When Emma needs a decision, she rings your iPhone or the dashboard and tells you why. No phone number needed.
On your website
Homeowners can talk to you from your website.
Put Maya on your website. Visitors ask about a noisy furnace by voice or face to face, or tap Talk to a person and video call your team, with no phone number.
A visitor is asking for your team
Website visitor
Video call · answer within 0:24
Voice or face to face
Visitors talk to Maya by voice, or to a talking HVAC avatar.
Talk to a person
Visitors tap it, or ask mid-call. Your iPhone and the dashboard ring.
See the unit
Turn on cameras or share a screen, if you allow it. Check the wiring before you drive out.
Human call rates
Website voice calls with your team cost ½¢ per person a minute (1¢ for two people); video or screen sharing is 2¢ per person. Recording is extra.
Or give Maya a face.
Homeowners can talk to her face to face. Start with the HVAC avatar, or pick the one that fits your company.
- Talks and listens live, like a video call
- Same knowledge, rules and transcript as her voice
- Visitors choose voice or video
Part of your AI team
From the first call to the five-star review.
Call details land where your other AI employees can read them, so the follow-up starts from the call, not from a sticky note.
Meet the employees
-
Maya · ReceptionistTue 6:12 PM
Answers Dana’s call and saves it: upstairs AC not cooling, Thursday morning works.
-
Emma · Inbox assistantTue 6:14 PM
Drafts the confirmation email with your $89 diagnostic fee for you to send.
-
Lucas · Social managerFri 11:30 AM
After the repair, asks Dana for a Google review.
-
Your weekly reviewFri 4:00 PM
41 calls this week, 6 put through, and 4 questions Maya couldn’t answer yet.
Gets better every week
Your AI team trains Maya.
Maya works alongside your other AI employees. They read every call, spot what she didn’t know, and update her knowledge and instructions. You approve each change.
They read every call
Transcripts, recordings and what each caller wanted.
They find the gaps
Questions Maya couldn’t answer, and what keeps coming up.
They teach Maya
You approve the change, and the next caller gets the answer.
4 callers asked whether you install heat pumps. Maya didn’t know, so they were told someone would call back.
- +Add:We install heat pumps. Free in-home estimate, Monday to Friday.
- +Add:Ask the size of the home and the age of the current system.
How it works
Live before your next service call.
Four steps from sign-up to your first answered call. Test every answer before a single customer hears it.
Set up yours- 1
Get a number in your area code
Search by area code and buy a local number in seconds.
- 2
Teach it your shop
Your price sheet, diagnostic fee, service area, maintenance plans and the brands you service.
- 3
Decide who picks up
Maya first, your techs first, or Maya with a hand-off to you. Set hours and your emergency rules.
- 4
Read every call
The recording, transcript and caller’s details land in your dashboard and iPhone app.
Compare
AI receptionist or a live HVAC answering service?
What changes when an AI phone answering service that knows your shop takes every call, next to the usual options.
| Feature | SmallForce AI receptionist | Voicemail | Answering service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers every call, nights and peak season | Yes, calls don’t queue | No, takes a message | Depends on the plan |
| Knows your diagnostic fee and service area | Yes, from your own price sheet | No | Usually a short script |
| Puts urgent calls through by your rules | Yes, to your iPhone | No | Often pages a number |
| Talks to homeowners on your website | Yes, voice or video | No | Rarely |
| Recording and transcript of every call | Yes | Audio only | Varies |
| Gets better from past calls | Yes, trained by your AI team | No | No |
Maya answers from 14¢ a minute.
Phone line included, billed by the second. She comes with the $149 plan, with every other AI employee.
Not just HVAC
Maya answers for other trades too.
Same receptionist, different calls. See how she handles the phones for other businesses that are out on the job.
-
Real estateShowing requests and listing questions, day or night. -
Every small businessMeet Maya, and hear her answer three real calls. -
Contractors and tradesEstimate requests with the job details already taken.
FAQ
HVAC answering service questions.
Anything else? Ask Maya. She answers for SmallForce too.
What is an HVAC answering service?
It answers your company’s phone when your team can’t: after hours, in the busy season and while techs are on jobs. It takes down who called, where they are and what’s wrong, and gets urgent calls to someone on call. SmallForce does this with Maya, an AI receptionist that answers from your own price sheet and rules.
Can an AI receptionist answer HVAC emergency calls after hours?
Yes. Maya answers at any hour, gets the address and what’s wrong, and follows your rules: put the call through to your iPhone, or take the details for the morning. For a gas smell, write the safety steps you want every caller told first, like leaving the house and calling the gas company.
How much does an HVAC answering service cost?
With SmallForce, Maya is included in the $149 a month plan with every other AI employee. Standard voice calls use 14 SmallForce Credits a minute, and each business number uses 500 a month.
See plans and pricing Is an AI receptionist better than a live answering service for HVAC?
It depends on what you need. A live service puts a person on the phone, often reading a short script. Maya answers from your own price sheet, service area and rules, answers calls side by side in the busy season, and gives you a recording and transcript of every call. When a call needs a person, she puts it through to you.
Will it quote prices to homeowners?
Only what you give it. Add your diagnostic fee, maintenance plan prices and service area, and Maya answers from them. If you’d rather not quote repairs on the phone, tell her so and she’ll offer the diagnostic visit instead.
Can it schedule jobs in my calendar or field service software?
Not yet. Maya takes the request with the caller’s address, the problem and the times that work, and your team confirms it. The details land in your SmallForce dashboard and iPhone app, where your other AI employees can draft the follow-up.
Can my techs answer calls on their own iPhones?
Yes. With the SmallForce iPhone app, your business number rings you and the techs you choose at the same time, even on a locked phone. The first to answer takes the call. If nobody picks up in the time you set, Maya answers. Anyone can pause calls for 30 minutes, an hour or 8 hours.
Can I keep my existing business number?
Maya answers a local number you get from SmallForce in seconds, in the area code you choose. Put it on your website, your Google Business Profile and your trucks. Moving an existing number to SmallForce isn’t available yet.
Will callers know they’re talking to AI?
You write the greeting. We recommend saying it’s an AI assistant, and in many places you must tell callers the call is recorded.
Does it text customers?
Not yet. Today Maya answers phone calls and website conversations, and saves the caller’s details for your follow-up.
Peak season
Heat wave this weekend? Maya’s on the phones.
Every call answered, the urgent ones put through, and the rest waiting for you on Monday morning.
See plans and pricing-
Fri
Friday, high of 96°
18 calls · 3 put through
-
Sat
Saturday, high of 101°
27 calls · 5 put through
-
Sun
Sunday, high of 99°
22 calls · 4 put through
Monday, 7:00 AM · your weekend67 calls answered, 12 put through to you, and the rest waiting with recordings and transcripts.