AI virtual receptionist for contractors
A front desk that answers while you’re on the job.
Wakeman is an AI virtual receptionist built only for home-services trades. It answers the calls your team misses in your company’s name, asks what’s wrong and where, checks the address, and texts you the job.
- From $149 a month
- Keep your number
- Says it’s an AI
- No card to start
What is an AI virtual receptionist?
An AI virtual receptionist answers your business phone with a voice AI instead of a person at a desk or a call centre. For a contractor, a good one does three things on every call: it finds out what the problem is, it gets the service address right, and it gets the job — or the emergency — to the person who can act on it.
One call, start to finish, in under a minute
A leaking water heater at night, taken the way it’s taken on a Wakeman line: what’s wrong, a safety check for water near electrics, the address read back, and — with booking on — a time in the on-call window.
Rather try it yourself? Call (503) 765-9727 and play the customer with an everyday job.
Hear it answer
0:45 · plays with sound
Scripted product walkthrough with example data · Synthesized voices, not a recorded caller. You are hearing the voice that answers a Wakeman line, opening with the notice it plays on every one.
AI virtual receptionist or live virtual receptionist
| AI virtual receptionist (Wakeman) | Live virtual receptionist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | An AI, which says so at the start of every call | A person at a remote answering company |
| How it’s priced | $149–$829 a month with minutes included, then $0.29–$0.59/min by plan | Usually by the minute or by the call; roughly $1.32–$5.00 per included minute on published plans |
| A storm or heat-wave surge | Takes several calls at once | Depends on how many people are on shift |
| A dangerous call | Your safety steps, and a ring to your on-call phone during the call | Depends on the script and escalation rules you agree |
| Spam and robocalls | Never billed | Often counted like any other call — ask |
| Into your schedule | Takes the job down; books into Jobber once booking is on | Ask whether they write into your software |
Human prices are from the vendors’ own pages; the full answering service cost comparison has every figure and its source.
What the AI virtual receptionist does
- Answers in your company’s name and tells the caller it’s an AI and that the call is recorded.
- Asks the questions your trade needs: the leak, the furnace, the panel, the roof.
- Checks the service address before it writes the job down.
- Texts you, or your on-call tech, a short job summary. Every call is recorded and summarized.
- For gas, carbon monoxide, fire or smoke, water near electrics, major flooding and sewage, it gives your safety steps and rings your on-call phone. No heat or an active leak goes out as an urgent text.
- Books into Jobber once you switch booking on; until then, every job arrives by text.
- Blocks spam calls, and never bills you for them.
An AI virtual receptionist set up for your trade
Wakeman is configured for your trade and your own list of services, so it asks a plumber’s questions on a plumbing call and an electrician’s on an electrical one: plumbing answering service, HVAC answering service, roofing answering service, restoration answering service, electrical answering service, and every other home-services trade.
What an AI virtual receptionist costs
- After Hours: $149 a month with 300 minutes included. One or two trucks, where somebody already picks up during the day.
- Front Desk: $349 a month with 750 minutes included. The 2–15 truck shop. This is the plan most contractors pick.
- Dispatch: $829 a month with 2,000 minutes included. Multi-crew shops with heavy call volume all year.
Every plan is free for 14 days or 500 minutes of answering, whichever comes first, with no card. All plans and overage rates.
When a different receptionist is the better choice
Wakeman is built for plumbing, HVAC, electrical and other home-services shops. If you run an office, a clinic or a restaurant, a general AI receptionist will suit you better. If your callers need Spanish, or your shop runs on ServiceTitan, the comparison pages say which service to pick instead.
AI virtual receptionist questions
What is an AI virtual receptionist?
An AI virtual receptionist is software that answers your business phone with a voice AI instead of a person. For a contractor, a good one answers in your company’s name, asks what the problem is and where, checks the address, and sends you the job, so the calls you can’t pick up still become work.
How is an AI virtual receptionist different from a live virtual receptionist?
A live virtual receptionist is a person at a remote answering company, usually billed by the minute or by the call. An AI virtual receptionist answers straight away, costs a flat monthly price with minutes included, and asks the same trade questions every time. Some owners still want a person on every call; the comparison pages say when a live service is the better choice.
How much does an AI virtual receptionist cost?
Wakeman costs $149, $349 or $829 a month with 300, 750 or 2,000 minutes included, then $0.29–$0.59/min by plan. Spam calls are never billed, you set a monthly spend limit, and every plan is free for 14 days with no card.
Will callers know they are talking to an AI?
Yes. Every call opens with a short notice that the caller is talking to an AI and that Wakeman records the call. A caller who asks for a person a second time is put through to your on-call phone.
Can an AI virtual receptionist handle emergency calls?
It sorts calls by urgency. For six named hazards — gas, carbon monoxide, fire or smoke, water near electrics, major flooding and sewage — it gives your own safety steps and rings your on-call phone during the call. No heat or an active leak reaches your on-call tech as an urgent text. It is a safety net, not an emergency service.
Does it work with Jobber?
Yes. Booking is off until you switch it on; then confirmed jobs go into Jobber with the customer and the checked address, in the time windows you set. Until then, every job arrives by text.
Do I keep my business number?
Yes. You keep your number and forward the calls your team misses to Wakeman. Turning the forwarding off is a single dial code on your phone.
Page updated September 27, 2026.
Somebody’s always awake.
Try it on your own phone tonight. About ten minutes, no card.