An AI receptionist that knows what a no-heat call means
Botspire answers HVAC calls 24 hours a day, books into the calendar your technicians already use, and puts a gas smell or a CO alarm through to your on-call technician while the caller is still on the line. A no-cooling call gets the soonest real slot. Plans start at $59 a month.
What counts as an emergency on a HVAC call?
These are phrases the HVAC template listens for. Each one is a rule the agent is given, not a guess it makes. You choose which of them wake somebody at night.
“smell gas”
Told to get out and stay out, then put through to your on-call technician. Never booked, never left as a message.
It says: “Please step outside right now and stay there. I am connecting you to our on-call technician.”
“carbon monoxide”
Handled exactly like a gas smell. A CO detector going off is a life-safety call before it is an HVAC call.
“burning smell”
Treated as an electrical hazard and put through now, along with smoke or sparking from the unit.
“no heat”
An emergency when someone elderly, an infant, or a medical condition is in the house. Otherwise urgent: the soonest slot on your calendar, not a wake-up call.
What does it book for the morning?
Everything that is not an emergency gets the soonest real slot on your calendar. The HVAC template starts with these job types, and you edit the list, the prices and the durations.
- Diagnostic visit
- No cooling call
- No heat call
- Maintenance / tune-up
- System replacement estimate
- Thermostat install
What happens after hours in HVAC companies?
In September 2026 we rang 20 HVAC companies after hours with a real problem. Five reached a person. Three reached an AI agent. Three got an answering machine, seven went to voicemail, and two did not connect at all. One of the twenty could actually help. The other nineteen callers rang the next company on the list.
A house at 90 degrees in July, or 50 degrees in January, is a job for whoever answers first. HVAC callers do not leave voicemails and wait; they call the next number. That is why the after-hours call is the most expensive one to miss and the cheapest one to catch.
- Read the guideWhat an AI receptionist actually costs for a small shop
- Read the guideAfter-hours calls for HVAC companies: what actually happens, and what to do about it
- Read the comparisonBotspire vs Rosie: what each plan actually includes
- Read the comparisonAnswering service vs AI receptionist: the per-minute math
- Read the studyWe called 20 HVAC companies after hours. One could help.
Does it actually speak HVAC?
Before you go live, Break-It Mode runs your answerer through 7 HVAC vocabulary scenarios and shows you where it failed. It is asked to understand:
- A split system: outdoor condenser, indoor air handler, and never a question about whether it is a window unit
- A heat pump blowing cool air on heat, and that a defrost cycle does that without meaning it is broken
- Ice on the indoor coil with water on the floor: switch it off so it can thaw, then book
- An outdoor unit that hums but will not start: stop pushing the fan, switch it off, book the visit
- A blank thermostat: check the breaker and the float switch before booking blind
- A mini-split head unit dripping: the condensate drain, not the ducts it does not have
- A rooftop package unit: one cabinet, no indoor unit, and a note that roof access is needed
What does it do on a real call?
- If a caller mentions gas, smoke, or a burning smell, it tells them to get everyone out and call 911 before it asks for a single detail.
- It never lets a caller hang up without knowing what happens next and when.
- It never promises a callback at a time nothing is arranged to keep.
- If a transfer does not go through, it texts your on-call person and tells the caller that, rather than saying someone is on the way.
What does it connect to?
Google Calendar, Cal.com and n8n, Zapier and Make. Booking goes into the calendar; every call, lead and booking can be sent by webhook to whatever else you run.
What does it cost for a HVAC company?
- Starter
- $59
- about 100 answered calls a month
- Pro
- $149
- about 330 answered calls a month
- Engine
- $399
- about 1,000 answered calls a month
Questions HVAC companies ask
How does an AI receptionist handle an HVAC emergency at 2am?
It depends on what you told it. If you dispatch at night, a gas smell, a CO alarm, or a burning smell is put through to your on-call technician live, and your technician is texted the caller's number and problem. If you do not dispatch at night, the caller gets the safety instruction first, then the first slot tomorrow, and is told exactly when you will see the details.
Will it wake me up for a no-cooling call?
No, unless someone vulnerable is in the house. Loss of heating or cooling is urgent, not an emergency, so the caller is offered the soonest real slot on your calendar. You choose which conditions wake somebody, and you can change the list any time.
Does it know the difference between a heat pump and a furnace?
Yes. Before you go live you can run it through seven HVAC vocabulary scenarios in Break-It Mode, including a heat pump in defrost, a frozen evaporator coil, a failed capacitor, and a rooftop package unit. If it asks a heat pump owner where the furnace is, you hear it before a customer does.
Can it book a tune-up into my calendar?
Yes, into Google Calendar or Cal.com. It reads what is actually free before it offers a time, offers two or three real slots, and the appointment lands in the calendar your technicians already look at. If no calendar is connected it takes the details and says when you will call back.
What does it say when the caller asks how fast you can get there?
The soonest real slot, and nothing sooner. It does not promise same-day service unless your calendar shows a slot today, and it does not quote a time for a callback that nothing is arranged to keep.
Does it quote prices?
Only the ones on your price list. If your diagnostic fee is listed it quotes it. If it is not, it says a technician will confirm the price. It never invents a discount and never guesses at an after-hours rate.
What does it cost for an HVAC company?
Plans start at $59 a month for one answerer with about 100 answered calls, with booking, emergency transfer and text alerts, and missed-call text-back included. Higher tiers add minutes, numbers and answerers.
Hear it before you buy
Call the demo line on (817) 339-6593 and describe a HVAC problem. It answers as a demo receptionist, not a person.
What it does not do: It does not diagnose over the phone and it will not quote a price you have not put on your price list. Booking the morning slot needs a calendar connected; until then it takes the details and tells the caller when you will see them.