AI phone answering for trade businesses
Every call answered. Every emergency passed on.
Realtime AI picks up when you can’t — on the tools, after hours, or on another job — works out what’s wrong, and gets the job to you. Emergencies go straight to your on-call phone. Routine work is booked into a time your crew is actually free.
Built first for plumbers and gas fitters, in Perth, Western Australia.
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Day and nightincluding weekends
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Keep your numberwe answer the calls you miss
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Emergencies firstput straight through to you
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Month to monthone-month minimum
How it works
Three steps, and you stay in control
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You forward your calls
When you’re busy or don’t answer, your phone hands the call to us. You keep your own number and choose when.
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We answer as your business
Your greeting, your name. It finds out what’s wrong, whether it’s an emergency, and takes the name and address — spelled back before anything is sent.
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You get the job, not a message
Emergencies are put straight through to your on-call phone. Routine jobs are booked into a time your crew is genuinely free.
What you get
Built around how trade businesses actually run
Emergencies put straight through
The caller is put through to your on-call phone, and it is texted the details. You press 1 to take the call, so a voicemail picking up doesn’t count as answered.
Jobs offered to your crew
Each booked job is texted to your crew as soon as the call ends (or at 6am, for one booked overnight). One of them accepts it, and you’re told who.
Same-day jobs need your OK
A caller who wants someone today isn’t booked straight in. You get a text and reply YES, NO or a time you can do. No reply in five minutes counts as a no, and the caller is texted the answer.
In your crew’s own calendar
Bookings appear in your crew’s own calendar app — Google, Apple, or anything that subscribes to a calendar feed.
Every call on your dashboard
Every call, recording and transcript, with owner and read-only staff logins. Give any job to anyone, or move it, from there at any time.
You choose how long records are kept
Recordings and callers’ details deleted after 90 days — or choose 30 days, or keep your past jobs, transcripts and recordings.
On every call
- Answered day and night, including weekends
- Emergency or can-wait, sorted in plain language
- Name and address spelled back letter by letter before anything is sent
- Never quotes a price — pricing stays with you
- Tells anyone in danger to ring 000
- Passes to a person on request
- Spam and repeat-caller blocking
What it isn’t
- It doesn’t quote, diagnose or check supplier stock — a person confirms price and parts.
- It won’t promise a caller a visit today unless you’ve said yes to it.
- Callers and the assistant take turns, like a polite receptionist; it can’t be talked over mid-sentence.
- It isn’t a replacement for you answering your own phone — it’s there for when you can’t.
Who it’s for
Trade businesses that can’t always get to the phone
From one person on the tools all day to a business with several crews.
Plumbers and gas fitters
What it’s built and tested for first. Emergencies are sorted from routine work and come straight to you.
Sole traders
You’re on the tools, so it answers the calls you can’t, and nothing is booked for today without your OK.
Businesses with a crew
Booked jobs are texted to whoever is free and the first to accept has it. You can move any job to someone else.
Other trades
Electricians, air-conditioning and other trades: get in touch and tell us what you need.
Pricing
Two plans, one setup fee
A one-off $500 setup fee, then a flat monthly price. Your first invoice is the setup fee plus the first month.
Essential
$1,500 / month
For smaller crews and sole traders with a busy phone.
- About 300 calls a month included
- Every feature listed above, no cut-down version
First invoice $2,000 including setup.
Standard
$2,500 / month
For busier businesses with several crews.
- About 1,000 calls a month included
- The same features as Essential: the plans differ by call allowance, not by what the assistant can do
First invoice $3,000 including setup.
The fine print
- Prices in Australian dollars. We are not registered for GST, so no GST is charged.
- The call allowance is a guide, not a cut-off: if you go over, your phone keeps being answered and we talk to you about it.
- A failed card payment doesn’t cut your phone off either: we talk to you first.
- Billing runs through Stripe, where you can update your card, download invoices and change plan.
- Contract term and cancellation: month to month, with a one-month minimum. Cancel any time from your billing page; it takes effect at the end of the month you’ve paid for.
Not sure it would pay for itself? Put your own numbers into the calculator →
Do I need a new phone number?
No. You keep your number. Your phone forwards the calls you don’t answer to ours, using the standard call-forwarding that Australian mobiles and most landlines already have. We send step-by-step instructions and test it with you before you rely on it.
What happens in an emergency?
It’s sorted from routine work in plain language. An emergency caller is put straight through to your on-call phone, with no questions first, and that phone is texted what we heard. If it isn’t answered and you have a second on-call number, that is rung next. Anyone in danger is told to leave and ring 000.
Are calls recorded?
Yes. Every caller is told at the start that the call may be recorded. Recordings, transcripts and callers’ personal details are deleted after 90 days as standard. In your settings you can shorten that to 30 days, or keep your past jobs, transcripts and recordings for longer.
Where is the data handled?
Call records, recordings and transcripts are kept on our server in Sydney, Australia. While a call is happening it is processed by OpenAI and Twilio, which are overseas providers (USA). Callers are told at the start that the call may be recorded.
Will it quote prices or book jobs I can’t do?
It never quotes a price, and it doesn’t diagnose or check parts. Routine jobs are offered only at times your crew is free, with any leave taken into account. A caller who wants someone today is put to you by text, and you say yes or no.
Who is it meant for?
Trade businesses that can’t always get to the phone — from a sole trader on the tools all day to a business with several crews. It’s built and tested first for plumbing and gas fitting. If you’re an electrician, run an air-conditioning business or work in another trade, get in touch and tell us what you need.
What if I go over my call allowance, or a payment fails?
Your phone keeps being answered. We’d rather talk to you about your volume or your card than drop a customer of yours.
Talk to us
Ring your own business number at 7pm on a Saturday
Then listen to what a customer hears. If you’d like to see what it sounds like with your name on it, get in touch.
Realtime AI · Perth, Western Australia · realtimeAIsupport@gmail.com