What is an AI answering service?
An AI answering service (also called an AI receptionist) is a phone assistant that answers your business line in your business name. It talks with callers in plain, natural language, answers the questions you get every day, like hours, service area and what you do, and takes down the caller's name, number, address and what they need.
When it's connected to your calendar, it books the appointment on the spot. Urgent calls go straight to your cell, and you get a text and email summary of every call. You keep your number. Calls you miss, including after hours, get answered instead of going to voicemail.
Trades and local businesses.
An answering service for contractors.
Built for plumbers, HVAC pros, roofers and electricians who are on a job when the phone rings. It answers in your business name, books the job and texts you.
Trades and home-service businesses that miss calls while they're on a job, plus offices, shops and clinics that get busy at the front desk or close at 5. If people call after hours, during lunch or while you're on a roof, this is for you.
- Plumbing
- HVAC
- Roofing
- Electrical
- Remodeling
- Landscaping
- Garage doors
- Concrete
Serving Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston, Waukee, Clive, Altoona and the rest of central Iowa.
Based in Des Moines and serving central Iowa.
After-hours answering, 24/7.
Pipe burst at 11 PM? The call still gets answered. Our after hours answering service picks up nights and weekends, books the job and texts you the details.
Three steps. No runaround.
We learn your business
A short call about your services, hours, service area, the questions people ask and which calls are urgent.
We set it up and test it
We write the greeting and answers in your words, connect your calendar and alerts, then call it ourselves until it sounds right.
It answers, you get the details
Missed and after-hours calls get answered. You get a summary of each one, and we tune it as real calls come in.
What you get.
- Answers in your business name, with your greeting
- Handles common questions: hours, service area, services
- Takes name, number, address and job details
- Books appointments when connected to your calendar
- Sends urgent calls to your cell
- Text and email summary after every call
- Works with your existing business number
- Ongoing tuning from a real person, not a ticket queue
AI answering, voicemail or an answering service?
Voicemail
Many callers hang up instead of leaving a message, and call the next business on the list.
Traditional answering service
A person takes a message. Helpful, but usually billed by the minute, and they can't book into your calendar.
AI answering
Answers right away, can book the job, and sends you the details. Best for routine calls, with urgent ones sent to you.
Small team. Fast moves.
We're a small, owner-run team in Des Moines. You tell us what you need, and it goes live fast, without weeks of meetings first.
You work directly with Mickey Housby, the owner, who spent 15 years in sales before starting Pulse Playbook.
- No account managers or handoffs
- No weeks of meetings before anything happens
- You talk to the owner, and changes go live fast
AI answering questions, answered.
How much does an AI answering service cost?
It depends on your call volume and what you want it to do, like booking or after-hours only. We don't publish one price for everyone. We walk you through it on a 15-minute call before anything starts.
Can AI really answer my business phone?
Yes. Modern AI receptionists hold a natural conversation, answer common questions and collect the caller's details. For anything complicated or sensitive, it takes a message or sends the call to you.
Will callers know they're talking to AI?
The voice sounds natural, and we never set it up to pretend to be a specific person. If a caller asks, it tells the truth. Most callers just want a fast answer and a booked appointment.
What happens with emergency calls?
You decide what counts as urgent, like a burst pipe or no heat. Those calls get sent to your cell right away instead of waiting for a callback.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. You keep your number. We forward the calls you miss, or your after-hours calls, to the AI receptionist.
AI receptionist or missed-call text-back: which do I need?
Text-back replies to a missed call by text. AI answering can pick up the call and talk to the person. Many businesses start with text-back and add AI answering for after hours. We'll tell you which fits on the call.
See where you're losing calls.
A free look at how your business shows up online compared to your top local competitors, and the top 3 fixes that would get your phone ringing more. No cost, no obligation.