The AI receptionist built for HVAC companies

Why do HVAC companies miss so many calls?

• A heat wave or cold snap that multiplies calls overnight
• No-heat and no-cool calls after 6 p.m. that land in voicemail
• Techs on a roof or in a crawlspace who can’t take the next booking
• Answering services that take a message instead of booking the visit

HVAC call volume is a function of the weather, not your staffing plan. The first 90-degree week of the summer and the first hard freeze of the winter are when a full office still sends callers to voicemail. A homeowner sweating through the night does not wait for a callback. Keres AI estimates that 35–50% of HVAC demand arrives after hours, a directional estimate from the Keres AI HVAC call answering benchmarks rather than a measurement. For example, a tech on a roof cannot take the next booking while the dispatcher is already on another line. An answering service can take a message, but a message is not a booked visit on the technician’s board.

What an HVAC call to Remi sounds like

Example call, not a customer. Written to show the flow; names and addresses are made up.

In this example the owner’s rules say no heat plus an infant is an emergency, so Remi transfers instead of offering tomorrow morning. Under a different rule, Remi would book the first open visit and text the caller a confirmation. Hear a recorded example call →

Can an AI receptionist handle HVAC emergency calls?

An HVAC emergency is a call your rules flag as urgent. You decide which calls count, and Keres writes the rules into Remi’s script during setup. A typical setup flags:

• Gas smell or a carbon monoxide alarm. Remi tells the caller to leave the building and call the gas utility or 911 from outside, then alerts your on-call tech.
• No heat with someone vulnerable at home, such as an infant or an elderly person, or no heat below an outdoor temperature you choose.
• No cooling during a heat advisory.
• Water pouring from an indoor unit or a ceiling under an air handler. For example, some shops send a truck tonight; others book the first slot tomorrow.
• Everything else (tune-ups, a noisy blower, thermostat questions, replacement quotes) books into a normal slot.

When a call matches an emergency rule, Remi warm-transfers the call to your on-call number. If nobody picks up, the tech gets a “call me now” alert with the address and notes. Read more about emergency dispatch.

What does Remi ask an HVAC caller?

The questions come from your script. A typical HVAC intake covers:

• Name and callback number: so the tech can call ahead
• Service address and access notes: gate codes, pets, who will be home
• System type: furnace, heat pump, central AC, boiler or mini-split
• What it is doing: no heat, blowing warm, short-cycling, leaking, a new noise
• Approximate age of the equipment: helps the tech bring the right parts
• Maintenance-plan member or new customer: so plan members get the priority you promise
• Preferred arrival window: offered from your real availability

Does it book into ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro?

ServiceTitan, yes. ServiceTitan is a live Keres AI integration: when Remi books an HVAC call, Remi writes the customer, the job and the call notes into ServiceTitan, so dispatch sees the system type and symptoms before assigning a tech. Shops without ServiceTitan can book straight into Google Calendar, with the caller logged in HubSpot. Zapier passes each lead to other tools. As of October 2026, Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge and Service Fusion are rolling out and are not live yet. For example, a Housecall Pro shop should ask Keres AI on the first call what would fit in the meantime, such as Google Calendar plus Zapier. Keres AI sets up the connection during onboarding, and you test a booking yourself before Remi answers a customer.

• Live: ServiceTitan, Google Calendar, HubSpot and Zapier
• Rolling out, not live yet: Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge and Service Fusion

What does a missed HVAC call cost?

Keres AI estimates HVAC companies miss 30–45% of inbound calls in peak season and estimates 35–50% of HVAC demand arrives after hours. Keres AI puts a typical service call at $300–$600, with replacements worth far more. Both figures are directional estimates from the HVAC call answering benchmarks, not measurements of your business.

Your own number is missed calls a month, times the share of callers who would have booked, times your average ticket. For example, a shop missing 20 calls in a month, where half would have booked at $300, loses $3,000 in service calls before counting replacements. For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median receptionist wage at $38,010 a year (BLS, May 2025), for about 40 hours of coverage a week. Two follow-on jobs recover revenue from customers you already have: maintenance-plan reactivation and financing follow-up for replacements.

Open the HVAC missed-call calculator →

How do you compare AI receptionists for HVAC?

Ask every vendor the same questions, Keres included:

• Can it grade no-heat and no-cool calls on your rules, including a question about who is in the house?
• What exactly does it say on a gas-smell call? Ask to hear it.
• Does it write the job into your field-service software, or only email you a summary?
• How is it billed in a heat wave: per call, per minute, or a monthly rate with included minutes?
• Can it ask about maintenance-plan membership and note it on the job?
• Who writes the script and the emergency rules, and how long until it is live?

Keres AI’s own answers are on Remi’s page and pricing.

Other vendors’ answers: Best AI receptionists for HVAC companies, compared with sources.

Guides for HVAC operators

• HVAC Business Scaling Checklist — Seasonal automation, maintenance reminders, emergency dispatch, and billing automation for HVAC leaders.
• Customer Intake Automation for Field Service — How to automate customer intake calls and forms so no lead slips through the cracks.
• Measuring the ROI of Business Automation — A simple framework for measuring the real cost and time savings of automation.

Answering is one part of winning the job: Found gets you found on Google and Theo follows up on open estimates. More trades: Plumbers · Roofing · Towing · Septic · all home services.