Who else is using Jobber's AI Receptionist for overflow and after-hours support? We recently implemented it, and while it's not flawless yet, we're finding it to be a game changer compared to traditional voicemail. It's handling calls more efficiently and providing a smoother experience for both our team and clients. I’d love to hear how others are utilizing this feature, what has worked well for you, and what challenges have you encountered? Any tips?
I think for me and my business we only use AI or automations that don’t have to do with human communication/conversations. I think overall customers still just want to talk to humans. I know that’s how I feel too. Chat bots and automated voice bots drive me crazy!
We would love to use this feature, especially after seeing all the awesome ways it is being used. Unfortunately it is still not available in our market; does anybody know of an ETA for AI receptionist and two -way texting in AU?
Great topic — the receptionist fits best when you think of it as overflow and after-hours capture, not a replacement for a human. Here's what's worked for me in a similar setup:
1) Keep the AI on the line for overflow and after-hours, but tell the caller upfront. A short greeting like "Thanks for calling. We're closed right now — let me get your information and we'll be back in touch" removes the "am I talking to a robot" friction a lot of people in this thread mentioned.
2) Route by urgency. If a call mentions a leak, no heat, or a locked-out situation, don't make the customer work through the AI — forward it after 3–4 rings to an on-call number or a second line that rings your phone. Speed-of-callback matters less than not losing an emergency lead.
3) Turn voicemail into a job, not a pile of messages. Set the after-hours greeting to a short voicemail when the AI is off, and use voicemail-to-text / transcription so the message body (phone number, issue, address, best time to callback) lands as a searchable note. From there, schedule the callback as a task so the next available tech owns it. I aim to callback a missed call within 1–2 hours during the day; after-hours leads first in the morning.
4) Make the AI ask at least one situation question. Several posters here hit the "it books contact info but not the problem" issue. Add a required "what brought you in today?" question and two mandatory follow-ups (e.g. address and a quick severity check: urgent / same-week / not sure). You'll still review the booking, but you'll know what you're walking into.
5) Don't run the AI on complex quote conversations. For anything that can't be priced from the phone, set the AI's goal to scheduling an on-site assessment or a callback instead of trying to estimate. Some of the workaround booking items people built here work well for that.
6) Review, don't set-and-forget. Pick a day each month to skim a sample of the AI-handled calls — pronunciation, dropped keywords, tasks that never became jobs. Turn it off in the seasons or markets where hang-ups spike and fall back to a plain voicemail greeting; you can always turn it back on.
Net: the receptionist is strongest as a net under after-hours and overflow calls, paired with voicemail-to-text and a real callback cadence. If you're still early on it, start small (after-hours only) and expand to overflow once the transcription and task handoff feel reliable.
