Home · Plumbing, HVAC & trades · Kits
AI for plumbers and HVAC companies: 10 real examples and where to start
Updated October 17, 2026 · 10 sourced examples · no paid placement
Short answer: Plumbing and HVAC companies use AI for much more than answering the phone. In the 10 examples below, owners and trade publications describe AI ranking technicians for dispatch, following up unsold estimates, asking for and replying to Google reviews, rewriting thin invoice and estimate notes, drafting marketing copy and grading every call-center call, plus after-hours and overflow calls. Several are bigger than a one-truck shop, and every result is what the company reported, not a promise.
Each example below says who did it, what the AI does, what they reported and where the story came from (the owner on a podcast or their own post, or a trade publication). We left out vendor-written case studies on this page. After the list: the jobs grouped by area, what went wrong, what the tools cost and how to try one this week.
Phone answering is one automation among many. See real AI automations by task: quote follow-up, review requests, lead intake, reminders, invoices and office work.
What these 10 businesses actually did
- Dispatch: Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electric (greater Cincinnati) (owner-told, via HVAC Chats (Contracting Business)). ProBook's AI dispatch ranks technicians by performance on each job type and assigns them. He also discusses AI call answering, follow-up and review requests. Reported: Self-reported on Contracting Business's podcast: 41% growth in the first year with the same number of leads and calls. He credits ProBook as one factor among several. Full case
- Unsold estimates: Leonard Splaine Co. (HVAC, Virginia) (press, via ACHR News: Crawl, Walk, Run — How HVAC Contractors Are Successfully Adopting AI (Leonard Splaine Co.)). After reviewing the tech stack and touring options at ACCA 2025, Leonard Splaine Co. adopted UpSmith (an ACCA Strategic Partner) with a crawl-walk-run approach. AI manages workflows such as estimation follow-ups and membership inquiries so CSRs can focus elsewhere. Baker stresses AI should enhance workflows rather than replace CSR headcount, and contracts should protect ROI if a tool fails. Reported: Since going live with UpSmith, follow-up sales for unsold estimates increased by 25%. Treat that as company-reported. No tool-independent controlled study is cited. Full case
- Review asks and inquiry replies: Golden Plumbing KY (Louisville, KY) (owner-told, via LinkedIn (Spencer Gardner)). AI sends review follow-ups after every job, drafts replies to online inquiries for him to approve, runs the social schedule and flags drops in Google rankings. Reported: Self-reported: faster responses and nothing falls through the cracks. Frustrated customers and complex estimates still go to him. No figures given. Full case
- Review replies that don't look cloned: Intelligent Design Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Solar & Electric (Tucson, AZ) (press, via ACHR News). ServiceTitan's AI drafts a varied reply to each review; Kays approves each one before it's sent. Reported: AI-drafted replies are 'almost always spot on'. Reviews reached 446 by early July 2024, versus 418 in all of 2023. Full case
- A hundred reviews a week, plus invoice notes: Wilson Plumbing and Heating (owner-told, via Owned and Operated podcast). They nicknamed their AI "Karen" and use it across departments. Marketing uses it for copy, images and social. A webhook auto-responds to Google reviews to cut bandwidth. They also use AI to enhance sparse invoice and estimate descriptions so customers understand the work. Call-center FAQ and inbound chat booking into ServiceTitan were in progress, not live voice answering. Reported: Self-reported on Owned and Operated: review replies take less bandwidth at roughly 100+ reviews a week, and estimate writing is a daily use. No revenue figures given. Co-host Jack Carr said he hated talking to an AI phone agent as a caller. Full case
- Marketing copy and reviews, edited by a person: Rapid HVAC (Tennessee) (owner-told, via Owned and Operated podcast). His team drafts SEO, copy and writing with AI, then a person edits through roughly two iterations before anything goes out. They also use AI for invoices and for writing back and commenting on Google reviews. He was waiting on dispatch AI and did not yet trust it enough to buy. Reported: Self-reported on Owned and Operated: AI is used as an enhancer across writing and reviews, not a hands-off system. No figures given. Full case
- Grading every call-center call: Wilson Companies (plumbing and HVAC) (owner-told, via Owned and Operated #128: How to Use AI for Home Service Business Success). They rolled out Avoca's coaching product: it listens to every call, grades against their script (greeting, empathy, next steps), pulls out coachable moments, and lets managers open the worst-graded calls first. They were also preparing a hybrid human-assisted AI answering option for overflow. Reported: Reviews 100% of calls in near real time instead of a thin sample, and the coaching is already changing booking rates and customer experience (self-reported on a podcast after roughly 45–60 days). Exact book-rate lift not stated. Full case
- After-hours calls and scheduling: Good Guy Plumbing (Torrance, CA) (press, via Contractor Magazine). Housecall Pro's AI voice agent answers 24/7, triages the problem and books the job; its smart scheduling suggests the technician, time slot and route. Reported: The three office staff free up about 10+ hours a week (about 500 a year), now spent on same-day callbacks and marketing. He says the impact is 'still a bit tough to measure directly'. Full case
- Overflow calls: Tri-City Home Solutions (Milford, CT) (owner-told, via Mastering ServiceTitan podcast: Amanda Root interview). Root’s team turned on ServiceTitan’s Virtual Agent (named Aria via an internal contest). Callers in queue could opt for Aria; later any call not answered within a set number of seconds routed to her. The team stress-tested the bot before go-live and Root coached it during a surprise full-list email blast. Reported: In the first month tracked on the Mastering ServiceTitan podcast: revenue from booked calls up 186%, booking rate 65.6% (up 26 points), and the agent handled more than 400 calls. Root’s framing: sell one job off of it and you make your money back. Full case
- Website questions at 2 a.m.: Aaron Services (Georgia) (press, via The ACHR News: Five tips for HVAC contractors thinking about adding chatbots). A website chat assistant answers homeowner plumbing questions 24/7 from the company's own blog, gives safe first steps, and books a pro when the job is beyond DIY. An Alexa version answers the common questions by voice. Reported: Managers say it has cut time spent on basic and exploratory calls and raised conversions from uncertain customers; usage spiked before Thanksgiving (sink-clog questions) and after hours. Adams says she personally reviewed at least a thousand intents for accuracy and safety. Early lesson: it confused broad tankless-heater questions with specific error codes and needed more training. Out-of-area visitors also use it, which helps SEO. No booking numbers given. Full case
These are each company's own results with their own tools and teams, as reported by the source. Vendor case studies are written by the company selling the tool. None of them are promises.
Where plumbing and HVAC companies use AI, job by job
Scheduling and dispatch. Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, Electric uses ProBook's AI dispatch to rank technicians by how they perform on each job type. Owner Brady Jolly reported 41% growth in the first year with the same number of leads and calls, and credits ProBook as one factor among several. At Good Guy Plumbing, Housecall Pro's smart scheduling suggests the technician, time slot and route for jobs its voice agent books.
Sales and lead follow-up. Leonard Splaine Co. lets AI (UpSmith) handle estimate follow-ups and membership questions so CSRs can focus on other calls; the company reports follow-up sales on unsold estimates rose 25%. Spencer Gardner of Golden Plumbing KY has AI draft replies to online inquiries for him to approve.
Reviews. Golden Plumbing sends a review follow-up after every job. At Intelligent Design, ServiceTitan's AI drafts a different reply to each review and a person approves every one; reviews reached 446 by early July 2024, against 418 in all of 2023. Wilson Plumbing and Heating gets about a hundred Google reviews a week and auto-responds to them through a webhook.
Estimates and invoices. Wilson uses AI to turn sparse tech notes into estimate and invoice descriptions customers can understand, and calls estimate writing a daily use. Rapid HVAC uses AI for invoices too. We don't have a sourced plumbing or HVAC example of AI setting the price itself; in these stories it handles the wording and the follow-up, and people do the pricing.
Marketing. Rapid HVAC drafts SEO pages and copy with AI, then a person edits through about two rounds before anything goes out. Wilson's marketing team uses it for copy, images and social posts. Golden Plumbing has AI run its social schedule and flag drops in its Google rankings.
The office and call center. Wilson Companies' call center takes about a thousand calls a day. An AI coaching tool (Avoca) now grades every call against their script and shows managers the worst-graded calls first, instead of a few people spot-checking a sample.
Phones. Good Guy Plumbing's after-hours calls used to go to voicemail; an AI voice agent now answers, triages and books, and the office staff free up about 10+ hours a week. Tri-City Home Solutions sends overflow calls to a ServiceTitan voice agent, and Aaron Services answers homeowner plumbing questions on its website around the clock. The phone side has its own page: AI receptionist for HVAC and plumbing (linked below).
What went wrong, or was hard
Training takes real time. Aaron Services' assistant mixed up broad tankless-heater questions with specific error codes and needed more training, and Sara Adams says she personally reviewed at least a thousand intents for accuracy and safety.
Not everyone wants the bot. Jack Carr of Rapid HVAC said he hated talking to an AI phone agent as a caller, and he was still waiting on dispatch AI because he didn't trust it enough to buy. Golden Plumbing keeps frustrated customers and complex estimates with the owner.
Results are hard to pin down. Rob Castelao of Good Guy Plumbing says the impact is 'still a bit tough to measure directly'. Jolly credits ProBook as one factor among several, and Leonard Splaine's 25% is company-reported.
Buy carefully. Johnny Baker of Leonard Splaine says AI should enhance workflows rather than replace CSRs, and that contracts should protect your return if a tool fails. Tri-City's team tried to break its voice agent before go-live.
Do you need ServiceTitan to do any of this?
No, though several of these companies use it. Tri-City and Intelligent Design use ServiceTitan's built-in AI, Good Guy uses Housecall Pro's, and Jolly, Leonard Splaine and Wilson use trade-specific tools (ProBook, UpSmith, Avoca). Golden Plumbing, Rapid HVAC and Wilson's review and invoice work don't name a tool at all.
The writing jobs (review replies, inquiry replies, invoice wording, marketing drafts) are the easiest to copy with a general chatbot such as ChatGPT or Claude, with a person checking every draft. Each case page has a do-it-yourself path.
Tools named in these examples
| Tool | Starting price (base plan) | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo | 2026-10-17 |
| Claude | $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly) | 2026-10-15 |
| Zapier | Pro $19.99/mo billed annually ($29.99 monthly) for 750 tasks; free plan with 100 tasks/mo | 2026-10-16 |
| Housecall Pro | $59/mo billed annually | 2026-10-17 |
Starting prices from each vendor's pricing page on the date shown. AI phone and texting features can be priced separately from the base plan, so check before you buy. ServiceTitan, ProBook, UpSmith and Avoca are named in these examples; we haven't price-checked them.
How to start this week
- Pick the one job that cost you the most last month: unanswered calls, estimates that went cold, or reviews nobody replied to. Start there, not everywhere.
- Try the writing jobs free first. Paste a Google review into the free version of ChatGPT and ask for a short reply in your voice, then edit it before you post, the way Rapid HVAC edits every draft.
- Paste a tech's thin job notes into the same chat and ask for a two- or three-sentence description a homeowner will understand. Check it before it goes on the invoice.
- Make estimate follow-up somebody's (or something's) job. List the open estimates from the last 30 days and send each one a short follow-up. Leonard Splaine handed this job to AI and reports a 25% rise in follow-up sales on unsold estimates.
- For phones, start with after hours or overflow only, test it hard before it goes live like Tri-City did, and keep a person reachable.
Dispatch the right tech to each job type with AI matching
ProBook's AI dispatch ranks technicians by performance on each job type and assigns them.
Let AI own estimate follow-ups and membership inquiries so CSRs spend time on higher-value calls
After reviewing the tech stack and touring options at ACCA 2025, Leonard Splaine Co.
Have AI chase reviews after every plumbing job
AI sends review follow-ups after every job, drafts replies to online inquiries for him to approve, runs the social schedule and flags dro…
via LinkedIn (Spencer Gardner) · 2026-02-19Have AI draft each Google review reply so every one reads a little differently
ServiceTitan's AI drafts a varied reply to each review; Kays approves each one before it's sent.
Auto-draft Google review replies when you get a hundred a week
They nicknamed their AI "Karen" and use it across departments.
via Owned and Operated podcast · 2026-01-30Use AI to draft review replies and marketing copy, then edit them yourself
His team drafts SEO, copy and writing with AI, then a person edits through roughly two iterations before anything goes out.
via Owned and Operated podcast · 2026-01-30Have AI listen to every call-center call and surface the ones worth coaching
They rolled out Avoca's coaching product: it listens to every call, grades against their script (greeting, empathy, next steps), pulls ou…
Have an AI voice agent answer, triage and book plumbing calls after hours
Housecall Pro's AI voice agent answers 24/7, triages the problem and books the job; its smart scheduling suggests the technician, time sl…
Housecall ProTurn on a ServiceTitan voice agent named Aria to catch overflow plumbing and HVAC calls
Root’s team turned on ServiceTitan’s Virtual Agent (named Aria via an internal contest).
Answer homeowners' plumbing questions around the clock with an AI assistant built from your own blog, with hard safety stops
A website chat assistant answers homeowner plumbing questions 24/7 from the company's own blog, gives safe first steps, and books a pro w…
Questions
How are plumbers and HVAC companies using AI?
In the 10 sourced examples on this page: ranking technicians for dispatch, following up unsold estimates, sending review requests and drafting review replies, rewriting thin invoice and estimate notes, drafting marketing copy, grading call-center calls, and answering after-hours and overflow calls.
What AI tools do plumbing and HVAC companies use?
In these examples: ServiceTitan's AI (Tri-City Home Solutions, Intelligent Design), Housecall Pro's AI voice agent (Good Guy Plumbing), ProBook for dispatch (Jolly), UpSmith for estimate follow-up (Leonard Splaine) and Avoca for call coaching (Wilson Companies). Golden Plumbing, Rapid HVAC and Wilson's review replies don't name a tool.
Can I use ChatGPT for my plumbing or HVAC business?
Yes, for the writing jobs: review replies, replies to web inquiries, plain-English invoice descriptions and marketing drafts. ChatGPT has a free plan and Plus is $20 a month. Have a person read every draft before it goes to a customer, as Rapid HVAC and Intelligent Design do.
Can AI help an HVAC company sell more?
One sourced example: Leonard Splaine Co., a Virginia HVAC company, reports that follow-up sales on unsold estimates rose 25% after AI took over estimate follow-ups. Jolly Heating reported 41% growth in a year with the same number of leads and calls, crediting its AI dispatch tool as one factor among several.
Is there a do-it-yourself option?
Yes. The $39 Plumbing & HVAC AI Starter Kit has 31 copy-and-paste items built from 18 real cases: after-hours voice agent instructions, missed-call texts, unsold-estimate follow-ups, review request and reply templates, a dispatch scorecard prompt, a call-grading prompt and an invoice-description prompt.
Related guides
- AI receptionist for HVAC and plumbing: 5 real setups
- Missed-call text-back for trades: 6 real examples
- AI scheduling and dispatch for plumbers and HVAC
- AI review tools for plumbers and HVAC
- How contractors automate lead and quote follow-up with AI
- All plumbing, HVAC and trades AI examples
- Plumbing & HVAC AI Starter Kit ($39)
One short email a day: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each linked to its source, plus a Tool of the Day. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Set it up yourself: the $39 starter kits
Each kit turns cases like the ones above into copy-and-paste scripts, texts and prompts, with a setup checklist and a checked price table. Instant download, 30-day refund. Each kit page also has a free sample script.
Plumbing & HVAC kit, $39 Auto repair shop kit, $39Rather not do it yourself? We'll set up one AI automation for you in 48 hours ($197).