Questions & answers
Frequently asked questions
What does Autobook cost?
$297 per month, flat, plus a one-time $300 setup fee. There are no per-call, per-minute, or per-text charges — a heat-wave month costs the same as a quiet one. It starts with a 14-day free trial. Prefer to skip the setup fee? Commit to six months and we waive the $300 — same flat $297 a month; if you leave before six months, you just cover the setup you skipped.
How long does setup take?
Days, not weeks. There's nothing to install — you tell us your services and service area, connect your calendar, and Autobook starts answering. Most of the setup time is us tuning it to how your shop actually books work.
Does it work with my calendar?
Yes. Autobook books directly into your Google Calendar against your real availability, so it only offers times that are actually open and never double-books. Customers get their appointment confirmed by text.
What happens when a customer has an emergency?
Autobook recognizes urgent situations — no heat in winter, no AC in a heat wave, anything the customer describes as an emergency — and alerts your on-call tech immediately while still booking the visit. Emergencies don't wait in a queue for morning.
Can I jump into a conversation myself?
Any time. Every conversation is visible to you as it happens, and you can take over whenever you want — Autobook steps back and lets you finish the thread yourself.
Do I need a new phone number?
No. Your existing number keeps working exactly as it does today. Autobook answers a dedicated business texting line and steps in on the calls you miss, so there's no new number to repaint on the truck.
Is automated texting even allowed?
Yes, when it's done properly. Autobook runs on registered business texting (the carriers' A2P system), replies to conversations customers start or numbers you're authorized to contact, and honors opt-outs automatically — if someone texts STOP, that's the end of it.
What happens if a customer calls instead of texts?
Missed calls get an instant text back that starts the booking conversation — usually within seconds of the call ending. You can read exactly how that works on our missed-call text back page.
Does it only work for HVAC?
Autobook is built for residential HVAC first — the qualifying questions, urgency handling, and booking flow are tuned for heating and cooling work. Plumbing and electrical variants are available on request.
What does the free trial include?
The full product for 14 days — real answering, real qualifying, real bookings on your calendar. No credit card is required to start, and every appointment Autobook books during the trial is yours to keep either way.
How is this different from an answering service?
An answering service takes a message you still have to act on. Autobook finishes the job: it qualifies the customer and books the appointment on your calendar, 24/7, for a flat price. We wrote up a full comparison on our answering service alternative page.
What if the AI gets something wrong?
It's built to be conservative. It confirms details before booking, never double-books, escalates emergencies to a human immediately, and hands anything ambiguous to you rather than guessing. And because you see every conversation, nothing happens out of your sight.
How do I cancel?
Autobook is month to month — email us and you're done, no cancellation fee or lock-in. The one exception is if you took the optional deal where we waive the $300 setup for a six-month commitment: then you're in for those six months, and even leaving early just means covering the setup we'd waived — nothing more. Your phone number and your calendar were always yours, so everything keeps working the day you leave.
Still curious? See it answer for yourself — call (617) 295-7190, or start a 14-day free trial.
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