An AI receptionist for solar companies that qualifies the lead, books the consultation, and never promises a savings number
A solar lead is expensive, goes cold in an hour, and takes weeks to close. The companies that win are the ones that answer in seconds, ask the right four questions, and keep following up without overpromising. Unlike an answering service that takes a message, this is an AI receptionist that does the qualifying and the booking, and a follow-up system that does the rest. Here's how it handles a solar call, and what it won't say.
Where solar companies actually lose the job
A solar lead costs more than almost any other lead in home services, and it decays faster. The homeowner filled out a form on three sites in ten minutes; the first company to call back with a human-sounding voice gets the appointment. The ones that call back tomorrow get "we already talked to someone." If your closers are in homes all afternoon, that's most of your leads.
Then the long part. A solar decision is a five-figure purchase (EnergySage, "Solar panel cost in 2026" puts the average around $2.60 a watt before incentives, and the average system at 12 kW), it usually involves a spouse, a lender and a tax question, and it takes weeks. Most of the proposals that die don't die on price. They die because nobody followed up on day 6, day 12 and day 20, when the homeowner was ready to say yes and couldn't remember which company they liked.
And the trade has a trust problem it didn't entirely earn. Door-knockers promising "free solar" and savings numbers nobody can stand behind have taught homeowners to expect a pitch. A company whose first contact is a straight answer and a booked visit stands out.
What the AI does on a solar company call
The AI answers as your company, in about two rings, on every call at once, and texts every new lead from your website, Angi, Thumbtack, Networx or Yelp within seconds of it arriving. It asks the questions you give it, and for a solar company those are the ones your closer needs before the visit: whether they own the home (a renter gets a kind no and a note to call when they buy), roughly what the monthly electric bill runs, how old the roof is and what it's made of, whether there's shade, whether an HOA is involved, and whether a battery or an EV charger is on their mind. You write them once in your instructions or in Teach Alex, in your own words, and it asks them on every call. Then the name, the address and the best number, read back.
On the questions that matter most in this trade, it answers only from what you wrote in Settings. Financing: "Do you offer financing?" gets your answer, with your lender's name if you put it there, and never a promise of approval, a rate or a term. Incentives: it says what you wrote and that the customer should confirm with their tax preparer. Savings: it doesn't give a number. It says the consultation produces a proposal from their actual bills and their actual roof, and books the consultation. That one rule is the difference between the company homeowners trust and the one they hang up on, and you can write it in your own words in Teach Alex if you want it said a certain way.
It books the consultation, in home or by video, however you run them, into real open time on your Google Calendar, with the appointment length you set for a consult. With auto-assign on, each appointment goes to a free rep with a calendar invite and a briefing text. Callers who ask for a person during business hours get transferred.
What it won't do on the call: size a system, quote a price, estimate production, or say what the tax credit is worth. There's no solar price sheet, on purpose. The number comes from your proposal.
What happens after the call
The customer gets a confirmation text and a reminder the day before (once you turn on appointment confirmation texts). Your rep gets a prep card the morning of the visit: the customer, the address, what they said about the bill, the roof and the HOA, which of six buyer types they sounded like on the call and how to approach them, and a checklist for the visit (title, roof photos of each face, twelve months of bills, panel size, HOA rules, battery and EV interest).
After the visit, the rep taps whether it sold, got a proposal, lost, or isn't decided yet, from the same card. A proposal that's still open goes into the follow-up text sequence at 24 hours, 3, 5 and 10 days, written like a contractor, stopping the moment the customer replies. Objection detection on Elite catches "too expensive" and "we need to think about it" and switches to a recovery script instead of a polite goodbye. Longer nurturing campaigns on Elite keep a six-month maybe warm without a rep touching it, and every lead source is tracked, so you can see which platform's $150 leads turn into installs.
What it doesn't do: produce the proposal, pull utility data, check the roof from satellite, or submit the interconnection paperwork. Those stay in your design and proposal software.
A week on the phone, solar company edition
This is an example of how the system handles a week, not a customer's results.
Monday, 7:52 pm. A Thumbtack lead comes in. Alex texts back within seconds, asks whether they own the home and roughly what the bill runs, and books a video consultation for Wednesday at 6. At 8:15 a caller asks "how much would solar cost for my house?" Alex says the honest answer comes from a proposal built on their bills and their roof, asks the four questions, and books Saturday morning. The caller asks about the tax credit; Alex says what you wrote and that their tax preparer confirms it.
Thursday, 10 am. A renter calls. Alex explains kindly that solar needs the homeowner's say-so and takes a note. Friday, a homeowner who got a proposal eleven days ago and went quiet gets the day-10 follow-up text and replies, "My wife is on board. What's next?"
What AI Front Desk Helper does besides answer the phone
Answering the phone is the entry point, not the product. Here is the rest of what runs once a contractor is on AI Front Desk Helper:
- Booking that respects your calendar. Alex checks your own Google Calendar and offers real open times, so it never books a slot you're already on a job for. Jobs per time slot, arrival windows, appointment length, same-day booking and service days by ZIP code are all settings. Reschedules and cancellations move or remove the event.
- Crews, not just one calendar. Optional auto-assign books each job to a free crew member in turn, using their own calendar and work days, and adds them to the event. Repeating visits (weekly, every two weeks, monthly) can be paused for one customer or for the season.
- After-hours emergencies. You write what counts as an emergency and list up to three on-call phones. Alex rings them in order with a text briefing, and the tech presses 1 to take the call. Emergency texts and website chats alert the same phones, and a tech can reply CALL to be connected.
- Photos by text. Customers can text a photo to your number. Alex saves it to their card, forwards an emergency photo to the on-call phones, sends your Quick Quote link for a job it can price, and offers a visit for anything else.
- Straight answers on price. With the estimator turned on, for junk removal, window cleaning, pressure washing, house cleaning, pest control, garage doors, pool service, flooring, concrete, window installation, stump grinding and lawn care, Alex gives a ballpark from your own price sheet and says the crew confirms on site. Trades that price on site can set a service call fee, and Alex answers financing and insurance questions from what you set. No number you didn't give it.
- Instant online quotes. A branded quote-and-book page for your business (yours looks like quote.yourcompany.com) where customers get a ballpark and pick a time, day or night. Built in for painting, roofing, siding, fencing, gutters and the twelve trades above, and switched on with the estimator (included on Elite, a $20/month add-on on Basic and Pro).
- Estimate follow-up that doesn't quit. Text sequences at 24 hours, 3, 5 and 10 days on every quote that hasn't closed, written like a contractor, stopping the moment the customer replies.
- Objection detection. "Too expensive" or "need to think about it" triggers a recovery script instead of a polite goodbye.
- Outbound campaigns. AI calls and texts to your past-customer list for seasonal reactivation, win-backs and referral asks. You set the campaign; it dials.
- Google Business Profile, handled. Every new review gets an owner reply drafted for you; profile posts can be drafted, approved and scheduled weeks ahead; a profile health audit shows how you stack up against nearby competitors.
- Revenue coaching by lead source. Every phone number is tied to where it came from (Angi, LSA, Facebook, referral, yard sign), so the dashboard shows which marketing produces booked revenue and which to cut.
- Customer DISC profiles. Every caller and texter gets a buying-style read (D, I, S or C) from what they actually said, with a confidence flag, so you walk into the estimate knowing how to sell to them.
- Franchise HQ. One rollup across every location for multi-unit operators.
- Reseller program. Agencies can offer the whole system under their own brand. How it works.
- Optional add-on: AI Rep Coach. Records in-home estimates and coaches the people who sell, with manager review and team analytics. Sold separately, per seat.
Setup for a solar company
In Settings, pick Solar as your trade. Write your financing answer and your incentives answer the way you want them said, and nothing more; Alex says exactly that. Set your appointment length to match a consultation. Write the qualifying questions you want asked (owner, bill, roof, HOA) in your instructions. Add your reps in Crew Management and turn on auto-assign, or set appointments per slot to your number of closers. If you buy leads, connect the platform so every new lead gets the text within seconds. Add any rule you want said a certain way in Teach Alex ("never give a savings estimate; say the proposal shows it"). Forward your existing number or port it. Most companies are live within the week.
A straight answer about where this comes from: AI Front Desk Helper was built and tested inside my painting company. Solar runs on the same setup as our other consultation trades: qualifying questions, calendar booking, financing answers from what you set, follow-up and lead tracking. There's no solar price sheet, and there won't be one, because the number should come from the proposal. We don't have results from solar companies to publish yet, and we won't make them up.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $297/mo | 24/7 AI call answering, Google Calendar booking with free/busy checks by phone and text, missed-call text-back, lead capture and CRM sync, call transcripts. |
| Pro | $497/mo | Everything in Basic plus SMS follow-up sequences (24h / 3d / 5d / 10d), website AI chat widget, appointment reminders, Facebook Messenger. |
| Elite | $997/mo | Everything in Pro plus outbound AI campaigns (win-backs, seasonal reactivation, referral asks), AI revenue coaching by lead source, Google review response writer, objection detection, referral autopilot, franchise HQ rollup. |
Annual billing is two months free. Call minutes included every month: 500 on Basic, 1,200 on Pro, 3,000 on Elite (extra minutes $0.30). No setup fee, month to month.
Which plan for a solar company
Most solar companies belong on Pro at minimum. Every plan answers, qualifies and books the consultation, but the proposal follow-up is where solar revenue is won or lost, and it starts on Pro. Elite fits a company buying leads at volume: objection detection, longer nurturing, revenue by lead source and review replies pay for themselves on one saved install. Basic is right only if your closers already chase every proposal themselves.
Questions solar companies ask
Will it tell callers how much solar costs or what they'll save?
No. There's no solar price sheet, on purpose. It says the proposal shows the price and the savings from their actual bills and roof, and books the consultation. It never states a savings figure, a payback year or a tax credit amount.
What does it ask a solar lead?
Whatever you tell it to, in your own words. For a solar company that's whether they own the home, roughly what the electric bill runs, the roof's age and material, shade, HOA, and whether a battery or EV charger is on their mind. Then the name, address and best number.
Can it answer financing questions?
From what you wrote, and only that: yes or no, the lender if you name one, and a note that approval depends on the application. It never promises a rate, a term or an approval.
How fast does it respond to a platform lead?
Within seconds of the lead arriving from your website, Angi, Thumbtack, Networx or Yelp, by text, with the qualifying questions and a booking link.
How long does it follow up?
Texts at 24 hours, 3, 5 and 10 days on every open proposal, stopping when the customer replies. Elite adds longer nurturing campaigns for the six-month maybe.
Does it handle renters?
If you make "do you own the home" one of its questions, it asks up front, tells a renter kindly that solar needs the homeowner's approval, and captures the lead instead of booking a wasted visit.
Can it book a video consultation instead of an in-home visit?
It books a time on your Google Calendar with the appointment length you set; whether you run that consult in the home or by video is up to you, and the rep gets the invite either way.
Fifteen minutes. We call your business line, run a real solar company call, and show you what happens after it. You decide.
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