Every Building Enquiry Answered. Even When You're Mid-Pour on a Foundation Slab.

When a customer calls your building business and you can't answer — because you're on site managing a pour, supervising subcontractors, or operating machinery — the AI picks up the call in your business name, speaks to the customer about their building project, asks intelligent questions about the type of work, planning status, and timeline, captures their contact details, and sends you a comprehensive lead summary. The AI understands building terminology: extensions, loft conversions, garage conversions, renovations, structural alterations, permitted development, full planning applications, Building Regulations, party wall agreements, and project phasing. It responds to each caller with vocabulary appropriate to their specific project, creating the impression of a knowledgeable, professional office handling your calls while you focus on the work that actually generates revenue.

Yes. The AI is configured with comprehensive building industry vocabulary. RSJs, steel beams, load-bearing walls, cavity walls, DPCs, lintels, wall plates, ring beams, pad foundations, strip foundations, pile foundations, underpinning, tanking, building control sign-off, practical completion, snagging, defects liability — the AI speaks your language. When a customer calls about an extension and mentions they've got structural calculations done and Building Regs submitted, the AI understands the significance and asks appropriate follow-up questions about the project timeline and specification level. This technical awareness means callers feel they're speaking to someone within your building business, not a generic answering service reading from a script.

The AI handles the full spectrum of building enquiries: garden walls and patio laying at £1,000 to £3,000, chimney breast removal and structural openings at £2,000 to £5,000, garage conversions at £10,000 to £20,000, single-storey extensions at £25,000 to £50,000, loft conversions at £30,000 to £60,000, double-storey extensions at £50,000 to £100,000, and full house renovations at £80,000 or more. Each project type gets appropriately scaled questioning — a garden wall enquiry gets questions about length, height, and material choice, while a two-storey extension enquiry gets questions about planning status, structural engineering, and turnkey versus shell specification. The AI treats every caller professionally regardless of project size, because today's garden wall customer may be next year's extension client.

Architect referrals represent some of the highest-value leads in the building industry — they're pre-designed, often pre-approved, and come from a professional who will recommend you again if the experience is good. The AI recognises professional calls and responds with appropriate register: asking about the project specification, whether stage 4 drawings and structural calculations are available for pricing, the procurement method (competitive tender, negotiated contract, or design-and-build), the programme timeline, and the architect's involvement during the construction phase. Practice name, project reference, and contact details are all captured cleanly. This professional handling ensures you never miss an architect referral because you were on site when they called.

Planning status is one of the first qualification questions for any building project where consent may be required. The AI establishes whether planning permission has been granted, submitted and awaiting determination, not yet applied for, or whether the project falls under permitted development rights. This qualification is commercially critical because it determines your realistic start date and quoting approach. A customer with approved planning and completed Building Regulations is ready to appoint a builder and start construction within weeks. A customer who hasn't applied yet may be six to twelve months from a start date. The AI captures this distinction so you can prioritise your survey time accordingly — spending Saturday mornings on projects that are genuinely ready to build.

The Core plan is £39 per month and includes AI phone answering with 90 minutes of talk time plus unlimited AI website chat. Additional minutes beyond the 90-minute allowance are £0.25 per minute. There's a one-time setup fee of £299 which is fully refundable within 30 days if you're not satisfied. No contracts, cancel anytime. For a builder where a single extension lead is worth £25,000 to £60,000, the annual cost of £468 is less than the profit margin on a single day's work on a mid-range project. One captured extension enquiry that would have otherwise gone to voicemail pays for the service many times over.

Yes. The AI distinguishes between new project enquiries and calls from existing customers about snagging, defects, or warranty issues. Snagging calls are captured separately and flagged so they don't get mixed into your new lead pipeline. This separation is important because snagging calls require a different response cadence — they're obligations rather than opportunities, and handling them promptly protects your reputation and referral pipeline without disrupting your new business follow-up process.

Most building businesses are fully operational within 48 hours. During a brief onboarding conversation, we learn about your building specialisation — extensions, loft conversions, renovations, new builds, structural work, or a general service — along with your geographic coverage, any trade accreditations (Federation of Master Builders, NHBC, TrustMark, Checkatrade), and how you want different types of enquiries handled. The AI is configured with building industry terminology and tested with simulated calls covering extension enquiries, architect referrals, smaller project requests, and snagging calls before going live. Your total time commitment is about fifteen minutes. Routine business updates — changes to your services, coverage area, or pricing — are free and included in every plan.

Building sites are the hardest environment in the trades to answer a phone. Between concrete mixers, angle grinders, pneumatic drills, and shouting across scaffolding, you can barely hear yourself think, let alone conduct a professional phone conversation with a potential customer. But those calls are worth serious money — extensions at £30,000-£80,000, loft conversions at £25,000-£50,000, and full renovations at £50,000+. AI phone answering ensures every call is answered professionally on the second ring, even while you're managing a crew on a noisy site. Your AI asks about the project type, planning permission status, property details, and timeline — giving you a fully qualified lead that you can review and respond to during a quiet moment. At £39 per month versus £25,000+ for a receptionist, one captured extension enquiry pays for over fifty years of the service.

Just drop us a message — routine business updates are free and included in your plan. If you've adjusted your day rate, added loft conversions to your services, or updated your summer working hours, we'll update your ai phone answering within 24 hours at no extra charge. This covers the kind of day-to-day changes any builder business makes: adjusting prices, tweaking your service list, updating opening hours, or changing your service area. We want your AI to always give your customers accurate, up-to-date information about your builder business.

Speed Receptionist processes customer call data solely for the purpose of capturing and delivering leads to your builder business. Call recordings and transcripts are handled under strict UK GDPR compliance — callers are informed at the start of the call that it may be recorded for service and quality purposes. We operate as a data processor, meaning your business remains the data controller. All voice data and lead information is processed and stored within the United Kingdom, encrypted in transit and at rest, and retained only for as long as needed to deliver the service. We never sell, share, or use your customers' voice data or personal details for marketing. You can request deletion of any recordings or data at any time, and we will action it within 30 days. Our full privacy policy details our complete data handling practices, retention periods, and your rights under UK data protection law.