# Get 30 percent of trade enquiries booked overnight: the AI build for trades Source: https://getstartedwithai.net/tutorials/ai-for-trades-enquiry-booking-build Site: Get Started With AI Tagline: Build AI automations that actually run your business. Audience: solo professionals, freelancers, consultants and AI implementers in training Contact: hello@getstartedwithai.co.uk This Markdown companion is generated from the prerendered page for AI crawlers. # Get 30 percent of trade enquiries booked overnight: the AI build for trades Eight hours a week, mostly in the evening, gone. That is the bracket UK self-employed plumbers, electricians, builders and gardeners spend chasing voicemail, replying to text enquiries, drafting quotes and ordering from suppliers. The build below puts AI in front of that flow. Enquiries get triaged, calendar slots get booked, supplier emails get drafted, quotes get scaffolded, all without an office manager. The trade work stays where it is. Setup runs in 90 minutes on a phone or laptop. Run cost is £20 a month all in. ## What you need - A ChatGPT Plus account at £16 a month. Plus is fine for trades; Business is overkill at one operator. - A Google Voice or Twilio number that forwards to the operator phone. The AI sees the transcript, not the audio. - A Zapier paid plan or n8n self-hosted, plus Google Calendar or iCal. - Your last 20 quotes, 10 supplier emails and the standard customer terms as voice reference. ## Step 1: Enquiry triage Project (20 minutes) Enquiries arrive via WhatsApp, text, voicemail and the contact form. The Project below classifies them so the operator only opens the urgent ones immediately. 1. Create a Project named Trade Enquiry Triage. 2. Upload 20 historic enquiries paired with how the operator handled each. 3. System prompt: classify a UK trade enquiry into urgent (today), this week, quote needed, or junk. Output the classification, the address postcode if mentioned, and the suggested next step. 4. Wire Twilio voicemail transcripts and the contact form into the Project via Zapier. Urgent classifications ping the operator phone; the rest queue for evening review. ## Step 2: Booking confirmations and reminders (15 minutes) Booked slots that go unconfirmed run at 15 to 20 percent no-show. Confirmation messages drafted by the Project cut that to 3 to 5 percent. 1. Add a second Project for booking confirmations. 2. On a new Google Calendar event with a customer name, send the event details to the Project. 3. System prompt: draft a UK trade booking confirmation in plain text. UK English. Name the date, the time window, the operator name, the cost estimate range and one specific instruction (parking, what to leave clear, what to do with pets). 4. Send via WhatsApp Business API or SMS. Send a reminder 24 hours before automatically. ## Step 3: Quote scaffolding from a job description (20 minutes) A quote takes 20 to 40 minutes from scratch. The Project below scaffolds it in 5 with the operator filling in the prices. 1. Add a third Project for quotes. 2. Upload 20 historic quotes including 5 wins and 5 losses across different trades and job sizes. 3. System prompt: draft a UK self-employed trade quote. UK English. Sections: scope, materials estimate (placeholder), labour estimate (placeholder), timeline, terms. Match the format of the uploaded examples. 4. Add the rule: never invent prices. Where a number is missing, write [price to confirm] and keep going. The operator fills in the figures from the merchant or the labour rate card. ## Step 4: Supplier email drafting (10 minutes) Merchant order chases, account queries and price-check emails take 90 minutes a week off the operator phone in the van. 1. Add a fourth Project for supplier emails. 2. Inputs: the merchant name, the order or account reference, the issue in one line. 3. System prompt: draft a UK trade supplier email. UK English, plain language, specific to the case. The email names the reference and the date and avoids filler. 4. Send from the operator phone in 60 seconds. ## Step 5: First fortnight of operation Run the build across two weeks of live work. Compare evening hours against the previous fortnight. Most self-employed trades operators see 6 to 8 hours a week recovered, mostly in the 7pm to 10pm window. ## What you ship Enquiry triage running on the operator phone with urgent flags pinging in real time. Booking confirmations sent automatically with no-show rates at 3 to 5 percent. Quotes scaffolded in 5 minutes. Supplier emails drafted in 60 seconds. The trade work continues in daylight; the admin work moves off the evening. ## What to build next Pair this with the WIRE Method audit on the next process worth automating, typically invoice chasing or end-of-job customer feedback collection. ## Related builds More tutorials in Industries. Each one runs in 60 to 90 minutes and ships a finished asset. ### Reclaim 8 hours a week as an accountant: the AI build for practice work 30 to 60 minutes. Solo Pro / Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/ai-for-accountants-practice-build) ### Cut 12 hours a week of legal admin: the AI build for solicitors and small firms 30 to 60 minutes. Solo Pro / Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/ai-for-lawyers-firm-build) ### Replace 6 hours a week of session admin: the AI build for coaches and therapists 60 to 90 minutes. Solo Pro. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/ai-for-coaches-therapists-build) ### Reclaim a day a week as a property agent: the AI build for letting and sales 60 to 90 minutes. Solo Pro / Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/ai-for-real-estate-agents-build) ## Questions people ask before they start ### Will customers know AI replied? On enquiries the operator reviews the AI classification and replies personally. On booking confirmations the AI drafts and the message sends automatically; the customer sees a clean confirmation in the trade voice. UK GDPR allows this with a one-line disclosure in the website privacy policy. ### Does this work without an office manager? Yes. The build is sized for one operator with a phone. Trades firms with two to five operators add a shared inbox and one extra Zap; the Projects scale without changing. ### What about Gas Safe, NICEIC and other certifications? Certification numbers and registration details get added to the booking confirmation and the quote template once at setup. The Project never invents a registration number; it pulls from the loaded reference. ### Can the AI handle CIS and self-assessment work? No. CIS submissions and self-assessment go through the accountant or the FreeAgent or QuickBooks Self-Employed account. The build covers the customer-facing writing and admin only. ### How much can a tradesperson charge to set this up for a peer? Charge £400 to £800 for the package: a 30-minute walkthrough on the operator phone, a 60-minute build, a one-week check-in. The implementer angle is the operator own enquiry triage running during the demo.