Direct answer
An electrical AI receptionist answers the number you already publish, sorts panel work from outages, EV installs, and generator requests, and only wakes the owner when the rules say a human is required. Callers keep the number on the truck. The change is that voicemail is no longer the night shift.
Electrical intents that need different questions
Whole house or one circuit, neighbors out, breaker already checked if you allow that question, occupancy. Then book or escalate.
Why they were told they need it, EV or HVAC add-on, and whether an inspection is already scheduled. Usually a site visit, not an owner page.
Vehicle, parking, distance to panel if they know it, 40A vs 60A if they were quoted. Book a load-calc visit.
Standby vs portable, fuel, whole-home vs circuits, and whether they are in an active outage.
Realistic electrical calls
“Half the house is out and the panel is warm.”
Outage + safety. Ask whether there is smoke or burning smell. If yes, run the emergency script first. Then get the address and transfer according to your panel rule.
“The utility said I need a 200-amp panel for a heat pump.”
Panel-upgrade intent. Collect city, existing amp if they know it, and the HVAC timeline. Book a site visit. Do not quote a panel swap from the phone unless you published that process.
“I bought a Tesla and need a charger in the garage.”
EV intent. Vehicle, indoor parking, panel location, and whether they want a quote visit. This can stay with AI.
“We lost power and I need a generator hooked up tonight.”
Outage + generator. Confirm whether they already own a unit, fuel type, and transfer if same-night hookup is an owner or on-call decision.
“Outlet sparked when I plugged in a heater.”
Safety path. If there is smell, smoke, or heat at the device, use the stop-and-emergency script. Then intake and escalate.
“Can you meet the inspector Thursday?”
Existing-job / permit path. Get the job address and permit name, then route to the electrician who owns that inspection.
Safety, then scheduling
| Caller says | AI should | AI should not |
|---|---|---|
| Burning smell at the panel | Safety script, address, escalate | Guess which breaker failed |
| Whole-home outage | Neighbors, occupancy, breaker check if approved | Promise a restore time |
| EV charger quote | Book a load and site visit | Invent a turnkey price |
| Standby generator | Separate outage-now vs future install | Size the unit on the call |
| Inspection or permit | Identify the job and route | Treat it as a new lead |
| Ask for the owner by name | One transfer, then a message | Loop the call |
Electrical work has a higher cost of a wrong confident answer than most inbound lines. A receptionist that says “I do not know — I will have an electrician call you” is doing the job.
Setup and limits
Keep the published number. Forward unanswered and after-hours calls to a Fix9 line. Write the cities you cover, the work you will not take, and the five safety phrases that must escalate. Human transfer stays available.
Limitations: Fix9 is not the utility, not 911, and not a load-calculation engine. Panel capacity, generator sizing, and permit strategy belong to the licensed electrician. The AI’s job is to answer, qualify, book or route, and hand you a record you can act on.
Instruction file for an electrical line
Lead with safety phrases, not personality. “If they mention smoke, flames, a burning smell at the panel, or sparking they cannot stop, tell them to get away from the equipment and contact emergency services if there is fire or smoke. Then take the address and escalate.” That belongs above the EV-charger pitch.
Next, list the bookable work: EV chargers, panel quotes, lighting, generators that are not tonight, remodel rough-ins. List the non-bookable work: active outages you roll on, inspection meet-ups, existing-job questions. List the work you refuse: unpermitted service changes, certain municipalities, aluminum-branch repair if you do not take it.
Add the permit/inspector path. Those callers are not leads. They need the electrician who already pulled the permit. If the receptionist opens a new-customer form, you will miss the inspection.
Two electrical conversations
Panel is warm, lights flickering. Safety questions first. If there is smell or heat they can feel on the cover, emergency script and escalate. If it is flicker only, collect the address, whether the whole house or one wing is affected, and whether neighbors are out. Book a diagnostic or transfer based on your outage rule. Do not tell them which breaker to hold or that the utility is definitely at fault.
EV charger, Saturday morning. Vehicle, garage vs driveway, distance to the panel if they know it, whether a heat pump or hot tub was just added, and whether they want a load-calc visit. Book that visit. If they ask “can you just put in a 60-amp,” say a look at the panel is required unless you published a different process. Transfer only if they ask for the owner or if panel work is owner-priced.
Why Keep Your Number matters on electrical marketing
Electrical companies print numbers on vans, yard signs, and permit paperwork. Changing the DID to add AI creates a year of split identity. Forward the miss. Let AI answer. Transfer the owner when the caller or the safety rule requires it. Use the hub if you need Google Voice or PBX forwarding detail; this page is the electrical logic those systems should run.
Limits again: no load calculations from a phone call, no generator sizing from a square-footage guess, no promise of utility restore times. The licensed electrician owns those decisions. The receptionist owns a clean intake.
Generators, outages, and the quote that can wait
After a storm, the same published number will get “we have no power,” “can you hook up the portable in the driveway,” and “how much for a standby unit next spring.” Those are three intents. If you fold them into one “generator lead,” you will send a salesperson to a dark house that needed a transfer, or send an emergency tech to a browsing quote.
Write the portable-hookup rule (do you even do it?), the standby-quote rule (site visit, transfer only if owner-priced), and the outage rule (neighbors, occupancy, safety). Then keep the truck number. The people calling already have it. They should not be told to fill out a form because the office is overloaded.
Related AI receptionist guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep the number on the truck and listings?
Yes. Keep Your Number. Forward unanswered or after-hours calls to a Fix9 line. Customers continue dialing the electrical number they already have.
What should AI do with a burning smell or sparking panel?
Use your written safety script. That usually means stop, get people away from the panel, and call emergency services if there is smoke or fire. Then collect the address and transfer the on-call electrician if your policy says so. The model should not diagnose the panel.
Can it book an EV charger install?
Yes. Collect vehicle type if they know it, indoor vs outdoor parking, panel location if known, and whether they already have a utility rebate in mind. Book a site visit. Transfer if they ask for the owner or if panel-capacity decisions are owner-only.
How should generator calls be handled?
Separate standby vs portable, whole-home vs partial, and whether they have no power right now. An outage-plus-generator request is not the same as a quote for next summer.
Is a Maps claim required to start?
No. The Fix9 line trial and AI receptionist upgrade do not require claiming a profile. Claim stays optional.
Keep the number people already call.
Add Fix9 as the answering layer: AI answers first, qualifies the request, books or routes the work, and transfers to you when the caller needs the owner.