Key takeaways
- It answers the calls your dispatcher cannot: after hours, on the second line, and during a storm surge.
- It takes location, vehicle, problem and destination, then pages the on-call driver or dispatcher with a summary.
- Injuries, police-directed scenes, impound disputes and arrival-time promises always go to a person.
- It feeds Towbook or your field service CRM, so the call becomes a job draft, not a voicemail.
An AI receptionist for a towing company answers the calls your dispatcher cannot: the 2 a.m. breakdown, the third line ringing during an ice storm, the lockout while every driver is hooked up. It takes the location, vehicle and destination, sends anything unsafe to a person, and puts the job in front of dispatch in seconds.
What it handles
- Every ring, any hour. It answers in your company's name when the dispatcher is on another line, off shift or overwhelmed.
- Location first. Cross streets, the highway and direction of travel, the nearest exit or mile marker, or a business name the caller can see. It can text the caller a link to share their position.
- The vehicle and the problem. Year, make and model, all-wheel drive or not, whether it rolls and steers, keys present, and what happened: will not start, flat, locked out, accident, in a ditch.
- Destination and payment. Where the vehicle is going, and whether the caller is paying directly or through a motor club or insurer.
- Routine questions. Services, the area you cover, payment types, whether you carry motorcycles or lowered cars on a flatbed.
- Standard prices, if you allow it. Flat-rate jump starts or lockouts from your rate sheet, nothing improvised.
- The hand-off. A short summary sent to the on-call driver or dispatcher, with a call transfer when the caller needs a person now.
- Hang-ups. A callback text to anyone who disconnects before finishing, because a stranded driver rarely calls back twice.
What the AI receptionist handles
| Call | The AI receptionist | Your team |
|---|---|---|
| Common questions | Hours, services and areas | Anything unusual |
| Booking | Takes details or books a slot | Confirms complex work |
| Urgent calls | Routes them to the on-call person | Handles the emergency |
| Complaints | Takes a message | Handles them personally |
What it should not handle
It should not make safety calls, promise arrival times, or touch anything with legal weight. Those calls go to a person every time, and the script says so plainly.
- Danger. Injury, smoke, fire, or a vehicle stopped in a live lane: the caller is told to call 911, and the call goes straight to a human.
- Police-directed scenes. When police are managing an accident or ordering a tow, a person handles it under your rotation or account rules.
- Impounds and private-property tows. Release questions, disputes and complaints about a tow from a lot need a person who knows the local rules.
- Arrival times it cannot see. Only dispatch sets an ETA. Until then it says a dispatcher will confirm.
- Exceptions and complaints. Price changes, damage claims and angry callers go to the owner or dispatcher.
- Card numbers. Payment goes through a secure link from your own system, never read aloud to the AI.
Integrations with your software
It connects to whatever your dispatcher already works in, usually a towing dispatch platform such as Towbook or a field service CRM, so a call becomes a job draft instead of a voicemail. Where the platform accepts new calls from outside tools, the summary lands as a draft job. Where it does not, the dispatcher gets a text with every field already filled in, ready to enter.
The phone setup matters as much as the software. The routing should match how your shifts actually run:
| Situation | Who answers first | What the AI does |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime, dispatcher free | Dispatcher | Nothing; it stays out of the way |
| Dispatcher on another line | AI after a few rings | Full intake, summary to dispatch |
| Nights and weekends | AI | Intake, then pages the on-call driver |
| Storm surge | AI on overflow lines | Intake, an honest wait message, calls queued in order |
Any texts it sends, such as location links and callback messages, go from a number registered for business texting, follow the caller's consent and honor STOP (A2P 10DLC registration, TCPA rules). The missed-call text-back guide covers the texting side in more depth.
How we set it up
- Assess. We pull your call logs to see when calls go unanswered, listen to recorded calls, and sit with your dispatcher to learn the questions they ask and the order they ask them.
- Prioritize. We pick where it answers first, usually nights or overflow, and write the hand-off rules with you before writing a single line of script.
- Execute. We build the script and the routing, connect your phone system and dispatch platform, and test it with real scenarios: a shoulder breakdown at night, a garage lockout, an accident with police on scene, a caller outside your area.
- Measure. We track answered calls, minutes to dispatch and completed tows from calls it answered, and review transcripts weekly through the first stretch of winter storms or holiday travel.
For the wider picture of where AI fits, see how to use AI in a towing company.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We set up AI receptionists for towing companies as a project with a go-live date, built around your dispatcher's real call flow rather than a generic script. The phone numbers, recordings and accounts stay in your name, and we report the calls it answered that became completed tows. Bring your missed-call log to a growth consultation and we will show you what those calls are worth.
Sources
- The Campaign Registry (A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration), The Campaign Registry
- 47 CFR 64.1200: Delivery restrictions (TCPA rules), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations