Automatic quote by AI: answering a request in ten minutes

In the evening, after the job, quote requests pile up: an email, a form from the website, a message left by a neighbor. Each one requires reviewing, pricing, and formatting. An AI agent can do this preparatory work while you are on site. It does not replace your professional eye: it gives you a quote ready to review instead of a blank page.

IWhy respond quickly to a quote request

A homeowner looking for a tradesperson rarely contacts just one company. The first clear, precise, and well-presented response often sets the comparison framework for the ones that follow. Responding quickly does not mean responding carelessly. It means stop letting a request gather dust for lack of time to sit down at the computer. This is exactly the bottleneck the agent widens: preparation time, not thinking time.

Take a locksmith who chains interventions. Tuesday at 10 a.m., a shopkeeper requests the replacement of cylinders on two doors of his shop, with several keys. Without an agent, the request waits until the weekend. With an agent, the locksmith finds a quote prepared that evening according to his grid, with a note: "the customer wants four keys per cylinder, I added the extra keys line". He reviews it, validates it, and the shopkeeper receives his answer Wednesday morning.

IIThe process of a request, from receipt to sending

IIIWhat you need to give the agent

A quote agent is worth what your grid is worth. If your prices are in your head, now is the time to write them: this work will also serve you the day you hire. A simple spreadsheet is enough, with one line per service, its unit and its price.

Also specify your thresholds : beyond what amount should the agent alert you as a priority, and below what amount is a request not worth a visit. These rules, which you apply off the top of your head, must be written for it to follow them.

IVThe questions the agent asks the customer

An ABYS agent asks for everything it needs before working, and this requirement also applies to client requests. A quote based on assumed information is worse than a quote that arrives a day later. Good questions are short, few in number and easy to understand for a consumer: "What is the approximate size of the room?", "Can you send a photo of the wall?", "Is access by stairs or elevator?". At first, you also validate these messages before they are sent.

VWhat an agent must not price alone

VIWhere humans remain

The agent prepares, you decideYou alone are the judge of three things that no spreadsheet contains: the actual feasibility of the job, your schedule for the coming weeks, and your relationship with the client. You validate the first sends by hand. After three validations, you can switch the agent to automatic validation, and the risks of this choice are then spelled out in black and white. For quotes, I advise you to keep manual validation: a few minutes of review are worth more than a wrong price signed.

On ABYS, the agent starts with a dry run on real requests, without sending anything. Take three recent requests that you have already quoted yourself and compare: this is the safest way to verify that the grid is properly understood.