FAQ
Straight answers
Including the ones that are not flattering. If something here is unclear, ask us and we will fix the wording.
What it does
Does it answer my phone?
No. This release handles text messages and website chat, and detects missed calls so the caller gets a text back. It does not pick up the phone and talk to people. Live AI voice answering is planned for a later release, and we would rather lose a sale than mislead you about it.
What happens to a call I miss?
The missed call is recorded. If consent rules and your carrier registration permit it, the caller gets a text inviting them to reply — and from there it is a normal conversation. If a text is not permitted, you are notified so someone can call them back. The opportunity is never silently dropped.
Will it make things up about my business?
It answers from information you have approved and from real tool results — availability, service area, your knowledge base. It is explicitly prohibited from inventing prices, coverage, arrival times, warranty terms or booking confirmations. When it does not know, it says a team member will confirm, and records the question for you to answer.
Can I take over a conversation?
Yes, at any time, from the dashboard. The AI goes quiet on that conversation and the customer is talking to you. It does not resume unless you let it.
What languages does it handle?
The model handles common languages including Spanish, and will generally reply in the language the customer used. The safety keyword detection is tuned for English, so a life-safety phrase in another language may be caught by the model rather than by the fixed rules. We would rather state that limit than imply parity we have not measured.
Emergencies and safety
What does it do in a real emergency?
If someone describes an active fire, gas leak, injury, exposed wiring, water near energized electrical equipment, a structural collapse or a CO alarm, it tells them to call 911 first, in its first sentence, before anything about the job. Then it opens an emergency request and pages your on-call contact.
Will it tell a customer a crew is on the way?
Never, unless a person on your team has actually accepted the job. That is enforced in the database, not just in the AI’s instructions. If nobody accepts, the customer is told plainly that service is not confirmed.
What if my on-call person misses the page?
It escalates to your backup after an acknowledgement deadline you set. Acknowledging is tracked separately from accepting, because seeing a page is not the same as committing to the job. Escalation is capped so it can never become an endless loop of texts.
Is emergency handling only on the expensive plans?
No. Life-safety detection, 911 guidance and emergency escalation are on every plan with no setting to disable them. Cheaper plans have less capacity and fewer conveniences, never weaker safety.
Texting and compliance
Why can I not text customers immediately after signing up?
US carriers require businesses to register before sending application-to-person text messages. We collect what they need and show you the status. Until it is approved, we block outbound texting ourselves rather than letting your messages get filtered or your number flagged.
How long does registration take?
Typically days, sometimes weeks. It is a carrier process, not ours, and we cannot speed it up. Web chat, your dashboard and missed-call recording all work in the meantime.
Does someone calling me mean I can text them?
Not for anything and not forever. A call authorizes a narrow, one-time text-back, with an opt-out notice. It is not permission for marketing, and it is not permission to keep texting indefinitely. The system tracks permission by purpose precisely so these do not get conflated.
What happens when someone replies STOP?
They are suppressed immediately, every permission is revoked, any follow-up sequence stops, and they get the confirmation message carriers require. It works even if the conversation is paused or your monthly allowance is spent.
Will it text people at 11pm?
Not for anything non-urgent. Automated outreach respects 8am–9pm in the recipient’s own local time. A direct reply to someone who just texted you is not restricted — they are waiting for an answer — and genuine emergency coordination is not either.
Pricing and billing
What counts as a conversation?
A qualifying conversation is one customer's exchange with your business on one channel. It stays open while messages keep flowing and closes after 3 hours of inactivity. If the same person contacts you again after that, it counts as a new conversation. Opt-outs, delivery receipts, staff notifications and your own test messages never count.
What if I go over?
You are warned at 80% and 100%. Overage is never billed unless you approve it. If you have not, automated replies pause for new conversations while emergency guidance and opt-out handling keep working.
Can I downgrade?
Yes. It takes effect at the end of the period you have paid for, and we show you anything that would not fit on the smaller plan first — extra locations, numbers or team members. We will not delete your data to make a downgrade fit.
Do you offer a free trial?
Not currently. The demo is free and unlimited to look at, and the first month is the real test. We would rather be clear than dress a trial up as risk-free when provisioning a phone number has real cost.
Setup and support
How long does setup take?
Under an hour of your time. Business details, services, importing your website, your emergency contacts, and the website chat snippet. Carrier registration is submitted during setup and approved later.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. You can get a new number for texting, or keep yours and forward calls so missed-call detection works. Setup walks through both.
What support do I get?
An in-app help centre, an AI assistant that answers from the product documentation, and support tickets that reach a person. We deliberately do not publish a response-time guarantee we cannot currently staff — you can email support@tryeverycontact.com and we will tell you honestly when we will get to it.
What if I want to leave?
Cancel from the dashboard. Service runs to the end of your period and you can export your conversations, leads and appointments. We do not hold your data hostage.
Still deciding?
Talk to the demo for two minutes. It will tell you more than another page of copy.