How to use + build a Voice AI Receptionist and stop the revenue leakage

Here is a walkthrough of voice AI for $2–10M EBITDA home services businesses - the cost, the compliance exposure, and the deployment order. I've worked with searchers on deals where there are clear opportunities post-acquisition I am not affiliated with any of the platforms named below There are three layers: the voice/conversation engine, the telephony, and the integration with your operational software. Voice/conversation layer - Vapi - Developer-flavored. Most flexible - Retell - Slightly more turnkey than Vapi.' - Bland AI - The most "no-code" of the three. Faster to deploy. Less control over edge cases. - PolyAI / Cresta / Replicant - Enterprise-tier for large roll-ups. $5K–$25K/month minimums For a single $3M EBITDA business, my default starting point would be Retell or Bland AI. Vapi, if you have engineering muscle Telephony – Twilio, or cheaper: SignalWire/Telnyx###-###-#### /min) $30-60 per month for 800 calls Integration - HouseCall Pro, Jobber – Good APIs - ServiceTitan – API gatekept. 6–8 weeks lead time - FieldEdge – Thin API, use Zapier - Service Fusion – Avoid 3 customer types to account for when buliding out the AI receptionist - Straight booking – Bot handles end‑to‑end - Price shopper – Bot gives range, escalates if pushed. Text quote within 4h - Angry customer – Bot never handles. Immediate escalation to the manager Compliance (non‑negotiable) - TCPA – AI voice = artificial/prerecorded. Inbound: disclose “AI assistant” in first 5 sec. Outbound: prior written consent required - 2‑party consent states (CA, FL, IL, MD, MA, MI, MT, NV, NH, PA, WA) – Must state call is recorded - HIPAA – Need BAA. Vapi/Retell offer; Bland does not - Data retention – Shorten to avoid biometric privacy risk (IL, TX, WA) All In Cost: ~$10K, cheaper than hiring another secretary while capturing revenue during off peak hours and sundays What fails - No CRM integration → fancy answering machine - Already strong front desk + low missed calls → zero return - Bot handling angry customers → viral Google reviews What I would not do - Use bot on first customer call within 30 days post‑close - Deploy in medical/dental without BAA - Skip TCPA disclosure to “test” it - Assume AI fixes a broken sales process