AI receptionist for auto repair shops with a busy counter
Your service writer is at the counter with a customer, and every tech is under a car. The phone rings anyway. Asyntai answers it on your shop number. It checks repair status if your shop software has an API, gives the prices on your service menu and your hours, and sends everything else to the counter as a callback request with a number the caller has confirmed.
Four calls your service writer no longer stops for
Each call starts with the agent saying it is an AI assistant, then your greeting. After that it handles the call the way your shop would, and the customer at the counter keeps your service writer's full attention.
Status checks without a walk to the bay
If your shop management software has an API, a Custom Tool lets the agent read the status of a repair order while the customer stays on the line. Without an API, the agent takes the customer's name and number, and the service writer phones back with an update when the counter is quiet.
“Is the Tacoma done yet? It's under the name Alvarez.”
Prices for the jobs on your menu
Oil changes, brake pads per axle, tire rotation, a state inspection, the diagnostic fee. The agent gives the figures on your price list along with your hours. For repairs that need a look at the car first, it follows your rule and offers an inspection.
“What do you charge for a full synthetic oil change?”
Makes, models, towing and warranty
Which brands your techs work on, whether you take diesels or EVs, which tow company you use and where to leave the keys, how long your parts and labor warranty runs. Each answer comes from your website and the documents you upload.
“Do you work on European cars? I have an older Audi.”
Service requests with a confirmed number
A customer who wants a slot gets your online booking link, or leaves a callback request. For a callback, the agent reads the number back digit by digit and asks the caller to confirm it. The request goes to your email, and the call transcript waits in your dashboard.
“Could you fit in a brake check before the weekend?”
The answers come from your shop's own paperwork
Everything the agent says comes from three places you control. When a price changes, update the document, or have Asyntai read the changed page again. New documents and rules apply from the next call.
- Your shop websiteServices, the brands you work on, hours, address, the booking page, and the tow and key drop instructions. Asyntai reads it page by page.
- Service menu and warranty termsStandard services with prices, the diagnostic fee, the warranty on parts and labor, shuttle and loaner car rules. Upload PDF files or paste the text.
- Counter rules in plain EnglishWhat to say instead of a repair estimate, when to give the booking link, what to tell a driver who needs a tow. You write them in the AI Instructions.
The customer in front of you comes first, and the caller still gets an answer
A service writer cannot greet a customer, write up a repair order and answer the phone at the same moment. Forward the calls the counter does not pick up to the agent. It deals with the routine ones and passes on only the calls that need your service writer.
- Drop-off and pickup stay calmWhile keys change hands at the counter, the agent takes the status and price calls: up to 5 at the same time on Standard and 10 on Pro.
- Techs stay under the carNobody climbs out from under a lift to grab a ringing phone. A question about a specific job reaches the service writer as a callback request with the transcript.
- The right calls still reach a personA comeback, an upset customer or a fleet account can ask for a person. During your hours the agent transfers the call, and your phone shows the caller's own number.
Connect the shop line to the AI receptionist
The agent answers numbers in your own Twilio account. You keep the numbers, and Twilio bills you for them and for the call minutes. Your customers can keep dialing the number printed on your invoices.
- Create your Asyntai account and add the shop website. The pages are read in a few minutes. Upload the service menu and the warranty terms.
- Write your counter rules in the AI Instructions and the greeting on the Voice Agent page. Then make a free test call in your browser and ask what your customers ask at the counter.
- Open the Phone Calls page, paste your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token, and press Import next to the shop number.
- Add the service desk as the transfer number next to the imported number, and set your shop hours under Escalation. If your shop software has an API, add the status lookup as a Custom Tool. Then call the number.
One working day of shop calls, handled by the agent
An example day at a four-bay shop. The times, prices and rules are yours to set.
| When | The call | What the agent does |
|---|---|---|
| 7:40 am, drop-off rush | “Can I bring my car in today without an appointment?” | Gives your walk-in policy from the website and the booking link for a fixed time. |
| 10:15 am | “Is my Civic finished? The repair order is 40182.” | Reads the status through your Custom Tool, or takes a callback request for the service writer. |
| 12:30 pm | “I broke down on the highway. Who do you use for towing?” | Gives your tow partner's number and the key drop location, in the words of your rule. |
| 2:05 pm | “How much would a new clutch be?” | Offers the diagnostic inspection and its fee, and takes a callback request if the caller wants one. |
| 4:50 pm | “The noise you fixed last month is back. Can I talk to someone?” | Gives your warranty terms and transfers the call to the service desk. |
Transfers happen only while Escalate to Human is on and inside its business hours. Outside them, a caller who asks for a person leaves a callback request.
AI receptionist for auto repair shops: questions from shop owners
What shop owners and service managers want to know before the phone goes to an AI.
Can it tell a customer whether their car is ready?
Yes, if your shop management software has an API. You set up a Custom Tool (Standard plan and up), the agent asks for the repair order number or the name on the order, looks up the status and reads it out. Without an API, the agent takes a callback request, and your service writer phones back with the update.
Will it give a customer a price for a repair?
It gives the prices that are on your service menu, such as an oil change or a brake pad replacement. For anything that needs a diagnosis, your rule decides what it says. A typical rule is to give no repair estimate on the phone and to offer an inspection, with its fee and the booking link.
How does it know which makes and models we work on?
From your website and the documents you upload. List the brands, the engine types and the work you do not take on, for example transmission rebuilds, and the agent answers from that list. When the list changes, update the document, or have Asyntai read the changed page again.
What can it tell a driver whose car has broken down?
Whatever your towing rule says. You can give the number of the tow company you work with, the shop address for the driver, and where to leave the keys after hours. The agent repeats it on every call, and it can take a callback request so the service writer knows the car is coming in.
Can customers book a service slot during the call?
The agent can give the link to your online booking page, so the customer picks a time there. Or it takes a booking request as a callback request, with the customer's name and a confirmed number, and your service writer calls back to agree the time.
A customer insists on talking to the service writer. What happens?
During your escalation hours, the agent says it is putting them through and transfers the call to your transfer number. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, or the line is busy, the caller comes back to the agent, which apologizes and takes a callback request. If the transfer number is the same line that forwards unanswered calls to the agent, set that forwarding delay to more than 20 seconds, or use another phone for transfers.
Our shop number is on every invoice and window sticker. Does it have to change?
No. The agent answers a number in your own Twilio account, and your existing line can forward to it when the counter does not pick up, with the call forwarding that most phone providers offer. Customers keep dialing the number they know. You can also publish the Twilio number as the shop line.
Which Asyntai plan does a repair shop need?
Phone calls need the Standard plan, $139 a month with 200 voice minutes and 5 calls at the same time, or Pro, $449 a month with 1,500 voice minutes and 10 calls at the same time. Twilio bills the number and call minutes on your account (Twilio voice pricing). The plan finder matches a plan to your call volume.
What an AI receptionist changes at a busy repair shop
At an independent repair shop, the person who answers the phone is also the person who writes up repair orders, explains invoices and hands back keys. On a weekday morning there can be a line at the counter by 8 and every bay taken by 9. The techs who could step in are under cars or halfway through a brake job. So the phone rings while your service writer explains a quote to the customer in front of them, and something has to give.
An AI receptionist for an auto repair shop takes over the part of that job that does not need a person. Asyntai answers your shop number, says at the start that it is an AI assistant, gives your greeting, and then talks with the caller. The caller hears a reply within a second or two and can interrupt at any point, the same as with a person. Your service writer finishes with the customer at the counter, and the caller gets an answer instead of a ringing phone.
A typical example is the status check: is my car ready? The answer lives in your shop management software, not on your website. If that software has an API, a Custom Tool connects the two. The agent asks for the repair order number or the name on the order, looks it up and reads out what your system says, for example that the car is on the road test and will be ready after 3 pm. If your software has no API, the agent takes the caller's name and number, reads the number back digit by digit, and sends a callback request, so the service writer can answer a list of status questions at a quiet moment instead of one at a time.
Price questions come next. Some have a fixed answer: a full synthetic oil change, front brake pads, a tire rotation, the state inspection, the diagnostic fee. Put them in a service menu, upload it, and the agent gives the same figures your counter would. Other questions have no honest phone answer. A grinding noise could be pads or a wheel bearing, and nobody knows until the car is on a lift. For those, you write a rule in plain English: no repair estimates over the phone, offer an inspection, give its fee and the booking link. The agent follows that rule on every call, including the ones where the caller pushes for a number.
Then there are the questions whose answers rarely change. Do you work on Subarus, diesels or hybrids? Do you take EVs? Which tow company do you use, and where do I leave the keys if I arrive after closing? How long is your warranty on parts and labor, and does it cover a comeback? Put the answers on your website or in a short document, and the agent gives them in full. When something changes, such as a new tow partner or a longer warranty, update the document, or have Asyntai read the changed page again.
Booking stays in the tools you already use. If your shop has an online booking page, a rule can tell the agent to give the link, so the customer picks a slot there. Otherwise the agent takes a booking request as a callback request: the customer's name, a number the caller has confirmed, and in the transcript the car, the problem and the days that suit them. The request reaches your email, and the full conversation is saved in your dashboard, so whoever calls back already knows the car and the problem.
Any caller can ask for a person. A customer whose repair failed again, a fleet manager with ten vans, or anyone who simply wants the service writer is put through during your hours to the number you choose. Your phone shows the caller's own number. If nobody picks up within 20 seconds, or the line is busy, the caller returns to the agent, which apologizes and takes a callback request. When several customers call at once, the agent answers up to 5 calls at the same time on the Standard plan and up to 10 on Pro. If every line is in use, the next caller hears that the lines are busy and is asked to call again in a few minutes. At the end of the day, the dashboard holds every call with its transcript, and the service manager can see which questions the shop website still leaves open.
The phone side runs on your own Twilio account, and Twilio bills you for the number and the minutes. The account needs at least one voice-capable number. A Twilio trial account will not work, and Twilio may ask to verify your business before you buy a number. Your shop number does not have to change: set your existing line to forward to the Twilio number when the counter does not answer, and the agent picks up those calls. The Twilio voice guide walks through each screen. If you also want the evening and weekend calls covered, the AI answering service page explains that setup. The same agent can also put a voice button in the Asyntai chat on your shop website, so a visitor can ask about a brake job by talking instead of typing.
A good start is a test before any customer hears the agent. Add your website, upload the service menu and the warranty terms, write the estimate rule and the towing rule, and make a free test call from your browser on the Voice Agent page. Ask the questions you hear at the counter every day, including the awkward ones. Listen to the answers, adjust the rules, then forward the shop line and let the agent take the calls your service writer cannot.
Keep your service writer at the counter, and still answer every call
Add your shop website and service menu, write your estimate rule and make a test call in your browser. Forward the shop line when the answers sound right.