Questions owners ask about Prentice
These are the ones that come up before someone hires Prentice. If yours isn’t here, ask Prentice on the call.
About Prentice
Prentice is an AI assistant that works like a hire for the office side of a small business. Prentice answers customers' calls, texts and emails, books appointments, sends quotes and invoices, and follows up. Prentice is built for small teams and solo operators: plumbers, landscapers, detailers, massage therapists, and anyone hands-on running their own show.
Yes, and more. Like an AI receptionist, Prentice answers your customers' calls at any hour. Unlike an answering service, Prentice keeps working after the call: sending the quote, booking the job, sending reminders, sending the invoice and chasing late payments.
See Prentice as an AI receptionist
Neither. There is no app to download and no new system to learn. You text, email or call Prentice like anyone on your crew. Prentice comes with a dedicated number and email address, so nothing mixes with yours. There is a website if you want a bigger screen, but you never have to use it.
Muse for Small Business is Meta's AI agent. You set it up, connect your apps, and check what it sends. Prentice is a hire who learns your business from you, by phone or text, then talks with you, your office staff, your crew and your customers. And Prentice double-checks the work.
See how Prentice compares with Muse
Both answer your calls at any hour. Rosie takes the message, and on its bigger plans books the appointment or puts the caller through to you. Prentice does not transfer live calls. Prentice keeps working after the call instead: drafting the quote for you to approve, booking the job, sending reminders, sending the invoice once you approve it, and following up on late payments.
See how Prentice compares with Rosie
Prentice is built for small teams and solo operators in hands-on businesses, such as plumbing, landscaping, cleaning, auto detailing and lessons. Prentice is not built for medical practices that need HIPAA compliance, and is not a cold-calling service.
Calls, texts and email
Yes. Prentice answers a dedicated number at any hour. You can give it out as the number to call, or forward your business line to it when you're on a job or done for the night. Callers hear right away that Prentice is your AI assistant. Prentice answers from what you've taught, and only books a time if you've allowed that. Anything else comes to you.
No. Prentice comes with a dedicated number. Keep yours, and forward your line to Prentice whenever you want calls picked up. You can also give out the Prentice number as the one to call.
No. Prentice does not transfer a live call. Prentice takes down what the caller needs, tells them you will be in touch, and gets it to you as soon as the call ends.
Yes. Prentice never pretends to be a person, and never pretends to be you. On a call or in a text, customers hear that Prentice is your AI assistant.
English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Prentice talks, texts and emails in them, and writes quotes and invoices in them too. Replies come in the language the customer used.
Both. Prentice calls a customer when they ask for a call, when there is news for them, at a time they pick, or whenever you say to ring someone. Prentice only contacts your own customers and the people you point to, and does not cold call.
No. Prentice has a dedicated email address and only sees what lands there. Forward anything you want handled and say what to do with it, or give customers that address and point your website's contact form at it. Your inbox stays yours.
The work Prentice does
Prentice does the work the call created, starting with taking down what the customer wants and getting it to you. You name the price, and Prentice drafts the quote for you to approve. When the customer says yes, Prentice works out a time and puts it on your calendar, sends a reminder before the visit, drafts the invoice from the quote, and follows up on late payments.
Follow one call from start to finish
Capturing new leads, drafting quotes from your prices, scheduling appointments, sending reminders, answering customer questions, invoicing, and winning back quiet customers. On each task you set how far Prentice goes. Start with the one that eats your evenings, and hand over more once you've seen it work.
No. You approve every quote and every invoice before a customer sees it. You name the price, Prentice drafts it, and it goes out when you say so.
Yes. Prentice connects to Google Calendar or Outlook, and to QuickBooks if you use it. If you don't, Prentice can keep the books instead. Prentice does not connect to Apple Calendar, Jobber or ServiceTitan today.
Yes. You can add your crew and office staff, and Prentice texts with them the same way as with you. Prentice can check with someone on your crew and get back to a customer with the answer. Your crew gets texts from Prentice, not phone calls.
Yes. Your crew texts Prentice the way they would text the office. When a tech is running late or a customer cancels, Prentice lets the customers affected know and reworks the rest of the day around drive times, by your rules. Prentice does not track your trucks or plan routes.
Prentice does not transfer live calls, cold call, or send bulk newsletters and promotions. Prentice does not read your own inbox or your website's contact form unless you forward them, and does not connect to Apple Calendar, Jobber or ServiceTitan. And no customer gets a price you have not approved.
You train Prentice like anyone new on a job site: your pricing, your schedule, your house rules. Tell Prentice once and it sticks, and you can change your mind any time.
Trust and control
You do. On each task you choose: Prentice handles it completely, drafts it and checks with you first, or doesn't touch it. Start with one thing and hand over more once Prentice has earned it.
Every text and email Prentice sends a customer is double-checked before it goes out, and calls are checked right afterwards. When unsure, Prentice asks you instead of guessing. And when Prentice needs backup, the Prentice team answers.
Cost and getting started
Prentice is priced by how many people on your team work with Prentice. Customers never count. Solo, for just you, is $99 a month with 200 messages. Team, for 2-3 people, is $199 a month with 500 messages. Crew, for 4-6 people, is $399 a month with 1,200 messages. Every plan is 50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business. For months that are busy, Prentice can handle extra work at $25 for every additional 50 messages, and will let you know well in advance if you're likely to need it. For months that are slow, you can put Prentice on standby at 50 messages for $39 a month. Everything Prentice knows about your business stays, and anyone who gets in touch still gets a normal reply. More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan. Cancel any time, no contracts. You don't pay until you hire Prentice. The calls, the job description and the demo cost nothing.
Prentice is priced by how many people on your team work with Prentice. Customers never count. Solo, for just you, is $129 a month with 200 messages. Team, for 2-3 people, is $249 a month with 500 messages. Crew, for 4-6 people, is $499 a month with 1,200 messages. Every plan is 50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business. For months that are busy, Prentice can handle extra work at $30 for every additional 50 messages, and will let you know well in advance if you're likely to need it. For months that are slow, you can put Prentice on standby at 50 messages for $49 a month. Everything Prentice knows about your business stays, and anyone who gets in touch still gets a normal reply. More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan. Cancel any time, no contracts. You don't pay until you hire Prentice. The calls, the job description and the demo cost nothing.
A message is any text or email, sent or received. Each minute of a call counts as one.
Talk to Prentice. The button on this site opens a chat. Prentice asks your business's name and town, then sends you a link. That takes about two minutes, with no fees and no contract. Then Prentice calls you. It's free until you decide to hire, which comes after you've seen how Prentice would work for you.
About an hour of your time, spread over a few conversations. After you sign up, Prentice reads your website and calls you for five or ten minutes. A longer call later, about half an hour, settles the job description, and then you see a demo. If a call comes at a bad moment, pick a better time or ask for a text instead.