Housecall Pro AI Receptionist: CSR AI Review and Options
Housecall Pro’s AI receptionist is called CSR AI. It answers forwarded calls and website chats, uses your services and hours to book jobs, and logs every call in your inbox.
Owners who use it mostly like it for after-hours coverage. The catches are in the fine print: you can’t see the price until you talk to sales, texting still isn’t live, and it only answers.
The quick answer: CSR AI is an add-on to Housecall Pro, whose plans start at $59 a month billed annually. Housecall Pro doesn’t publish the CSR AI price. It answers calls and chats 24/7, books and reschedules jobs, and sends urgent calls to one number you choose. Text answering is still listed as coming soon, and there are no outbound calls. If you want a receptionist that rings your techs first, texts both ways, calls new leads back within a minute and still logs to Housecall Pro, Carly does all of it from one prompt in ChatGPT or Claude.
From Housecall Pro’s CSR AI overview, feature page and pricing page, checked October 21, 2026.
CSR AI at a glance
| Housecall Pro CSR AI | |
|---|---|
| What it is | AI receptionist inside Housecall Pro for calls and website chat |
| Price | Not published; quoted through sales or the in-app sign-up |
| Needs | A Housecall Pro plan, from $59/month billed annually or $79 month to month |
| Your number | You forward it to a CSR AI number that can’t be used in your marketing |
| Booking | New jobs, reschedules and cancellations, from your Housecall Pro settings |
| Texting | Listed as coming soon |
| Urgent calls | Forwarded to a number you set, or a text alert |
| Outbound | None |
Where CSR AI falls short
- You can’t price it upfront. The CSR AI page, the pricing page and the help center skip the cost. Third-party reviews guess anywhere from $200 to $500 a month by call volume, which you can only confirm on a sales call.
- Texts still go unanswered. Housecall Pro’s own help center says CSR AI will “respond to customer texts” soon. Until then, a customer who texts your number at 10pm waits for you.
- It works from one forwarding number. You forward calls to a CSR AI number, and Housecall Pro says not to use that number in any marketing.
- One escape hatch. When a caller wants a person, CSR AI forwards to the number you set. The other option is an HCP Assist rep for note-taking, and having those reps book jobs takes a separate HCP Assist subscription.
- After hours, it reports and stops. Outside business hours you pick one of three things: it calls you, texts you, or logs a private note.
- It never calls anyone. The lead who fills out your website form at dinner time doesn’t get a call back. Neither does the customer with an open estimate.
- It stays in Housecall Pro. The call, the customer and the booking live there. Your accounting, your other calendars and your second business don’t see any of it.
To be fair, it books well when your price book and service list are clean, and owners on Trustpilot say it booked jobs in its first days. The gaps above are what’s left once it does.
Why Carly is the stronger pick for a home service business
Carly runs your business line on your rules, the same way on every call.
- Your techs ring first. In business hours Carly rings the team and only picks up when nobody answers. After hours it answers on the first ring.
- It asks the questions you set. “Ask what the problem is, whether it’s an emergency, and the address, every time.”
- It texts both ways right now, from your business number, with a text back on every missed call.
- New leads hear from you in a minute. Carly calls web leads back within about a minute of a form fill, then texts and emails if they don’t answer (how it works).
- On-call routing that fits the trade. Phone menus with up to nine options and ring groups send a no-heat call straight to whoever is on call.
- English and Spanish, picked from how the caller talks, with no “press 2.”
- It logs to Housecall Pro and everything else. In Carly, go to Integrations → Connect an API and paste a Housecall Pro API key (Housecall Pro gives those out on its MAX plan). Calls can then become customers and jobs with the transcript attached. Carly connects to thousands of apps, so QuickBooks and your calendars stay in step.
- Set it up from your AI chat. Add the Carly connector to ChatGPT or Claude, then build the agent, place calls and steer a live call from the chat (see how).
Carly business setup prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI. It walks you through the rest.
Help me connect Carly Teams so I can work with my organization's business texts, phone calls, voicemail and voice/text agents from this chat. I'll add it to you myself: tell me exactly what to click for the app you are, one step at a time, and wait for me to confirm before moving on. If a step doesn't match what I see, ask me what's on my screen. If you can do the setup yourself (Claude Code, Codex, Muse, Grok Bot), go ahead, and ask me for any key in your secure credential prompt, never in the chat. Don't tell me it's connected until list_phone_lines works, and if I have several teams, ask which to use. Before sending a text or making a call, confirm the team, recipient and message or task with me. The steps are below.
# Connect Carly Teams to an AI app
> Carly Teams works a team's business phone lines through the team's AI agents: business texts, phone calls, voicemail, the voice and text agents, and the team's CRM.
MCP server: https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp (streamable HTTP, OAuth)
## Setup
Carly Teams isn't in any plugin or connector directory yet, so it's added as a custom connection by URL.
1. Add Carly Teams:
- ChatGPT: open https://chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, and choose Create MCP App (not Create plugin or Upload plugin archive). If Create MCP App isn't on the menu, turn on Developer mode first in Settings > Security and login. Name it "Carly Teams" with the description "Work with my team's business texts, calls, voicemail and voice/text agents," paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp as the server URL, choose OAuth, create it, and sign in. Then in the message box open the + menu, choose Developer mode, and pick Carly Teams. No plugin needs to be built, packaged or uploaded.
- Claude (claude.ai, Claude Desktop, or Cowork): Customize > Connectors > Add custom connector, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http --scope user carly-teams https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then /mcp, pick carly-teams, and authenticate.
- Codex: `codex mcp add carly-teams --url https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp`, then `codex mcp login carly-teams`.
- Cursor: add {"mcpServers": {"carly-teams": {"url": "https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp"}}} to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, then sign in to carly-teams from Customize.
- Muse: a custom connector to https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp with a Carly API key as its bearer token. The key comes from carlyassistant.com/integrations (Advanced > API Keys > Create a new key, with Owner set to the team and all scopes selected) and goes in Muse's connector settings, not in a chat message.
- Grok: grok.com/connectors > New Connector > Custom, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, and sign in.
- Grok Bot: a custom remote MCP server named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. Approve it and sign in.
- Perplexity: Plugins in the sidebar (or Customize > Connectors), then Add custom > Connector > Add MCP connector. Choose Remote, name it Carly Teams, paste https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp, pick OAuth, check the box and click Add, then click the Carly Teams card to sign in.
- Anything else: a remote MCP server (streamable HTTP) named carly-teams at https://carlyassistant.com/team/mcp. It signs in with OAuth.
Sign in with the Carly account that belongs to the organization.
2. Once it's added, the Carly Teams tools show up in the chat, including list_phone_lines. If they don't, turn Carly Teams on for the chat or start a new chat.
3. To check it worked, call list_phone_lines: it returns the teams and phone lines the account can reach. A team with no phone line yet can get one with find_numbers (optionally by area code) and get_number, which may return a checkout link to finish.
4. Something to try first: "Review our missed calls and voicemail and help me reply to customers." Carly Teams also reads and answers business texts, has the team's agent make calls, and edits the voice and text agents. Texts and calls go out at once from the agent's number and can't be taken back. Team permissions apply.
## Email, calendars and workflows
Email, calendars, files, booking pages and workflows are the regular Carly connector, added separately. It's listed in ChatGPT's plugin directory (https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6a67a26316b88191860222f918d4ec54) and Claude's connector directory (https://claude.ai/directory/carly), and connects anywhere else at https://carlyassistant.com/mcp/. Its setup is https://carlyassistant.com/mcp.txt.Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
CSR AI vs Carly
| Housecall Pro CSR AI | Carly | |
|---|---|---|
| Price shown upfront | No | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month |
| Who picks up first | CSR AI, on forwarded calls | Your team, then Carly if nobody answers |
| Answers texts | Coming soon | Yes, two ways, plus missed-call text back |
| Calls new leads back | No | Within about a minute |
| Urgent calls | One number or a text alert | Ring groups, phone menus and on-call routing |
| Languages | Not listed | English and Spanish, detected automatically |
| Works with | Housecall Pro | Housecall Pro plus thousands of apps |
| Set up from ChatGPT or Claude | No | Yes |
Other options
- Carly: for crews that want the phone to win jobs, not just take messages.
- Jobber’s Receptionist: only if you’re on Jobber. See Jobber AI receptionist.
- Rosie: minute bundles for home services. See Rosie AI alternatives.
- Avoca: built for larger HVAC and plumbing shops. See Avoca AI.
If you’re still choosing between the two platforms, see Jobber vs Housecall Pro and Housecall Pro pricing.
FAQ
How much does Housecall Pro’s CSR AI cost?
Housecall Pro doesn’t publish it. You get the price through its sales team or the in-app sign-up, on top of a plan that starts at $59 a month billed annually.
Does CSR AI answer text messages?
Not yet. Housecall Pro’s help center lists text answering as coming soon. Carly answers texts both ways today and texts back every missed call.
Can CSR AI call my leads back?
No, it only answers. Carly calls new leads within about a minute of a form fill and follows up by text and email.
Can I keep my business number?
Yes. With CSR AI you forward your number to a CSR AI number. With Carly you grab a number in the chat, or forward just the calls you miss.
Does Carly work with Housecall Pro?
Yes. In Carly, go to Integrations → Connect an API and connect Housecall Pro with an API key from its MAX plan. Calls can then create customers and jobs, look up appointments and send reminders from your business number. On any plan, Carly still answers, texts and calls leads from your business line.
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
