Vapi
Developer platform to build, test, and deploy AI voice agents for phone calls with usage-based per-minute pricing
USAGE-BASED Verified JUN 24, 2026
Auto-Respond
AI answers Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook, and phone leads in under 2 seconds, qualifies them, and books the job
Auto-Respond is a lead-response agent for home-service businesses. It replies to Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Local Services messages in under 2 seconds, qualifies the lead against your services and area, and books onto your calendar — with an AI voice agent that answers and places calls. Billing is per connected source: Yelp and Thumbtack $99/month each, Instagram, Messenger and Google LSA $49, Facebook Lead Ads $19, plus $10/month per phone number and $1 per billable voice minute.
Verified JUL 30, 2026 PAID Live
What is Auto-Respond?
Auto-Respond is an AI lead-response layer for service businesses whose enquiries arrive through marketplaces rather than a website. It connects to Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook Messenger, Facebook Lead Ads, Instagram, and Google Local Services Ads through their official partner APIs, then answers every incoming message in under two seconds — at 9pm, at weekends, on holidays — asking the qualifying questions a dispatcher would ask, checking the answers against the services, pricing, hours, and service area imported from your own profiles, and offering calendar slots to anyone who qualifies.
The second half of the product is voice. A dedicated number costs $10 per month and talk time is billed at $1 per billable minute, and with it the same assistant answers your phone, calls new leads back the moment an enquiry lands, runs batch campaigns over a list of past customers, and bridges or transfers to a person when the rules you set say it should. Everything is priced per connected source rather than as a bundle: $19 a month for Facebook Lead Ads at the low end, $99 each for Yelp and Thumbtack at the high end, with unlimited text responses and unlimited team members on whatever you connect. For developers there are outbound REST webhooks and an inbound Lead Reply API, so an external system can post replies back into a conversation as though a team member had sent them.
Who is it for?
This is narrow software for a specific business shape: local service companies that buy leads from marketplaces, where response speed decides who wins the job and the owner is on a roof or under a sink when the message arrives.
- Home-service contractors — plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofing, cleaning, landscaping — paying real money per Yelp or Thumbtack lead and losing some of them to a slow reply.
- Small businesses with no one on the phone, who want calls answered and appointments booked around the clock without hiring an answering service or a receptionist.
- Marketing agencies serving local clients, who can connect a client’s channels, tune the qualification script per trade, and manage several accounts from one place.
- Teams that need conversations to reach their own systems — the webhook and Lead Reply API pairing is closer to what vapi or botpress offer than to a hosted website chat widget like tidio.
How much does Auto-Respond cost?
Starting price: $19/mo · Free tier: no · Model: paid
Pricing verified JUL 30, 2026
Price history tracked from June 2026
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Lead Ads | $19/mo | Cheapest source to connect · Unlimited text responses on any connected source · AI knowledge base, quote generation, follow-ups |
| Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or Google Local Services Ads | $49/mo | Priced per channel, each billed separately · OAuth connection via the official platform APIs |
| Yelp or Thumbtack | $99/mo | Priced per marketplace, each billed separately · Yelp Partner API and Thumbtack Pro Suite connections · Auto-imports services, pricing, hours, and service area from the profile |
| AI Voice Agent | $10/mo per number | $1 per billable voice minute · $10 one-time charge to purchase a new number · Inbound answering, outbound callbacks, batch campaign calling · Call forwarding, bridging, and transfer to a human |
| Included on every connected source | No extra charge | Unlimited team members · CRM integrations and analytics · Custom response templates and predefined messages · Appointment scheduling and follow-up sequences · 24/7 support |
What are Auto-Respond's key features?
- Under-two-second first response across Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook Messenger, Facebook Lead Ads, Instagram, and Google Local Services Ads
- AI voice agent for inbound answering, instant outbound callbacks, and batch campaign calling
- OAuth connections through official partner APIs — Yelp Partner API, Meta Graph API, Thumbtack Pro Suite
- Business profile auto-import that pulls services, pricing, hours, and service area from connected platforms
- Appointment scheduling into a live calendar, with escalation rules and quote thresholds you configure
- CRM integrations including GoHighLevel, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Monday.com, and Housecall Pro
- Lead Reply API and REST webhooks so an external system can take over both sides of the conversation
- Call forwarding, call bridging, transfer to a human, caller ID and Trust Hub registration, plus call logs and analytics
What people use Auto-Respond for
- 01 Replying to a Yelp or Thumbtack message within seconds at night or at weekends, before the customer contacts the next company
- 02 Answering the business phone 24/7, qualifying the caller, and booking the appointment onto a live calendar
- 03 Calling a new marketplace lead back automatically the moment their enquiry lands
- 04 Reactivating an old customer list with batch outbound calls instead of manual dialling
- 05 Handling several lead channels from one dashboard rather than juggling separate marketplace inboxes
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Per-channel pricing means a business running only Facebook Lead Ads pays $19/month rather than a bundled plan built for someone else | Costs stack quickly — Yelp plus Thumbtack plus a voice number is over $200/month before a single minute of talk time is billed |
| Every published rate is on the marketing page — per-source fees, number rental, and the per-minute voice rate — with no quote required | Voice at $1 per billable minute is not cheap for long calls, and it is metered on top of every monthly fee |
| Unlimited team members and unlimited text responses on every connected source, so cost scales with channels rather than seats or volume | The 7-day trial is conditional: the site states it applies only to eligible first-time customers and locations, and reconnected, transferred, or reactivated locations do not get another one |
| A real integration surface: outbound REST webhooks plus an inbound Lead Reply API let a developer own the conversation end to end | Only useful if your leads come from the supported marketplaces — there is nothing here for businesses whose enquiries arrive by web form or email alone |
| The site leans heavily on programmatic SEO landing pages and its headline conversion and volume figures are self-reported, with no independent review to check them against |
What are the best Auto-Respond alternatives?
Botpress
AI agent and chatbot platform with a visual studio, a TypeScript ADK, and LLM usage bundled into per-conversation pricing
FREEMIUM Verified JUL 16, 2026
Tidio
Customer-service platform combining live chat, ticketing, and the Lyro AI agent that resolves and deflects support conversations for SMBs
FREEMIUM Verified JUL 17, 2026
Fin
Intercom's AI customer-service agent that resolves support tickets across chat, email, voice, and social — billed per resolution, not per seat
USAGE-BASED Verified JUL 8, 2026
Ada
Enterprise AI customer-service agents across messaging, voice, and email, sold as one all-inclusive package billed on automated resolutions
CONTACT Verified JUL 20, 2026
Chatbase
No-code platform for building and deploying AI support agents trained on your own business data
FREEMIUM Verified JUL 1, 2026
How people make money with Auto-Respond
- Resell instant lead response to local contractors as a managed service: connect their marketplace accounts, tune the qualification script per trade, and charge a monthly management fee on top of the per-source platform cost
- Sell database reactivation campaigns to service businesses using batch outbound calling over a list of past customers, priced as a project fee plus a share of booked jobs
Frequently asked questions
How much does Auto-Respond cost?
You pay per connected lead source. Yelp and Thumbtack are $99 per month each, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Google Local Services Ads are $49 each, and Facebook Lead Ads is $19. The voice agent adds $10 per month per phone number plus $1 per billable minute.
Is there a free plan or trial?
There is no free plan. A 7-day trial exists but is conditional: the site states it applies only to eligible first-time customers and locations, and only when the exact order summary shows it. Reconnected, transferred, reactivated, or previously subscribed locations do not automatically get another trial.
How fast does Auto-Respond reply to a lead?
The company advertises a median first response of under 2 seconds on connected marketplace channels, with the AI carrying the conversation until the lead is booked or handed to a person. Voice callbacks to new leads are triggered within seconds when outbound calling is enabled.
Which lead sources does it support?
Yelp, Thumbtack, Facebook Messenger, Facebook Lead Ads, Instagram, and Google Local Services Ads, plus phone calls and SMS through the voice agent. Each source is connected by OAuth through the official partner API and billed separately.
Does Auto-Respond work with my CRM?
Documented integrations include GoHighLevel, LeadConnector messaging sync, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Monday.com, and Housecall Pro. There are also outbound REST webhooks and an inbound Lead Reply API for custom systems.
Can the AI actually book appointments?
Yes. The assistant checks availability, offers open slots, and confirms the appointment on your calendar during the same conversation, whether that conversation is a marketplace message or a phone call. You configure escalation rules and quote thresholds that decide when a human takes over.
What does the AI voice agent cost to run?
Each dedicated phone number is $10 per month, purchasing a new number is a $10 one-time charge, and talk time is billed at $1 per billable minute. That is charged on top of any per-source subscription for your text channels.