AI for tradies and trade businesses in Australia

Who this page is for: For tradies of any trade, from one ute to a few crews, who win work through hipages, ServiceSeeking, Google and their own website, and run the week from ServiceM8, Tradify, simPRO, AroFlo or Fergus.

What can AI do for tradies and trade businesses?

Five agents carry the admin that piles up around the tools: enquiries answered and jobs booked, replies to marketplace leads with quote follow-up built in, draft quotes from customer photos, invoice chasing in Xero, and review requests paired with job-photo posts. Each works inside the job system you already run. None of them sets a price, gives safety advice or decides whether a job needs a licence.

What does AI cost an Australian tradie?

Most trade businesses start with the AI Front Desk at $1,500 setup plus $199 a month. Replies to marketplace leads, with quote follow-up, add $2,000 setup plus $499 a month, and Xero invoice chasing or review requests are $497 Quick Starts. Every price is in AUD, excludes GST and is fixed before we start; monthly fees carry no lock-in, and the code belongs to you.

Agent	Package and price (ex GST)	Live in
Enquiries answered, jobs booked and day-before confirmations	AI Front Desk: $1,500 setup + $199 a month	7–10 working days
First replies to marketplace leads, plus quote follow-up	AI Lead Engine: $2,000 setup + $499 a month	10–14 working days
Draft quotes from customer photos	Managed AI Growth: $2,000 a month	Set on the audit
Unpaid invoice reminders from Xero	Quick Start: $497 one-off	5–10 working days
Before-and-after photos turned into posts	AI Content Engine: $1,500 setup + $499 a month	10–14 working days

Photo quote drafts come with Managed AI Growth, which runs up to four agents and adds one new agent or improvement a month. The pricing page lists every package and tier.

How we set it up for a trade business

1. Trace your leads. On the free audit we list where last month’s work came from (hipages, ServiceSeeking, Google, the website, referrals) and how long each lead waited.
2. Write your trade’s rules down. Service area, minimum job, jobs you refuse, what counts as urgent, your licence number. You approve it; the agents follow it.
3. Shadow week. Replies and quote drafts are held back while we compare them with what you sent.
4. Live. We read every conversation in month one. From month two the agents are yours to run, or ours to look after under Managed AI.

We run this on our own leads first: DotVA, our virtual assistant agency, sorts its website enquiries through the same kind of pipeline before a person follows up.

What Australian rules apply to AI in a trade business?

Four sets of rules shape what a tradie’s AI may say. State licensing decides who may quote and do the work. The Australian Consumer Law means no message may promise more than you deliver. Every automated text and email answers to the Spam Act 2003. And the Privacy Act 1988 sets the standard for customer photos and addresses, even where a small business is exempt.

• State licensing. The QBCC requires a Queensland licence for building work over $3,300, and for plumbing, drainage and gas fitting at any value. In NSW, work over $5,000 in labour and materials (including GST) needs a contractor licence. The agent never tells a customer whether a job needs one.
• Consumer guarantees. A service must be done with due care and skill, and within a reasonable time when no date was agreed, as Consumer Affairs Victoria explains. So the agent never promises a finish date or result you have not set.
• Spam Act 2003. Treat quote follow-ups and review requests as commercial messages: they need consent, must name your business and must honour an unsubscribe within five working days, per the ACMA.
• Privacy Act 1988. A business turning over $3 million or less is generally exempt, the OAIC explains. Photos of someone’s home still deserve care, so the agent collects only what a quote needs.
• Google’s review policy. Google treats incentives for reviews as fake content and prohibits them.

What should AI never do for tradies?

• Send a price you have not checked. Photo drafts stay drafts until you send them.
• Judge safety. A gas smell, exposed wiring or suspected asbestos goes to you at once, and the customer is told to call 000 if anyone is in danger.
• Decide on licences, permits or certificates. That call belongs to the licensed person.
• Argue with a customer. Complaints, disputed invoices and bad reviews come to you with the whole thread.
• Message anyone who has opted out, or text outside the hours you set.

Where should a trade business start?

If enquiries wait while you are on the tools, or wasted trips hurt, start with the AI Front Desk: it answers, books and confirms every job. If most of your work comes from hipages or ServiceSeeking and those leads sit for hours, start with the AI Lead Engine. If the work comes in but the money is slow, Xero invoice chasing is the cheapest first step. Trade-specific detail is on the pages for plumbers, electricians and builders, and the tradies’ guide to quoting, invoicing and follow-up goes further. Book a free 30-minute AI audit for your trade business and Jenn will name the right first agent, priced in fixed AUD.