Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant is currently in Early Access. Accuracy improves as the model learns contractor terminology. Availability may be limited based on your plan.
The voice assistant uses your Product Catalog to generate accurate line items and pricing. If your catalog is empty or incomplete, the assistant won't be able to suggest materials or prices. Set up your catalog first — see Product Catalog.
The ContractorScope AI Voice Assistant — powered by an AI persona named Scout — lets you describe a job out loud and have the system generate a complete line-item estimate from your words. Instead of typing scope items one by one, you talk through the project the same way you would explain it to an apprentice — and Scout fills in the details, quantities, and pricing.
This is especially useful when you are on a job site, in your truck, or walking through a property. No keyboard, no screen-tapping, just talk.
Beyond turning your dictation into estimates, Scout can act as an AI phone assistant — answering inbound calls from homeowners and, when you ask it to, placing outbound calls and follow-ups on your behalf. On an outbound or follow-up call, Scout opens by clearly identifying itself as an automated AI assistant. On an inbound call (someone calling your business number), Scout introduces itself as your company's virtual assistant and never volunteers that it is AI or automated — but it always answers honestly if a caller asks whether they are speaking with a person or a robot. See Outbound AI Calling for how that works, and the AI Disclosure & Caller Consent and Capturing Leads from Your Website sections below.
Not sure where to start? From the Voice Assistant screen, click Set up voice assistant to launch a guided setup that walks you through microphone permissions, price book preparation, and a practice dictation. You can run the guided setup at any time — it is available from the Voice Assistant panel even after initial configuration.
How Voice-Powered Estimating Works
When you start a voice session, ContractorScope AI opens a live microphone and begins transcribing everything you say. As you describe the work, the AI simultaneously:
- Identifies trade-specific scope items — "Replace the fascia boards along the front" becomes a line item with standard fascia replacement quantities.
- Extracts measurements — If you say "about 80 linear feet of gutter," the AI populates the quantity field with 80 LF.
- Scales dependent items to fixture counts — Mentioning a double vanity or saying "two vanities" tells the system you have two fixtures, so it automatically bills two faucets, two supply lines, two P-traps, and any other per-fixture items — not just one.
- Applies your price book — Line items are priced using your saved labor rates, material costs, and markup settings.
- Flags ambiguities — If something is unclear, the AI marks it for your review rather than guessing.
The result is a draft estimate that you review, adjust, and send — typically in a fraction of the time it takes to build from scratch.
Voice-to-estimate works best for project types you have used in ContractorScope AI before. The AI learns from your price book and past estimates to improve suggestions over time.
Before You Start a Voice Session
Microphone Access
ContractorScope AI needs permission to use your device microphone. On first use, your browser will prompt you to allow microphone access. Click Allow.
If you accidentally blocked microphone access:
- Chrome: Click the lock icon in the address bar → Site Settings → Microphone → Allow.
- Safari: Go to Safari → Settings for This Website → Microphone → Allow.
- Mobile: Go to your device Settings → Privacy → Microphone and enable it for your browser.
If instead you see "Microphone access is not supported in this browser", that's not a blocked permission — your browser doesn't expose microphone recording at all. This shows up in older browsers, some in-app/embedded browsers, and non-HTTPS pages. Use an up-to-date Chrome, Safari, or Edge over https://.
If you see "Recording is not supported on this device. Please try a different browser", permission was granted and the microphone itself works — the recorder couldn't start with your browser's audio format. Try a different up-to-date browser (Chrome, Safari, or Edge).
Prepare Your Price Book
Voice estimates pull line items and pricing directly from your price book. Before your first voice session, make sure your common trades, materials, and labor rates are set up.
See Creating Your First Estimate for price book setup instructions.
Choose a Quiet Environment
The Voice Assistant works in noisy environments, but background noise — a running saw, traffic, HVAC systems — can reduce transcription accuracy. When possible, find a quiet spot for dictation.
Starting a Voice Session
From an Existing Estimate
- Open the estimate you want to add scope to.
- Click the Voice button in the estimate toolbar (microphone icon).
- The Voice Assistant panel opens on the right side of the screen.
- Click Start Recording or press and hold the spacebar.
From a New Estimate
- Click New Estimate from the dashboard.
- Fill in the client name and job address, then click Continue.
- On the scope builder screen, click Use Voice Assistant instead of typing.
- Click Start Recording.
Dictating Scope of Work
Speaking Naturally
Talk to the Voice Assistant the way you would describe the job to a helper. You do not need special commands or keywords — just describe the work.
Example dictation:
"We're going to replace the full roof on this house. It's a 28-square job, architectural shingles, GAF Timberline. We need to tear off one layer of existing shingles, replace any rotted decking we find — probably about 4 sheets — install new ice and water shield in the valleys and along the eaves, 15-pound felt on the field, and new ridge cap. We'll also replace the two pipe boots and the step flashing on the chimney."
From that description, the AI generates separate line items for:
- Tear-off (28 SQ)
- Decking replacement (4 sheets, flagged as estimated — adjust on-site)
- Ice and water shield (valleys + eaves, LF auto-calculated from SQ)
- Felt underlayment (field, SQ)
- Architectural shingles — GAF Timberline (28 SQ)
- Ridge cap (LF)
- Pipe boot replacement (2 EA)
- Step flashing — chimney (LF)
Tips for Better Results
| Tip | Example |
|---|---|
| State quantities explicitly | "Replace 12 squares of siding" rather than "a lot of siding" |
| Name products when you know them | "CertainTeed Landmark Pro, Weathered Wood" |
| Call out labor separately | "That includes demo, haul-off, and install" |
| Use trade terminology | Standard terms like "LVL beam," "P-trap," and "GFCI" are recognized |
| Pause between items | A one-second pause helps the AI separate distinct scope items |
Live Transcript
While you speak, a live transcript appears in the Voice Assistant panel. Watch it to catch any misheard words in real time. If you spot an error, say "correction" followed by the correct phrase and the AI will update the transcript.
You do not need to correct every small transcription error while recording. It is often faster to let the AI finish generating the estimate and then edit the line items directly.
Pausing and Resuming
- Pause — Click Pause or release the spacebar (if using hold-to-talk mode). The timer pauses; your transcript is saved.
- Resume — Click Resume or press and hold the spacebar again. The AI continues appending to the same session.
- End Session — Click Stop Recording when you are finished dictating. This closes the recording and triggers estimate generation.
Voice-to-Estimate Flow
After you click Stop Recording, the AI processes your session in three stages. A progress bar shows which stage is active:
Stage 1: Transcription Cleanup
The raw transcript is cleaned up — filler words ("um," "uh") are removed, run-on sentences are broken into scope items, and trade-specific spellings are standardized.
Stage 2: Line Item Extraction
Each scope item in the transcript is matched against your price book. The AI identifies:
- Item name — Matched to the closest entry in your price book.
- Unit of measure — SQ, LF, EA, SF, etc., inferred from the item type and any quantities you stated.
- Quantity — Pulled directly from what you said, or estimated based on job size if you provided overall dimensions.
- Unit price — From your price book. If no price exists, the field is left blank and flagged for your input.
Stage 3: Review Draft
The estimate draft opens for your review. Items that need attention are highlighted:
- Yellow — Quantity is an AI estimate; confirm or adjust.
- Red — No matching price book entry; price needs to be entered.
- Blue — The AI found multiple possible matches; select the correct one.
Reviewing AI-Generated Estimates from Voice Input
Working Through the Review List
The Review Panel on the right side of the screen lists every flagged item. Click any item in the panel to jump directly to that line in the estimate.
For quantity estimates (yellow):
- If the quantity is correct, click Confirm.
- If it is wrong, click the quantity field and type the correct number.
For missing prices (red):
- Type the unit price directly in the line item.
- Or click Search Price Book to find the correct entry.
- Or click Add to Price Book to create a new entry that will be available in future estimates.
For ambiguous matches (blue):
- A dropdown appears showing two or three possible matches from your price book.
- Select the correct one. The line item updates automatically.
Editing Line Items
You can edit any line item directly — voice-generated items behave exactly like items you typed manually. Add notes, change descriptions, adjust quantities, or delete items you do not need.
Adding Items the Voice Missed
If the AI missed something you said, add it manually using the Add Line Item button at the bottom of the scope section. You can also re-open the Voice Assistant at any time to dictate additional items.
Accepting the Draft
Once all flagged items are resolved, click Accept Draft. This moves the estimate from draft to active status and makes it available for PDF export and client sharing.
Save the estimate as a template after your first voice-generated estimate for a particular project type. Future jobs of the same type will have most items pre-filled, and you can use voice to add only the job-specific details.
Voice Session History
Every voice session is saved and linked to the estimate. You can replay the transcript, re-process the audio, or reference what was said in a client dispute.
Accessing Voice History
- Open the estimate.
- Click the Voice button in the toolbar.
- Select Session History at the top of the Voice Assistant panel.
Each session shows:
- Date and time
- Duration
- Number of line items generated
- Transcript (expandable)
Talking to Scout with the Mic Button
The Scout page (your AI assistant home, found in the main navigation) has a Scout Chat panel with a small "?" hint next to its heading explaining what Scout does, and a single microphone button next to the message box for talking to Scout instead of typing. This is a different feature from the voice-to-estimate dictation described above:
| Voice-to-estimate dictation | Scout's mic button | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Voice button inside an estimate | Scout page → Scout Chat message box |
| What it produces | Draft estimate line items | A typed message sent to Scout, same as if you had typed it |
| Good for | Building out scope of work | Asking Scout a question, checking status, quick back-and-forth |
How It Works
The mic button has two modes, told apart by a coloured outline, and a tooltip on the button itself always explains both:
- Click once to listen for a single message. The button outlines in red while listening. Once you pause after speaking, your words are sent to Scout automatically — no need to click Send.
- Click twice quickly (double-click) to start hands-free, always-listening mode. The button outlines in violet. Scout keeps listening, sending each pause-separated thing you say, until you click the button again to stop.
- Click the button again at any time while either mode is active to stop immediately.
Everything you say in either mode is sent as a regular Scout Chat message — it uses the same message-metered usage as typing, not your minute-metered AI phone-calling number, and it does not require Scout Calling to be turned on.
Requirements
Voice input uses your browser's built-in speech recognition, so it needs an up-to-date Chrome or Edge browser over https://. If your browser does not support it, the mic button does not appear — type your message instead.
If the microphone gets stuck requesting permission
If your browser's permission prompt is still open and unanswered, the button stays on "Requesting microphone access…" until you respond to it — check your address bar for a pending permission request. If nothing resolves it after about 20 seconds, an error message lets you know so you are never stuck waiting indefinitely.
Your Business Calling Number
Scout answers and places calls on a real phone number that belongs to your account. You don't buy it yourself and you don't bring your own — ContractorScope AI provisions one for you the first time you turn calling on.
How you get one
You get a number by switching calling on, in either place:
- During setup — the AI Voice step of the setup wizard, checkbox Form submission calls.
- Any time after — Settings → Voice Assistant → Scout Calling, the master switch.
Switching it on asks you to confirm first, because it buys a real number and adds to what your plan is billed. Switching it off never buys anything, so it isn't confirmed — and it does not give the number up: the line is kept so that turning calling back on reactivates the same number. If your subscription is cancelled, the number is held for a 30-day grace period and then released.
Choose your area code
Directly under the calling checkbox in the setup wizard is Area code for your new number. It arrives pre-filled with a best guess taken from your own record, in this order:
- an area code already saved in your voice settings,
- your business phone number,
- your forwarding number,
- a number a previous setup attempt already provisioned.
Whatever it guessed, you can type over it — three digits, US area codes only.
When none of those sources gives a usable US area code, the field falls back to 719 (Colorado Springs) and says so in red:
We couldn't tell where you're based, so your number would be a 719 (Colorado Springs) one. Enter your own area code — homeowners are far less likely to answer an out-of-state number.
Type your own area code before you save. The number is bought the moment you save, so this is the last point at which a wrong market is free to fix — changing it afterwards means provisioning a different number.
A toll-free number (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888) already on your record is skipped rather than read as a location, because it says nothing about where you work. And if no area code can be worked out at all, calling is still set up on the fallback: a number with the wrong prefix is worth more to you than no number.
You can also set the preference for next time under Settings → Voice Assistant → Outbound phone number → Preferred area code. That is a preference for a future number — it does not renumber the line you already have.
Forwarding to a live person
Settings → Voice Assistant → Inbound calls → Forwarding phone number (also on the AI Voice step of the setup wizard, and in the in-settings setup wizard) is where Scout sends a call when a caller asks to speak to someone. It's a choice between two options:
- Your business phone — the number on your Company profile. This is the default.
- Another number — any mobile or landline number you enter, which must NOT forward back to Scout (see below).
Choose "Another number" for a real mobile or landline number that does not forward back to Scout — for example, don't use your office line here if unanswered calls on that line already forward to Scout, since that loops the transfer straight back into the same assistant that just tried to hand it off. The same caution applies to "Your business phone": if your published business number itself carrier-forwards unanswered calls to Scout, that loops too.
The app cannot see your carrier's own call-forwarding setup. It only knows the number on file — it has no way to tell that a number ultimately forwards to Scout at the carrier level. If the number you're using here (business phone or "Another number") ultimately rings back to Scout, the loop still happens even though the number itself looks fine to us.
"Your business phone" is the default, and stays the default when you leave the field blank. A caller who asks for a person is transferred to your business phone. If your company has no business phone on file, calling still works, but a caller asking for a person gets a call back from Scout instead of a live transfer — add a business phone in Company settings, or choose "Another number," to fix that.
A few warnings can appear under the field:
- An informational note that calls will go to your business phone, whenever "Your business phone" is selected and one is on file — this isn't a warning, just confirmation of where calls go.
- "No business phone is on file" — shown when "Your business phone" is selected but your company has no phone on file, so callers who ask for a person get a call back from Scout instead of a transfer.
- "This is your Scout number" — shown when the number that would actually be used (whichever option is selected) is this assistant's own line. That specific number is automatically skipped (it would loop the call straight back), and Scout falls through to your business phone instead — the warning tells you which of the two is actually happening: "…will go to your business phone,
<number>, instead" when a different business phone is on file, or "…there will be no live transfer" when no usable business phone exists to fall through to either. - A loop warning — shown when the "Another number" value you entered matches your business phone number, since that is the shape most likely to forward back to Scout at the carrier level (see above).
A number Scout can't safely transfer to — a malformed number, a non-US number, this business's own Scout line, another business's Scout line, or the platform's own text-messaging number — is refused with an explanation when you try to save it under "Another number," and your typed value is kept so you can fix it. This save-time refusal applies only to a CHANGED number saved from the Settings page or either setup wizard — typing in a new value and saving it; an unchanged value from before this check existed is never refused just for existing at save time.
An already-stored number is, however, re-validated every time Scout builds a call — not just at save time. If the stored forwarding number turns out to be unusable when a call is actually built (it's this assistant's own line, or it fails the same checks a new "Another number" save would fail), Scout falls through to your validated business phone automatically, exactly as if no forwarding number had been configured at all. Only when the business phone is also unusable does the call get no live transfer. Today this fallthrough is visible only in the app's own logs (not surfaced as an in-product warning for every failure reason) — the "This is your Scout number" warning above is the one case of it the UI does show directly, since the UI can determine that case for itself.
When Scout can put callers through to you
Right under the forwarding number, "When can Scout put callers through to you?" sets the days and hours Scout may transfer a caller to that number. The default is every day, 6 AM to 9 PM in your company's time zone. Choose Any time to remove the limit, or Only during these hours to pick the days and a start and end hour (a start later than the end, such as 10 PM to 6 AM, runs overnight).
Outside those hours Scout does not offer a transfer. It tells the caller the team is being alerted, takes their name, address and number, and you receive the normal text message, email and Telegram alerts for the call. It never rings your phone. Emergencies follow the same path after hours: you get an urgent alert instead of a phone call.
When may Scout call new leads?
Settings → Voice Assistant → Schedule → "When may Scout call new leads?" sets the days and hours Scout may call a new lead (for example someone who just filled in your website form). It is set once for the whole company, so it only appears while Schedule for is Default (all users); it is hidden while a single person's schedule is selected. Only an owner or office manager can change the company schedule, including these calling hours and your estimate-appointment hours. Other team members see it read-only and can still edit their own schedule by picking their name under Schedule for. Scout chat refuses the same change for them.
- Same hours as estimate appointments is the default. Scout calls new leads only on the days and hours you set for estimate appointments on the same page.
- Only during these hours lets you pick the days and a start and end hour, separately from your estimate-appointment hours. It starts at every day, 6 AM to 9 PM. The end must be later than the start on the same day: overnight calling hours are not allowed.
Whatever you choose, the law still applies on top of it:
Scout never calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the person's own time. When we can't tell their time zone from the number, Scout waits for a time that is within those hours in every mainland US time zone. Some states are stricter. Hours are in your company's time zone.
Estimate follow-up calls use the same calling hours. If you set calling hours for new leads, follow-ups use them; otherwise they use your estimate-appointment hours. A follow-up that falls outside them waits and is placed at the next allowed time, and the wait does not use up one of the estimate's follow-up calls. Scout also places at most one follow-up call a day for the same estimate. If no allowed time exists for that number, or Scout has held a follow-up back many times without finding a time, the follow-up stops and you get a "Scout cannot place an estimate follow-up call" notice asking you to call the person yourself (in the "Call missed" notification category). If you start the follow-up again later, for example after widening your calling hours, it begins a fresh set of calls.
A new lead that comes in outside your calling hours waits. Scout holds the call and places it at the next allowed time (a few minutes after your calling hours open), and the wait does not use up one of the lead's call attempts. If there is no allowed time at all for that number (no time inside your calling hours is legal in the person's time zone), Scout does not call. Instead you get a "Scout cannot call a new lead automatically" notice asking you to call them yourself. You get the same kind of notice if a lead has been held back many times without Scout finding a time to call. These notices arrive through the "Call missed" notification category (Settings → Notifications), at most once a day per kind.
Numbers that ring Scout (never transfer here)
Settings → Scout → Inbound calls → "Numbers that ring Scout (never transfer here)" lists any of YOUR OWN phone numbers that already forward calls to Scout on their own — for example a RingCentral line, an IVR extension, or another front-door number your phone system already points at Scout.
Add a number here whenever a caller can reach Scout through it without going through your forwarding-number setting above. Two things this protects:
- Scout will never transfer a caller to a number on this list. A forwarding number that is also listed here is refused when you try to save it, so the two settings can't accidentally be set up to loop into each other.
- A caller who dials in through one of these numbers is never mistaken for someone who was just transferred. Scout briefly pauses live transfers for a caller right after they've been transferred, in case the transfer target loops back — but a front-door number presents its own caller ID, not the real caller's, so without this list every OTHER caller dialing through that same front door would be wrongly caught by that pause too.
Up to 10 numbers, each entered the same way as the forwarding phone number above. This list is not affected by "Revert to default" — there is no platform default for your own phone numbers.
If Scout ever refuses a transfer because your setup would loop (your forwarding number matches something on this list, matches Scout's own line, or matches another business's Scout line), your team gets a one-time-per-day "Scout setup problem" alert through the same "Call missed" notification category described below, so you know to fix it in Settings.
"Setting up your calling number…"
Buying the number, connecting it for voice, and building your assistant all happen in the background, after your save comes back — not while you wait. So:
- The save returns straight away. During setup you can carry on through the remaining steps; the wizard shows Your calling number is being set up in the background.
- Settings → Voice Assistant shows a Setting up your phone number… notice and refreshes itself every few seconds on its own. You can leave the page — the work keeps going.
- When it finishes, the notice disappears and your new number appears under Outbound phone number → Current number.
If it stalls: the notice changes and gives you a button
Setup is allowed a generous window — a little over twenty minutes. Past that, the attempt is treated as gone, and the notice changes to Setting up your phone number is taking too long with a Retry button underneath it. That switch-over is deliberate: it happens only once we know nothing is still holding your number, so pressing Retry at that point always starts a fresh attempt rather than being turned away.
Nothing is lost while you wait, and you don't have to sit on the page — the timer runs from when setup started, not from when you opened the page, so closing the tab and coming back later shows you the same state you'd have seen if you'd stayed.
If it doesn't finish: Retry
If setup could not complete, the same place shows Calling setup failed — or Calling needs to be reconnected if an existing number lost its connection — with the actual reason, plus a Retry button.
Press Retry. As well as starting a fresh attempt, it takes over a setup run that stalled part-way through (for example one interrupted by a restart), so a half-finished attempt can't leave you waiting on something that has already stopped, and nothing here needs support to unstick it.
Tuning How Scout Talks on the Phone
Settings → Voice Assistant shows Scout's voice and has three sections that control how Scout behaves on a live call. Every setting is per-company and can be changed at any time.
Scout's voice
Settings → Voice Assistant shows the name of Scout's voice and a Preview button that plays a short sample of it. Scout uses one voice and speed for every account for now, so there is no voice or speaking-speed setting to change. If no sample is ready yet, Preview says "A preview of this voice isn't available yet."
Conversation behavior
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| How easily can callers interrupt the assistant? | Responsive | Controls barge-in — how quickly Scout stops talking when the caller cuts in. Responsive stops as soon as the caller speaks (best for busy callers). Balanced waits for a word or two, so a stray "uh huh" doesn't cut Scout off. Patient finishes its sentence first — best on noisy lines and speakerphone, where background noise can look like an interruption. |
| Detect voicemail and leave a message | On | When an answering machine picks up, Scout leaves your voicemail message instead of talking to a beep. |
| How should we pronounce your company name? | Blank | Spell your company name the way it sounds, with hyphens between syllables — for example Thrive-Star. Leave it blank to use your company name as written. |
Automatic voicemail detection can occasionally mistake a real person for an answering machine and hang up on them. If your customers report being cut off a few seconds into a call, turn this setting off. With it off, Scout simply talks to whoever (or whatever) answers.
Booking rules
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum notice before an appointment (hours) | 2 hours | Stops Scout booking an estimate an hour from now. Set it higher if you need more warning to get to a job site. 0 means "any future time"; the maximum is 336 hours (14 days). |
| How long is an estimate visit? (minutes) | 60 | How much time is blocked out per estimate. This sets the length of the slots Scout offers, the end time of the booked event, and the length of the "Add to calendar" link in the customer's confirmation text and email. 15–480 minutes. |
| Which calendars should we check for conflicts? | All of them | Leave every box unchecked to check all connected calendars. Tick specific calendars to narrow it down. Your own booking calendar is always checked — Scout can't double-book the calendar it writes to. |
| Also check team members' personal connected calendars | On | When on, an estimate rep's own Google Calendar events block that rep's estimate slots — so Scout won't offer a time when they're already busy with something personal. |
The minimum-notice default is small on purpose: this is a speed-to-lead product, and a longer default would quietly stop Scout offering same-day and next-morning appointments. If you need more notice than that, raise it — the setting is yours.
What the customer receives after a booking. A text to the phone number on the record (the caller's own number on an inbound call) and an email to the address on the record. Replies to the email go to your company email. If the email address was only spoken on a call, the email leaves out the street address and your rep's name; the text keeps them. At most three confirmation emails go to the same address in 30 minutes. Who hears about it: you and your team are notified through your own notification settings (push, email, text, or your own linked Telegram). Nothing about your customers is sent to the platform operator's chat.
One estimate per caller. Scout books one estimate per caller. If a caller who already has an appointment asks for another time, Scout checks your calendar, confirms the new time with them, and moves the visit; the old visit is removed from your calendar after the new one is saved. If the move can't be made, the old visit stays and your team gets a "Call back needed" alert; this includes a caller who asks to move an appointment when Scout can't find an upcoming one for them on that call (they may have booked earlier, online or from another phone), in which case Scout books nothing and changes nothing. If Scout books the new time but can't remove the old visit from your calendar, your team gets a "Remove the old visit — Scout moved an estimate" alert; remove the old visit yourself so nobody goes to it, because until you do your calendar may show both. Scout can't cancel an appointment: a cancellation request becomes a "Call back needed" alert for your team. If Scout finds a customer record that already has an estimate booked but can't confirm it is the caller's, it leaves that appointment alone, doesn't say when it is, and your team gets a "Call back needed" alert. If a caller's number is hidden, Scout asks for the best number to reach them, reads it back, and uses it for the booking or call back. Times Scout says are in your company's time zone.
Inbound calls
Two fields control what a stranger hears when they call your business number: the inbound greeting (what Scout says when it answers) and the inbound instructions (how Scout should handle the conversation). Both have sensible defaults, so you only need to touch them if you want different wording.
Long instructions are saved in full. Each set of call instructions (outbound, inbound and follow-up) can be up to 50,000 characters. If you paste more than that, Save tells you which one is too long and does not save it or the call settings sent with it (shorten it and save again). The standing instructions box holds up to 8,000 characters: it stops there and tells you so on screen. So nothing is ever cut off without warning.
How Scout introduces itself. Scout opens as your company's virtual assistant ("Hi, this is Scout, <Your Company>'s virtual assistant. How can I help you today?") and never volunteers that it is AI or automated — but it always answers honestly and plainly if a caller directly asks whether they are speaking with a robot, an AI, an automated system, or a real person. Whether the greeting also tells the caller that the call is recorded (or, with recording off, that it is transcribed) depends on your state's call-recording consent law (see Call recording); in one-party-consent states, people who call your business number never hear it unprompted. Calls Scout places always include it.
Every call leaves notes. Whenever Scout finishes a call, you get a short notification with who called, how long it lasted, what was said and what Scout did. That includes calls where the caller hung up without speaking and calls that ended on an error, so nothing goes unseen. A call to you where nobody actually talked arrives as the "Call missed" category (Settings → Notifications; you can mute it per channel); an ordinary conversation, or a call Scout placed that did not connect (busy, voicemail), arrives quietly as "Call completed". The text message is one short line; the email carries the detail. Open Communications to see the full record of any call: a Call notes card, the AI summary, the written transcript and the actions Scout took. When call recording is on, the call's audio can also be played and downloaded there for about 14 days (see Call recording); the written transcript stays after that. When a call books an estimate, the same notes (with the transcript) are added to the event on your Google Calendar a minute or two later, and your rep is not emailed when that happens.
When Scout can't help right away, it promises a callback — and that promise is backed by a real alert to your team. Whenever Scout tells an inbound caller that "someone from our office will call you," that a specialist needs to follow up, or that the team is handling something urgent, it also logs the request and your team is alerted through the same "Call missed" notification category used elsewhere in the app (Settings → Notifications). Turning that category off silences these "call back needed" alerts too, so leave it on if you want to be notified whenever Scout hands a caller off this way. This covers: no appointment time worked out, an active emergency or an upset existing customer, a caller asking for a person with no live transfer available, unclear audio after repeated attempts, and a price question your team should follow up on. The same alert backs the promise on Scout's own outgoing calls too (calls to new leads, call backs Scout booked, and estimate follow-ups): if the person asks to hear from your team, your team is alerted the same way. Scout does not call a new lead again on its own after that. A call back it already booked still happens, and estimate follow-ups continue on their schedule. And when Scout can't book a caller because your calendar or booking schedule couldn't be read, or the appointment couldn't be saved, your team gets a "Call back needed — Scout could not book a time" alert with their name and number, usually once per call.
AI Disclosure & Caller Consent
Scout handles real phone conversations with homeowners, so it follows clear honesty and consent rules on every call:
- On an outbound or follow-up call, it identifies itself as AI up front. The very first thing Scout says discloses that it is an automated AI assistant — it never pretends to be a human. There is a built-in honesty rule that keeps it from misrepresenting what it is.
- On an inbound call (someone calling your business number), it does not volunteer that it is AI. Scout introduces itself as your company's virtual assistant instead. It never claims or implies it is human, and it always answers honestly and plainly if the caller directly asks whether they are speaking with a robot, an AI, an automated system, or a real person.
- It honors opt-outs immediately, on every kind of call. If the person says they would rather not talk to an automated assistant — or asks not to be called again — Scout stops and marks them as do-not-contact rather than pushing forward.
- It stays inside calling hours for outbound and follow-up calls: a call is placed only inside your calling hours for new leads, and within the person's own legal hours. Scout never calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the person's own time. When we can't tell their time zone from the number, Scout waits for a time that is within those hours in every mainland US time zone. Some states are stricter. Estimate follow-up calls use the same calling hours; a follow-up that falls outside them waits for the next allowed time. When it can read your schedule, Scout only promises to call someone back at a time inside these hours: if a caller asks for a time outside them, Scout offers the earliest time it can call instead.
- It won't make things up. When Scout books an estimate it fills in only the BLANK fields on the customer's record from what the caller said (name, address, email, project) and never overwrites something already saved. If what the caller said differs from what you already have, Scout leaves your record alone and notes it on the calendar event as "Caller said: …" (a different email is ignored) so you can reconcile it. A name, address or project that carries a link (an "@", "://", "www.", or a name like "evil.com" or "pay.ru"), or a run of digits that looks like a phone number, is thrown away, and a name may only contain letters, spaces and ' - . , &. Scout is instructed to spell an email back and wait for a "yes" before using it; that is an instruction to the AI, not something the system can check. An email that was only spoken on a call always gets a shorter confirmation email: no street address, no rep name, and a "Hi there," greeting unless the caller's name was also given in that booking. If a call can't be completed, it is logged as a failed call, not a successful one.
The opt-out, no-fabrication, and honest-if-asked behaviors are on by default and apply to inbound calls, outbound calls, and follow-up calls alike. Whether Scout VOLUNTEERS its AI status up front is the one behavior that differs by call direction, described above.
Call recording
When call recording is on for your account, Scout records the audio of its phone calls so you can play back exactly what was said. Where recording is available, it is on unless you turn it off.
- What callers hear. On calls to your business number, whether Scout tells the caller that the call is recorded depends on the call-recording consent law where your business is, worked out from your company's ZIP code. Where the law requires it (an all-party-consent state, or when we can't tell your state), Scout says at the start of the call that the call is recorded. In one-party-consent states such as Colorado your business is already a party to the call, so Scout doesn't mention it unprompted; if someone asks whether the call is recorded, Scout says yes. If you turned on the optional call monitoring disclosure (below), Scout gives the recording notice on every call to your business number instead, whatever your state. Calls Scout places are different: while recording is on, each one starts by telling the other person that the call is recorded, whatever your state, because the person Scout calls may be in a state that requires it.
- If someone doesn't want to be recorded. On a call to your business number, Scout stops taking details, logs that the person called (your team is alerted through the "Call missed" notification category) and ends the call politely; it doesn't promise a callback. On a call Scout places, Scout offers to end the call right away.
- Where to play it. Open the call in Communications. Under the Call notes card you can play the recording or download it. A call without a recording says "This call wasn't recorded; the transcript is the record."
- How long it is kept. Recordings are deleted automatically about 14 days after the call. The written transcript and the AI summary stay. Deleting a call from your call log also deletes its recording; any recording not removed that way is still deleted automatically about 14 days after the call.
- How to turn it off. Settings → Voice Assistant → Record Scout's calls. With it off, Scout doesn't record calls or mention recording, and the written transcript is still kept. Calls Scout places then say at the start that the call is transcribed, in every state. The setting only appears where recording is available.
- Calls Scout places. On a call Scout places, the other person's first words, or their voicemail greeting, can be recorded before Scout speaks.
- Transfers. If Scout transfers a call to your team, the recording may include that part of the call.
- Not legal advice. Recording rules differ by state, and a caller's state can differ from yours. Scout's notice follows our standard policy; it is not legal advice, and you are responsible for any additional consent your callers' states require.
The optional call monitoring disclosure in Settings → Voice Assistant is a separate line you can add to Scout's opening. While call recording is on, Scout doesn't read this disclosure at all (the default or your own wording). Instead, if you turned it on, Scout says at the start of every call to your business number that the call is recorded, whatever your state, so turning recording on never removes a notice you chose to give.
The AI disclosure itself is separate and is always on — Scout discloses that it is an automated assistant on every outbound and follow-up call, and that cannot be turned off.
Capturing Leads from Your Website
You can let homeowners request a callback directly from a lead-capture form on your own website. When someone submits the form, ContractorScope AI creates the lead under your account and Scout can follow up by phone.
A few things worth knowing about how the form works:
- The form shows a consent disclosure. Before submitting, the homeowner sees a notice (TCPA-style) explaining they may receive an automated / AI phone call. Submitting the form is their consent to be contacted that way.
- It is tied to your account by a secure token. The embed form is connected to your company through a secure embed token that ContractorScope AI provides — that is what routes each lead to the right account.
- It has built-in spam protection. The form filters out obvious bots and will ignore a repeat submission from the same phone number within 24 hours, so you don't get duplicate leads. A submission that merely looks suspicious is still saved and flagged for you to review rather than thrown away — a flagged lead you can check beats a real customer who was silently dropped.
- It is one short screen, and email is optional. Everything is on a single screen with no extra steps. The homeowner must give a name and phone number; the email address can be left blank.
- The confirmation screen only promises a call when a call is actually scheduled, and says when. During your calling hours the homeowner sees "We will call you shortly". Outside them it names the day and time of the call in the homeowner's own time, for example "We will call you tomorrow at 8:05 AM", because a homeowner who fills in the form at 6:30 PM is called at the next allowed time, not in minutes. If Scout can't call this lead (the number is on your do-not-call list, it isn't a dialable number, the daily calling limit is used up, you've switched auto-dialing off, or no time inside your calling hours for new leads is legal where the number is), the homeowner sees "Your request has been received" instead. The lead is still captured and you are still notified either way. If your form uses the newer wording, the heading reads "Request received" and the line under it says the automated assistant "will call the number you entered in the next few minutes" (or at the time shown, outside calling hours), or "will follow up with you soon" when no call is scheduled.
- A failed submission now fails visibly. If something goes wrong, the homeowner sees an error and keeps everything they typed, so they can retry. The form no longer shows a confirmation screen for a submission that did not actually save.
- Address autocomplete degrades honestly. If the address lookup is temporarily unavailable, the form says so under the field and lets the homeowner type their full address as free text — it does not silently show an empty dropdown that looks like "no matches".
For setup, see Lead Capture Embed Form.
Supported Languages
Voice Assistant currently supports:
- English (US)
- English (UK)
- English (AU)
- Spanish (US)
Additional languages are planned for future releases.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to try |
|---|---|
| Microphone not detected | Check browser and device permissions (see Before You Start a Voice Session) |
| "Microphone access is not supported in this browser" | Your browser does not expose microphone recording at all (common in older browsers, some in-app/embedded browsers, or non-HTTPS pages) — this is different from a blocked permission. Open ContractorScope AI in an up-to-date version of Chrome, Safari, or Edge over a normal https:// connection, or use a different device |
| "Recording is not supported on this device. Please try a different browser" | Permission was granted and the microphone itself works, but the recorder couldn't start with your browser's audio format — different from the two messages above. Try a different up-to-date browser (Chrome, Safari, or Edge) |
| Transcript is inaccurate | Speak more slowly, reduce background noise, and use specific product and trade terms |
| No line items generated | Your price book may be empty. Add at least a few items before using voice |
| Items priced at $0 | The AI could not find a matching price book entry. Enter prices manually or update your price book |
| Session times out | Voice sessions have a 30-minute maximum. Long jobs can be split into multiple sessions |
| Estimate draft is empty | This can happen if the session disconnected. Check Session History to recover the transcript |
| Mic button clicked but nothing visibly happens | Your browser's microphone-permission prompt may still be open and unanswered — check your address bar and click Allow. See Before You Start a Voice Session. |
Troubleshooting phone calls
| Issue | What to try |
|---|---|
| I turned calling on but there's no number yet | Setup runs in the background. Check Settings → Voice Assistant — if it says Setting up your phone number…, it is still working and the page updates itself |
| Calling setup failed / Calling needs to be reconnected | Press Retry on that notice. It restarts setup and takes over an attempt that stalled part-way |
| Still "setting up" after a long time | Wait it out — the notice changes itself to Setting up your phone number is taking too long a little over twenty minutes after setup started, and puts a Retry button under it. There is nothing to reload and nothing to ask support for |
| My number is in the wrong area code | The prefix is fixed once the number is bought — there is no self-serve renumber. Set Settings → Voice Assistant → Preferred area code so any future number matches your market, and contact support about the current line |
| Scout talks over callers / won't let them interrupt | Settings → Voice Assistant → Conversation behavior → set How easily can callers interrupt to Responsive |
| Callers get cut off a few seconds in | Automatic voicemail detection has mistaken a live person for an answering machine. Turn Detect voicemail and leave a message off |
| Scout mispronounces your company name | Fill in How should we pronounce your company name? — spell it the way it sounds, with hyphens between syllables (e.g. Thrive-Star) |
| Scout says it has no openings | Check your working hours in Settings → Company Profile, then check Minimum notice before an appointment under Booking rules — a long minimum notice removes today and tomorrow morning from what Scout can offer |
| Scout says it can't check the calendar right now | One of your connected calendars isn't responding. Scout declines rather than guessing at a time. Remove or re-add the calendar under Settings → Voice Assistant → Additional calendars |
| Scout offered a time that was already booked | Add the calendar that holds the conflicting appointment under Additional calendars, and make sure Also check team members' personal connected calendars is on |
Callers hear a placeholder like {{name}} | Report this — it means a template value did not fill in. Nothing you can fix from Settings |
Next Steps
Now that you're set up with the voice assistant, explore more: