Set up the ServiceM8 AI Phone Agent (start with after-hours calls)

Which plan or add-on do you need?

Plan names only. We don't list prices because they change, so check ServiceM8's official Phone page (opens in a new tab) and your account before you change anything.

• ServiceM8 Phone is a separate paid add-on. It's not part of your normal ServiceM8 plan. You switch it on in Settings > ServiceM8 Add-ons > ServiceM8 Phone (ServiceM8 Phone FAQs (opens in a new tab)).
• The Phone Agent is an add-on for the ServiceM8 Phone plans called Connect Plus and Unlimited (Introducing the Phone Agent (opens in a new tab)). ServiceM8's Phone page lists "AI Phone Agent" against Connect Plus.
• Older customers: ServiceM8 says customers who were on ServiceM8 Phone before 19 September 2025 get the After Hours mode without changing plans.
• Is it open to everyone yet? ServiceM8's setup guide still mentions a waitlist. Whether your NZ or AU account can switch it on today: check with ServiceM8.
• Checked 19 Oct 2026.

How the three modes work (start with After Hours)

From ServiceM8's help centre, in plain English:

• After Hours: answers calls outside the operating hours you've set. It can answer common questions from your FAQs, text a link to your online booking form, submit a booking, put urgent calls through, or take a message for the morning.
• Voicemail: answers instead of normal voicemail when nobody picks up.
• Business Hours: answers during your hours. It can screen calls, answer questions, filter spam and sales calls, and send calls to the right person.
• ServiceM8 recommends starting with one mode, for example After Hours, testing it thoroughly, and only then turning others on.
• Our advice: use After Hours only for at least 2 weeks. Leave Business Hours alone, because your daytime customers are the ones most likely to want you.
• Every Agent call is logged with a summary, transcript and recording. ServiceM8 says all calls answered by the Agent are recorded.

Keeping your existing number (NZ & AU)

When you turn on ServiceM8 Phone you get a new ServiceM8 number. Your customers know your old number, the one on your van, your website and your Google listing. You have three choices.

Option A: divert (forward) your existing number to your ServiceM8 number. Easiest, reversible, and the usual place to start (How to divert a number (opens in a new tab)).

• You keep your current phone service and forward calls to the ServiceM8 number.
• On an iPhone: Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding.
• Landline: it depends on your setup (a handset setting, or ring your provider).
• VoIP: set it up in your VoIP account, and check whether the caller's number is passed through.
• ServiceM8 says to ask your provider whether forwarding costs extra and whether you can downgrade your plan. Check with your carrier.
• NZ and AU carriers: we haven't checked each carrier's forwarding steps or charges. Check with your carrier, or your phone's call-forwarding settings.
• Forward all calls, or only when unanswered? iPhone Call Forwarding sends all calls, so they ring through ServiceM8 Phone during the day too. Some carriers offer forwarding only when busy or unanswered. How the After Hours Agent behaves with that: check with ServiceM8 and your carrier before relying on it.

Option B: port (move) your number. Permanent, so it's for later

Porting moves the number off your old provider for good. From ServiceM8's porting guide:

• It can take 4–6 weeks.
• You must have used ServiceM8 Phone for at least 2 weeks and 50 calls first. You'll also need a signed letter of authorisation and your latest phone bill.
• Keep the old service running until ServiceM8 confirms the port is done.
• Australia: landline and mobile numbers can be ported. 1300, 1800 and 13 numbers can't.
• New Zealand (and everywhere outside Australia): landlines only. You can't port an NZ mobile number to ServiceM8 Phone, so divert it instead.
• Fees: ServiceM8's FAQ says fees and requirements apply. Check with ServiceM8 for the current fees before you start.
• If you've ported, there's no quick undo. That's why porting comes last.

Option C, and what customers see when you ring back

Option C: use the new ServiceM8 number as your business number. Simplest technically, but you'd need to update your van signage, website, Google listing and cards. Not what we'd suggest for most established tradies.

Caller ID: by default your outbound calls show your ServiceM8 number. ServiceM8 says you can go through a quick verification so your current business number (including a diverted mobile) shows instead, and that 1300 and 1800 numbers can't be your caller ID. Where that setting lives in your account: check with ServiceM8.

Our suggestion: start with Option A (divert). Run your 2-week test. Only think about porting once you're sure you're keeping it.

Step-by-step setup (After Hours mode)

Menu paths from ServiceM8's help centre (setup guide (opens in a new tab), instructions guide (opens in a new tab)). Checked 19 Oct 2026.

1. Turn on ServiceM8 Phone in Settings > ServiceM8 Add-ons > ServiceM8 Phone, on a plan that includes the Phone Agent. Install the ServiceM8 Phone app on your iPhone or iPad and log into it and the ServiceM8 app.
2. Set your operating hours in Settings > Preferences > Company Information > Operating Hours. The After Hours Agent uses these to know when it's after hours.
3. Decide your after-hours rule before touching the AI. Do you do emergency callouts? Who's on call? If you do, set that person On Call: in the ServiceM8 app go to More > Staff, tap their name, then Set on call. Online, use the drop-down next to their name on the Dispatch Board.
4. Open the Agent settings: Account > Settings > ServiceM8 Phone, then under ServiceM8 Phone Agent click Settings.
5. Choose the Structured setup. ServiceM8 recommends it.
6. Agent profile: give it a name (the default is Kora) and pick a personality: "Friendly and casual" or "Professional and succinct".
7. Add your FAQs, one question per FAQ: what you do (and don't do), the suburbs and towns you cover, your hours, whether you do emergency callouts, how quotes work, how people can pay. ServiceM8's example list includes "What do your services cost?". Our advice: answer it with "[Name] will confirm pricing after seeing the job", not real prices.
8. Open the After Hours mode settings and set what it does for each kind of call: take a message to your Inbox, text a link to your online booking form, submit a booking, or transfer to the On Call person. Our suggested start: new work gets a message or the booking link; existing jobs, complaints and anything unclear get a message for the morning; urgent calls go to the On Call person if you do callouts.
9. Say what counts as urgent, and set a fallback for anything it doesn't understand.
10. Save.
11. Set the welcome message and recording notice in Settings > ServiceM8 Phone > Call Settings (greeting below).

Tip: The Agent only knows what's in your FAQs. ServiceM8 says it won't read your website or job data. Be specific: "we do electrical work" is too vague.

Emergencies: the Agent can only take a message or put a call through

Put the same emergency line in the Agent greeting below, and test it (next section).

Test it before real customers hear it

From ServiceM8's test and go-live guide (opens in a new tab).

1. In the Agent settings, click Test Call next to After Hours. Your phone rings and you talk to the Agent as if you were a customer.
2. Run through every scenario: asking what you do and where; asking for a quote; asking about an existing quote; booking a job; asking about a job you're already on; getting the booking link texted; being put through; asking for a callback; pretending to be a telemarketer; pretending it's an emergency; asking something not in your FAQs; making a complaint; acting confused or upset.
3. Our extra tradie checks: does it say it's an AI in the first sentence? Does it say calls are recorded? Does it avoid prices and promised times? Does it get the number and suburb right (check the Inbox message)? Does it hand off emergencies the way you want? Is it OK with a strong accent or a bad line (get a mate to ring)?
4. Fix and repeat. ServiceM8 says it's normal to need several goes.
5. Go live: switch After Hours mode ON with its toggle. Watch the first few real calls and read the recordings, transcripts and Inbox messages.
6. Each morning: check the Inbox and recent calls, and fill in the tally sheet from AI receptionist or voicemail?.

Tip: If transfers fail, check that staff names and phone numbers match exactly in ServiceM8 (ServiceM8's example: "Z Bob Smith" should be "Bob Smith"). If answers are wrong, update the FAQs.

The honest greeting (tell callers it's AI and that calls are recorded)

ServiceM8 says all Agent calls are recorded, and that your local laws may require you to tell callers they're talking to an AI, and to tell them (or get consent) about recording. It suggests the Welcome Message or the Agent's greeting for this. Our rule: always say it's AI, in the first sentence.

ServiceM8 Phone doesn't do "press 1 for voicemail" menus (IVR), so the greeting gives callers another way out.

Copy this prompt and fill in the [square brackets]:

Welcome Message (Settings > ServiceM8 Phone > Call Settings):
Thanks for calling [Business]. Calls are recorded so we get your details right.

After Hours Agent greeting:
Hi, you've reached [Business] after hours. I'm [Agent name], [Owner]'s AI assistant. [Owner] isn't available right now. I can take your details for a call back in the morning, or text you a link to book. If it's an emergency with gas, sparks, smoke or flooding near power, please hang up and call 111 [NZ] / 000 [AU].

Extra instruction for the Agent:
If the caller doesn't want to talk to an AI, take a short message and say [Owner] will call back.

Tip: Recordings are kept until you delete them: ServiceM8 says there's no storage limit, and the Account Owner can delete a recording. Pick a regular clean-up schedule.

Privacy and recording: check the current rules

General information, not legal advice. For NZ and AU, check the current rules with the official sources linked in the privacy section of AI receptionist or voicemail? (NZ Privacy Commissioner, DIA, OAIC and ACMA). See also Is ChatGPT safe for business data? and Safe AI habits.

• Add a line to your privacy policy about the AI phone assistant and call recording.
• Where recordings and transcripts are stored, and whether they're used to train AI, isn't covered in the help pages we read. Check with ServiceM8, and get the answer in writing.

Turning it off or rolling back

Want someone to set it up with you? See DIY vs done-for-you or get AI set up for you. ServiceM8 tool notes: ServiceM8.

• Switch After Hours mode OFF with its toggle in the Agent settings.
• What ServiceM8 Phone does with after-hours calls once the Agent is off (voicemail or the On Call person) depends on your ServiceM8 Phone settings. Check with ServiceM8 if you're not sure.
• If you diverted your old number, turn the divert off in your iPhone or carrier settings and you're back to normal.
• If you've ported, there's no quick undo.

Which ServiceM8 plan do I need for the AI Phone Agent?

A paid ServiceM8 account plus the ServiceM8 Phone add-on. ServiceM8 says the Phone Agent is an add-on for the Connect Plus and Unlimited Phone plans, and customers on ServiceM8 Phone before 19 September 2025 get After Hours mode without changing plans. Check prices and availability with ServiceM8. (Checked 19 Oct 2026.)

Can I keep my existing business number?

Yes. The easy way is to forward (divert) your current number to your ServiceM8 number. You can also port the number later, after at least 2 weeks and 50 calls. In New Zealand only landlines can be ported. In Australia mobiles can be too, but that phone then stops working on that number.

Can I use it just for after-hours calls?

Yes. After Hours mode answers outside the operating hours you set, and ServiceM8 recommends starting with one mode and testing it first.

Will callers know it's an AI?

Only if you tell them, so do. Put it in the first line of the greeting, and say calls are recorded in the Welcome Message. ServiceM8 says it records every call the Agent answers.

Can it handle emergencies?

It can put urgent calls through to the person you've set as On Call, or take a message. It can't judge a fault. Tell it to send gas, sparking, smoke and flooding callers to 111 (NZ) or 000 (AU).

Do I need an iPhone?

ServiceM8 Phone uses the ServiceM8 Phone app on an iPhone or iPad, or the Chrome extension on a computer. If you use Android, check with ServiceM8.

How do I switch it off?

Turn the After Hours mode toggle off in the Phone Agent settings. If you diverted your number, turn the divert off too.