AI agent for contractors: from request to contract
In construction and renovation, a request that is not called back is a lost contract. This guide follows a project from the first request to post-delivery follow-up and shows what Atlas, Orvel's agent for construction and renovation, prepares and follows up, and what always stays in your team's hands.
The problem: the customer picks whoever calls back first
An emergency (leak, heating failure, power outage) arrives in the evening or on a weekend: a response is needed right away, with the city, the nature of the problem and photos, or the customer calls the next company. Quotes, for their part, go out and then vanish: without a scheduled follow-up, the customer picks the contractor who calls back first.
Add to that estimate visits lost in calendars and travel, mid-project changes that turn into disputes if not approved in writing, and staged payments that must follow actual progress. An agent that holds this thread frees the team for fieldwork.
The eight-stage journey
Atlas tracks each project file through a funnel in which every stage triggers a task or a prepared message.
- Request: acknowledgment, and an immediate check on whether it is an emergency.
- Qualified: type of work, city, target budget and deadline, without promising a price.
- Estimate visit: visit scheduled, grouped by area, confirmed the day before.
- Quote sent: your quote goes out, then follow-ups begin.
- Contract signed: contract and deposit checked before ordering materials.
- Permits and planning: municipal permit, materials and crews.
- Job site: progress updates and change orders approved in writing.
- Delivered and follow-up: final walk-through, final invoice and request for a review.
Template messages
As soon as the request arrives, an email acknowledges receipt, says the company will be in touch soon to schedule a visit if needed and invites the customer to call directly in an emergency. Before the visit, a text confirms the date and time and asks that access to the premises be ensured. The quote details the work included, the materials and the planned schedule; the confirmed price is the one on the quote and the contract.
After signature, an email explains the next steps: validating the required permits, planning materials and crews, confirming the start date. At the start of the job, a text announces the team's arrival. If something changes, an email describes the change, its effect on price and schedule, and states that no change will be made without written approval. Templates carry your RBQ licence number or your logo.
Follow-ups: when and how
An emergency is called back within the hour. The day before a visit, it is confirmed and the customer is reminded to provide access. Two days after the visit, the quote is prepared while the visit is fresh. Three days after sending, a first follow-up; after ten days without an answer, a second follow-up, offering to discuss it by phone.
One day after signature, the firm checks that the contract and the agreed deposit are on file before ordering materials. Two days after the file enters the permit stage, it checks with the municipality whether a permit is required. On the job site, with no news for seven days, a progress update is given and the changes to put into a change order are noted. Seven days after delivery, satisfaction is checked, the final invoice goes out and a review is requested.
What Atlas never does
Atlas never commits to a price without your estimate. The target budget is only the customer's indication, not a promised price. A dangerous emergency is directed to 911, before anything else.
Atlas also hands over to your team for a complaint or a job site problem, and it never approves a change order in the customer's place. The agent prepares and follows up; your team estimates, signs and decides.
Measure what matters
Five indicators help steer: the signing rate (files at Contract signed divided by files at Quote sent), quotes waiting more than seven days, emergency response time (between the creation of an “Emergency 24/7” file and the first contact), the average contract value, change orders included, and the number of jobs in progress with approved change orders.
These measures describe how the business is running; they promise no result. They help you see where projects stall, then adjust the follow-up.
A well-run journey avoids forgotten quotes and end-of-project disputes. Atlas prepares and follows up; your team estimates, signs and decides.
General information, not legal advice. Check with your professional order or the official source.
Questions
Can Atlas give me a price for my work?
No. Atlas never commits to a price without the contractor's estimate. It qualifies the request, schedules the visit and sends the quote prepared by the team.
What does Atlas do for a dangerous emergency?
It directs the person to 911. For other emergencies (leak, outage), your team is to call back within the hour.
Can Atlas change the contract during the job?
No. Every change becomes a written change order, approved by the customer before it is carried out. Atlas prepares the request; it does not approve it.
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