What an AI dispatcher actually does, and when a person takes over

What is an AI dispatcher?

An AI dispatcher is software that does the back-and-forth a dispatcher does on the phone: send the job out, collect answers, follow up, and keep track of where each job stands. The difference is that it can text many techs at once, at any hour, instead of calling one at a time.

More people are looking for one. "AI dispatcher" and "AI dispatch" each get about 320 searches a month in the US, up about 50% on the year before, according to Google Ads estimates. But the vendors using the term don't agree on what it means. Some keep the AI inside strict rules with hard handoffs to a person. Others say the AI runs most work orders end to end. Few spell out the actual steps.

So here they are, for Ravensearch: the AI dispatcher for companies that sub out work orders. You get the WO from your client. Ravensearch texts your own subs, handles the replies, and tells you who's taking it.

What does an AI dispatcher do with a work order, step by step?

Each step below says who runs it. "AI" means Ravensearch does it without you. "You" means it waits for a person.

1. 01

   Read the WO

   AI

   You paste the work order. The AI pulls out the trade, the city, the scope, the timing and whether it's urgent. You see the parsed job first, and nothing goes out until you choose to dispatch it.

2. 02

   Pick who to text

   AI

   Ravensearch looks at the list of techs you uploaded and finds the closest ones who work that trade. If you've starred your go-to techs, they get the first look before the rest of the list.

3. 03

   Send the job by text

   AI

   Each tech gets a short text with the trade, the scope, the date and time window, and the city. The street address and the client's name are stripped out before it goes out. Techs reply YES, NO or STOP. There is no app.

4. 04

   Follow up

   AI

   If nobody replies, Ravensearch texts the next closest techs on your list, batch by batch, until someone answers or your response window runs out.

5. 05

   Handle the replies

   AI

   A NO is logged and that tech is left alone. A YES marks the tech as interested and moves the job to ready to assign. A question first gets an offer of a call from you. If the tech would rather keep texting, the AI answers from the WO and checks their availability. It never promises the job. It tells the tech a person will confirm.

6. 06

   Choose the tech

   You

   You see who said yes and what they said, and you pick. The AI does not assign jobs.

7. 07

   Send the details and close the loop

   AI

   Once you assign, the tech gets the full job details by text, including the site address and the site contact. Every other tech who was texted gets a note that the job went to someone else, and their conversations close.

8. 08

   Answer the assigned tech's questions

   AI, then you

   When the assigned tech texts a question, the AI answers from the WO. If the answer isn't in the WO, it doesn't guess. It flags the job for you.

9. 09

   Track the job

   AI

   As the tech texts updates, the job's stage moves forward through Scheduled, En Route, On Site, Assessment Done, Waiting Approval, Approved – Not Scheduled, Awaiting Parts, In Progress and Work Complete. Stages only move forward on their own, and you can set one by hand at any time.

10. 10

    Draft the quote

    AI, then you

    When the tech texts photos from the site, Ravensearch can draft a line-item estimate from them. It's a draft: you check it, edit it and export it.

11. 11

    Close the job

    You

    Marking the job complete is your call. The AI moves the stage to Work Complete when the tech says they're done, but it never closes the job for you.

When does a person take over from the AI?

The handoffs are specific. A person steps in when:

• A tech asks who the client is. The AI won't name or confirm the client. It tells the tech the dispatcher will follow up, stops replying on that thread, and flags it for you.
• The assigned tech asks something the WO doesn't answer. The AI flags it instead of guessing, and the thread waits for you. The job shows a red dot until you reply.
• A tech wants to talk. When a tech replies with a question, the AI first offers a call from the dispatcher. If the tech says yes, the AI goes quiet on that thread and leaves the call to you.
• You reply yourself. The moment you send a message in a thread, the AI pauses on it, and stays paused until you hand it back.
• It's time to pick the tech. That is always you.
• Nobody takes the job. If no one on your list says yes in time, the job is marked No response so you can decide the next move, instead of it sitting open.

What does the AI never do on its own?

• Assign a job.
• Promise a tech the job.
• Name the client.
• Send the street address before you assign a tech. It's stripped from the first text.
• Mark a job complete.
• Keep talking in a thread you've taken over.

How is an AI dispatcher different from a person calling techs?

A dispatcher on the phone calls one tech, waits, and calls the next. The AI texts a batch at once and follows up on its own, at any hour. That's where the time comes back.

What doesn't change is judgment. Picking the right tech for a client you know, calming down a frustrated sub, deciding what to do when nobody is free: those stay with a person. A good AI dispatcher is clear about which side of that line each step is on.

What do my techs need to work with an AI dispatcher?

A phone that gets texts. With Ravensearch, techs reply YES or NO, ask questions and send photos by text. There's no app and no login. Texts come from a Ravensearch number, or from your own OpenPhone number if you connect it.