The AI phone assistant that picks up for Chicago businesses while you're stuck on the Kennedy
A Chicago workday runs on the road: a job in Naperville, a client in Wicker Park, the Dan Ryan at 5 pm. The phone rings anyway. Echo picks up the calls you can't, day or night, books the appointment, answers the everyday questions, and saves the lead with a summary in your inbox. We set it up fully remotely, no site visit, on your existing 312, 773 or suburban number.
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Why it pays off in Chicago
The city and the suburbs are one market, and one traffic jam
Chicagoland is wide. A plumber based in Oak Park takes calls from Lincoln Park and Schaumburg on the same day, and the drive between them runs through the Eisenhower or the Kennedy. A call taken from behind the wheel is a call handled badly, or not at all. Echo answers while you drive, and the summary is waiting when you park.
Winter is your busiest season and your loudest phone
When a January cold snap hits, furnaces quit and pipes freeze, and every HVAC and plumbing shop from Evanston to Orland Park hears the same phone at the same time. In July it's the air conditioning. The caller who reaches voicemail dials the next result. Echo picks up, asks the questions you told it to ask, notes whether it's a no-heat emergency or an estimate request, and books the visit on your calendar.
Chicago speaks more than English
From Pilsen and Little Village to the Polish-speaking blocks of the Northwest Side, many of your callers speak another language at home. Echo answers in your primary language and can switch when the caller does, with dozens of languages to choose from. A Spanish-speaking caller in Little Village gets an appointment, not a call-back that never happens.
How it gets started in Chicago
- Step 1
You forward your Chicago number
One short code on your phone, approx. 30 seconds. The exact code depends on your carrier, and we set it up together during onboarding. Your 312 or 773 number, or your suburban one, stays exactly as it is, and your callers dial what they've always dialed.
- Step 2
We build it in a week
You send your price list, your hours, the area you cover (city only, or out to the suburbs too) and the questions you hear every day. We build the knowledge base, connect your calendar, and set how it handles a second language. All of it remote, no meeting in person.
- Step 3
You run it live for 7 days, free
Real calls, real customers, a full week including a Saturday. Every call opens with Echo saying an AI assistant is speaking; then it books, answers, or takes the message. If it doesn't earn its keep, you switch it off and pay $0.
The whole process, including the call-forwarding picker: How it works
The price is the same in Chicago as anywhere else
No city surcharge, no suburban surcharge. Echo costs the same everywhere, because there's no site visit and no local overhead. The entry plan covers 300 minutes of calls a month, approx. 120 calls, for $289/mo (taxes not included).
Full price list and minute calculator →Frequently asked questions
Do you need to come out to me in Chicago?
No. Nobody drives out to the Loop or to Naperville. The onboarding call is online or by phone, and the setup runs over the network. That's also why there's no travel fee and no site-visit fee, whether you're in Lincoln Park or in Joliet.
Do I keep my Chicago number?
Yes. Your 312 or 773 number, or your 847, 630 or 708 suburban number, stays unchanged, landline or mobile. Call forwarding sends the calls you don't pick up to Echo. The forwarding code depends on your carrier, and we set it up together during onboarding.
Can it answer in Spanish or Polish?
Yes. You pick Echo's primary language during onboarding, with dozens of languages to choose from, and we set up how it handles a caller who switches. For a shop in Little Village or on Milwaukee Avenue that can be the difference between a booked appointment and a hang-up.
I have locations in the city and in the suburbs. Can it handle that?
Yes. The knowledge base holds several addresses, hours, service areas and price lists, and Echo answers based on what the caller asks for: the Wicker Park studio or the Schaumburg one. Both numbers can forward to the same assistant. The details go on the 15-min call.
Is Echo more expensive in Chicago?
No. The price is the same everywhere: the entry plan is $289/mo (taxes not included). No big-city surcharge, no site-visit cost, no difference between a Loop address and one in Des Plaines.
What happens to the calls that come in during a snowstorm?
They get answered. Echo doesn't take a snow day and doesn't depend on a receptionist getting in on the Metra. It picks up, says an AI assistant is speaking, asks the questions you told it to ask, notes whether it's an emergency or an estimate, and books the slot or takes the message. You read the summaries between jobs.