You Stay the Boss: What Your Velobiz AI Employee Sends on Its Own — and What It Waits for You to Approve
What your Velobiz AI employee sends on its own, what waits for your approval, and how every lead is ranked so you know who to call first.
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Worried an AI employee will say something you wouldn't? Here's exactly what goes out automatically, what waits for your tap, and how every lead gets ranked so you know who to call first.
TL;DR Your Velobiz AI employee handles the routine stuff — missed-call texts, booking confirmations, reminders, enquiry follow-ups — without bothering you. Anything with your name on a price or a public post waits for your approval. Customers who reply STOP are removed instantly. Drafted replies sit in your pocket until you tap send. Every lead is ranked hot, warm or cold, with a written summary of each call so you know exactly who to ring first.
The Honest Fear Every Tradie Has Before Trying AI
You're not short of work — you're short of hours. Quotes pile up after dark. Leads come in from everywhere and nowhere at once. And somewhere in the back of your mind, there's a nagging question you can't shake:
What if this thing sends something I'd never say?
It's a fair question. Your name is on every message that goes out. Your reputation took years to build. The last thing you need is an AI employee firing off a dodgy price estimate to a customer before you've even looked at the job, or spamming someone who already told you they're not interested.
So here's the plain answer — no marketing speak, no hand-waving. These are the four things worth understanding before you trust Velobiz with your business.
1. Which Messages Go Out on Their Own — and Which Wait for You
Your AI employee does send some messages automatically. That's the point. Missed-call texts go out so a caller doesn't ring your competitor while you're under a sink. Booking confirmations go out so customers know they're locked in. Reminders go out so customers remember the visit. Enquiry follow-ups go out so a lead doesn't go cold while you're on the tools.
These are the routine, time-sensitive messages that don't need your eyes on them every time. They're consistent, professional and they go out the moment they're triggered.
But here's where it stops.
Good to know: Anything with your name on a price or a public post waits for your say-so.
That means a quote for a full bathroom reno? You build it, and it goes nowhere until you send it. A post about safety switches for your socials? Drafted, waiting for your approval. A reply to a warranty question? Drafted, waiting for you to send it.
You're not handing over your voice. You're getting a head start on the writing, with the final call always yours.
2. A Customer Replies STOP — Here's What Happens Next
This one matters for trust, and it matters for compliance.
If a customer replies STOP to a text from your business, they're taken off straight away. No more texts. No more follow-ups. No automated calls. It happens the moment they send it, not after a batch process runs overnight.
Think about who actually does this. It's the customer who already found a plumber before you could get back to them. The tenant who's moved out of the property. The homeowner who sold up. People who reply STOP aren't your next job — they're people who've moved on, and the right thing to do is respect that instantly.
Good to know: Emails about a booking they've already made can still reach them.
That's the sensible carve-out. If someone has a confirmed appointment and they reply STOP to a marketing follow-up, they still get the practical information about their existing booking. You're not leaving a customer in the dark about a job that's already scheduled — you're just stopping the sales messages they asked you to stop.
3. Drafted Replies You Send From the Ute
Here's a scenario you probably live every day. You're between jobs, eating lunch in the ute, and three messages have come in while you were under a house. A builder asking about availability. A customer with a question about a recent job. A new enquiry that needs a thoughtful reply.
You don't have time to type out three proper responses. But you also don't want to send something half-baked, and you definitely don't want the AI employee sending replies in your name without you reading them first.
This is exactly what the drafted reply feature is for.
Your AI employee writes the reply — the full text or email, in plain language, ready to go. You open it, read it, tweak a word if you want to, and tap send. It takes seconds instead of minutes.
Good to know: Nothing in a drafted reply goes out until you send it.
That's the line. The AI employee does the thinking and the typing. You do the approving. A reply about a leak between jobs, an answer to a builder at lunch, a response to a service question at smoko — all drafted, none sent, until your finger hits the button.
This is what "you stay the boss" actually looks like in practice. Not an AI that does whatever it wants. An AI that does the legwork and hands it to you.
4. Hot, Warm and Cold — Know Who to Call First
Ten enquiries come in after a long weekend. A morning of missed calls during a busy run. A heatwave backlog where everyone suddenly needs their ducted system looked at. A post-storm pile-up of roofing and drainage jobs.
Which one do you call first?
Without a system, you're guessing. You ring the most recent one, or the one you remember, or the one whose name you can read on a scribbled note. You lose the hot lead because you called the cold one first.
Your Velobiz AI employee marks every lead hot, warm or cold. It writes an AI summary of each call — what the customer said, what they need, how urgent it sounds. That summary arrives in an email after the call. And one screen shows every job from first contact through to booked and invoiced, so nothing falls through the cracks between a sticky note and a text message.
Good to know: You get a written summary of each call, not a recording.
That's worth saying plainly. There's no audio file to sit through. No scrubbing through a recording trying to find the part where the customer mentioned the job address. You get a written summary you can read in ten seconds and act on immediately.
The Bigger Picture
The fear was never really about AI. It was about control.
Nobody wants another tool that does things they don't understand, sends things they didn't approve, and creates problems they have to fix. That's not automation — that's just a different kind of admin.
What Velobiz gives you is a clear line. Routine messages go out so you don't lose leads while you're working. Anything that carries your professional reputation — prices, public posts, personal replies — waits for you. Customers who opt out are respected immediately. And every lead is ranked and summarised so you're making smart calls, not random ones.
You stay the boss. The AI employee just handles the parts that were eating your evenings.
FAQ
Q: Will my AI employee send a quote to a customer without me seeing it first? No. You build your quotes yourself in the portal, and nothing goes to the customer until you send it.
Q: What if I want to reply to a customer myself instead of using the drafted reply? That's always your choice. The drafted reply is there if you want it. You can ignore it and write your own. Nothing is forced.
Q: If a customer replies STOP, can they still get information about a booking they've already made? Yes. Opting out stops marketing messages and automated follow-ups. Practical emails about an existing confirmed booking can still reach them.
Q: Do I get to listen to calls my AI employee handled? You get a written summary of each call, not a recording. It covers what was said and what the customer needs, so you can act on it quickly.
Q: What if I disagree with how a lead is ranked? The hot, warm and cold ranking is a guide based on what the customer said and did. You see the written summary alongside it, so you can make your own call. The ranking is a starting point, not an instruction.
Built for Australian trades businesses that want to stay in control without staying up late.
Ready to see how it works for your business? Built for AU tradies → https://velobiz.com.au
Written by the Velobiz team. Velobiz is AI-powered business automation built for Australian SMBs — plumbers, electricians, HVAC operators and other trade businesses who want to win more jobs with less admin.
Questions we get asked
Will my AI employee send a quote to a customer without me seeing it first?
No. You build your quotes yourself in the portal, and nothing goes to the customer until you send it.
What if I want to reply to a customer myself instead of using the drafted reply?
That's always your choice. The drafted reply is there if you want it. You can ignore it and write your own. Nothing is forced.
If a customer replies STOP, can they still get information about a booking they've already made?
Yes. Opting out stops marketing messages and automated follow-ups. Practical emails about an existing confirmed booking can still reach them.
Do I get to listen to calls my AI employee handled?
You get a written summary of each call, not a recording. It covers what was said and what the customer needs, so you can act on it quickly.
What if I disagree with how a lead is ranked?
The hot, warm and cold ranking is a guide based on what the customer said and did. You see the written summary alongside it, so you can make your own call. The ranking is a starting point, not an instruction.
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