A roofing company should put a Voice AI agent from GoHighLevel on the phones for the surge, have it sort every call into active leak, inspection request, claim question, or existing customer, and have it capture the same facts each time so inspections can be booked by neighborhood. The bottom line: 300 calls in a week is more than a small office can answer live, and the roofer who answers first and books an inspection is usually the one who gets the job.
Why the surge happens, and what to ask
The National Weather Service classifies hail as severe only when stones exceed 1 inch, and a lawyer quoted by Claims Journal says engineers generally agree most shingle damage comes from stones of 1.5 inches or more. A 2025 Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety study found that repeated hail under an inch can also reduce a roof's resistance and speed shingle aging, so callers with small hail may still have a reason to ask. Storms produce claims at scale: IBHS analyzed nearly 80,000 homeowner claims from the April 2003 hailstorm in the northern Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs. So the agent's questions are about what fell and what the caller sees, not about a verdict.
| Question | Why |
|---|---|
| Address and ZIP code | Groups inspections by neighborhood |
| What size was the hail, using coins as a guide | Sets priority, without promising damage |
| Is water coming in right now | Active leaks go to the tarp crew |
| Roof type and approximate age | Sets the inspection length |
| Have you filed a claim, and with whom | Informs the next step |
| Best time for an inspection | Books the slot |
What the agent must not say
In Texas, the Department of Insurance says a roofer may not act as a public adjuster on a claim and may not advertise that they would, and lists offering to negotiate a settlement or file a claim for the homeowner as improper. Contractors may provide estimates and discuss them and technical information with the insurer. So the script says the company offers a free roof inspection and can explain what it finds, and it does not say the company will handle the claim or promise coverage. Other states have their own rules.
Build it in GoHighLevel
- In your sub account, go to AI Agents, then Voice AI, and create a new agent.
- Write the greeting, the business information, and the questions the agent should ask, in plain sentences.
- Assign the phone number, and set Working Hours and the Call Routing mode so the agent answers after hours or when staff do not pick up.
- Put the six questions in the script and tell the agent to stay under two minutes per call.
- Add an active leak branch that transfers to the tarp crew lead, and a branch that books all other callers into inspection slots.
- Add a Call Transfer action with the on call phone number, and write the exact conditions that trigger it.
- Add a Trigger a Workflow action that runs after the call: tag the contact, create the opportunity, and send the office a summary.
- Run the web call test with a friend playing each caller type, read the transcripts, and fix the script before you point the real number at the agent.
- Create an opportunity in an Inspection pipeline for every call, with the ZIP code and hail size in fields, and use a Smart List by ZIP to build routes.
- Send a text after the call with the inspection time and a note that it is a free inspection.
GoHighLevel's Voice AI help page says a Voice AI agent can answer calls, respond to common questions, collect caller information, and complete actions during or after a call. It lists four actions: Call Transfer to a human phone number, Trigger a Workflow, Appointment Booking that offers availability and schedules the appointment, and Agent Transfer to another Voice AI agent. It also points to Working Hours, the Call Routing mode, voicemail, and the phone number's call flow as settings to check, and to a web call test to try the agent before it takes real calls. One overview page still says direct appointment scheduling needs a calendar integration through workflows, so test booking in your own account before you rely on it. On price, the AI tools page lists AI Employee Growth at $50 a month and Unlimited at $97 a month per location with usage allowances that differ by plan, and a third party guide reports pay per use rates of about $0.06 to $0.215 a minute plus model charges. Confirm current pricing in your account.
Ask HighLevel or your phone carrier about limits on simultaneous calls before you promise that every caller will get through during a peak.
What the workload looks like
For example, 300 calls at 4 minutes each is 1,200 minutes, or 20 hours of phone time in a week (300 times 4 divided by 60). If the agent handles 80 percent, staff cover 60 calls (300 times 0.2) and the rest of the week goes to inspecting.
Mistakes to avoid
- Promising claim results. Contractor rules limit what you can say.
- Booking by request order. Book by neighborhood to save drive time.
- Skipping the leak branch. Active leaks cannot wait.
- Not testing under load. Test with several calls at once.
How this was handled before
After a storm, roofers let calls go to voicemail and returned them in order over days, or hired temporary phone help. Homeowners called three companies and hired the first to arrive. Answering every call and booking by neighborhood replaces the queue with a route.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Homeowners calling after a storm may have no power, so keep confirmation texts short. Ask your attorney about call recording and AI disclosure rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
How big must hail be to damage a roof?
NWS calls hail severe above 1 inch, and engineers say most shingle damage comes from 1.5 inch stones or more, though an IBHS study found repeated smaller hail can also damage shingles.
Can the agent tell a caller their claim will be covered?
No. Coverage is the insurer's decision, and Texas bars roofers from acting as adjusters.
How many claims can one storm produce?
IBHS analyzed nearly 80,000 claims from the April 2003 hailstorm in the northern Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.