— 03 —
Follow-up & Nurture
Old leads, past clients and no-shows get timely, personal check-ins instead of a generic newsletter. Replies come back to you as booked calls.
AI agents · Houston, TX
AI automation for small business, built in Houston.
AtEase builds custom AI agents that answer calls, reply to new leads in under a minute, follow up until they book, and handle repetitive back-office work. Each agent is wired into your own phone number, calendar and CRM. Agents start at $1,500 setup and most go live in 1 to 3 weeks.
What is an AI agent, in plain English?
An AI agent is software that reads a situation, decides what to do next and takes the action, like answering a caller's question and booking them into your calendar. A chatbot only talks. A traditional automation (a Zapier zap, say) only follows fixed if-this-then-that rules. An agent does both: it understands messy, human input and then does real work in your tools.
For a small business, that usually means the jobs that fall through the cracks when you're busy: the phone you couldn't pick up, the web lead you didn't text back until tomorrow, the follow-up you meant to send, the intake form someone has to retype into the CRM.
| Chatbot | Rule-based automation | AI agent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Understands free-form questions | Yes | No | Yes |
| Takes actions (books, updates CRM, texts) | Rarely | Yes, fixed rules only | Yes, decides which |
| Handles phone calls | No | No | Yes (voice agents) |
| Knows when to hand off to a person | Sometimes | No | Yes, by design |
| Best for | FAQ on a website | Moving data between apps | Anything a front desk or assistant does on repeat |
What we build
The agents that pay for themselves first.
We start where the money leaks: missed calls and slow lead response. Then we automate the rest of the routine.
— 01 —
AI Receptionist
A voice agent on your business line that answers every call 24/7, answers questions from your own information, books appointments, takes messages and transfers to you when a caller needs a human.
From $1,500 setup →— 02 —
Speed-to-Lead
Every new web form, Zillow, Facebook or Google lead gets a personal text and email in under 60 seconds, qualifying questions, and a booking link, followed up for days until they respond.
From $1,500 setup →— 04 —
Intake & Qualification
Forms, calls and emails are read, summarized and sorted into your CRM with the right tags, so nobody retypes anything and hot leads go to the top.
— 05 —
Review Requests
After a finished job, the agent asks for a Google review at the right moment, and routes unhappy replies to you before they turn into public one-star reviews.
— 06 —
Back-office Agents
Inbox triage, quote and proposal drafts, document processing and weekly reports. Anything your team does the same way every week is a candidate.
Pricing
What AI automation costs.
Setup is a fixed price. The monthly fee covers the phone line, AI model usage, monitoring and improvements. Heavy call volume is passed through at cost, never marked up.
AI Receptionist
$1,500setup
+ $250/month. Answers your calls 24/7 and books appointments.
- Trained on your services, prices and FAQs
- Books into your calendar
- Live transfer + text summaries
- Live in 1–2 weeks
Speed-to-Lead
$1,500setup
+ $150/month. Every lead answered in under a minute, then followed up.
- Text + email replies in your voice
- Qualifying questions and booking link
- Multi-day follow-up sequence
- Connects to your CRM and lead sources
Custom Agent
$5,000+ project
Intake, back-office or multi-step agents scoped to your workflow.
- Workflow mapping session
- Built on your existing tools
- Human approval steps where it matters
- Live in 3–6 weeks
Want the full breakdown of what AI receptionists cost across the market? Read How much does an AI receptionist cost? All AtEase prices are on the pricing page.
Custom, not a SaaS seat
Why custom-built beats off-the-shelf for most small businesses.
There are plenty of AI receptionist and chatbot apps you can sign up for tonight. They work fine until you need them to know your real prices, book into the calendar you actually use, text from your number, or hand a caller to your cell phone the right way. Then you're the one configuring it at 11pm.
We build the agent around how your business already runs, connect it to the tools you already pay for, test it with real calls and leads, and keep tuning it after launch. You get the outcome without becoming the AI admin.
Connects to
Google & Outlook calendars, Calendly, CRMs, your business number, SMS, email
Guardrails
Answers only from your approved info. Hands off anything sensitive.
Ownership
Accounts, numbers and data in your name
After launch
Monthly review of conversations and fixes
How it works
From first call to live agent in four steps.
— 01 —
AI audit
A 30-minute call to find the one workflow where an agent saves the most time or recovers the most revenue.
— 02 —
Script & connect
We write what the agent knows and how it sounds, then connect your phone, calendar, CRM and lead sources.
— 03 —
Test with you
You call it, text it and try to break it. We tune it until it handles your real situations the way you would.
— 04 —
Launch & improve
It goes live. Every month we review conversations, fix misses and add what you've learned.
Who it's for
Built for businesses that live on the phone.
Real estate agents
Answer portal and site leads before the next agent does.
Law firms
After-hours intake, conflict-safe screening and consult booking.
Home services
Book jobs while your crew is on a roof or under a sink.
Clinics & studios
Scheduling, reminders and rebooking without a full-time front desk.
AI automation across Greater Houston.
We're based in Houston and meet clients in person across Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Cypress, Spring, Missouri City, League City and Conroe. Because AI agents are set up remotely, we also build them for businesses anywhere in the US.
AI automation questions.
How much does AI automation cost for a small business?
At AtEase, an AI receptionist starts at $1,500 setup plus $250 a month, speed-to-lead starts at $1,500 setup plus $150 a month, and custom agents start at $5,000. Heavy phone or AI usage is passed through at cost.
How long does it take to set up an AI agent?
An AI receptionist or speed-to-lead agent is usually live in 1 to 3 weeks. Custom back-office agents take 3 to 6 weeks, depending on how many tools they connect to.
What's the difference between an AI agent and a chatbot?
A chatbot answers questions in a chat window. An AI agent understands the request and then takes action in your tools: it books the appointment, updates the CRM, sends the text or transfers the call.
Will an AI agent say something wrong to my customers?
We limit agents to information you approve, test them against real scenarios before launch, and set clear rules for when they must hand off to a person. We also review conversations every month and fix anything that went sideways.
Will AI replace my front desk staff?
Usually not. Most clients use agents to cover after-hours calls, overflow and instant lead response, so their team spends less time on the phone and more time on the customers who are ready to buy.
Is it legal for AI to text and call my leads?
Responding to someone who just contacted you is generally fine, but automated marketing texts and calls require consent under the federal TCPA. We set up consent language on your forms and keep agents to replies and follow-up with people who asked to hear from you. This isn't legal advice; check with your attorney for your situation.
Do you work with businesses outside Houston?
Yes. AI agents are set up remotely, so we build them for businesses across the US. Houston-area clients can meet us in person.
Free 30-minute AI audit
Show us the busywork. We'll show you what an agent can take.
Bring one workflow that eats your week. We'll tell you on the call whether AI can handle it, what it would cost and how long it would take to build.