> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.servicebooked.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is ServiceBooked?

> A plain-English overview of what ServiceBooked does and how the pieces fit together.

ServiceBooked is a **AI Receptionist for service businesses**. It picks up the work you don't have time for — answering missed calls, replying to text messages, capturing leads from your website, and booking jobs directly into your calendar — so you can stay on the tools and stop losing customers to voicemail.

## What it actually does

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Answers your phone" icon="phone">
    When you can't pick up, ServiceBooked either texts the caller back automatically or hands the call off to a AI Receptionist who can answer questions and book appointments.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Replies to texts and chats" icon="message-circle">
    Customers texting your business number — or chatting with the widget on your website — get an instant intelligent reply. The AI Receptionist knows your services, hours, and pricing.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Captures leads from forms" icon="clipboard-list">
    Build a quote request form, embed it on your site, and the AI Receptionist follows up the moment a lead submits.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Books real appointments" icon="calendar-check">
    Connect Google Calendar, Cal.com, or Calendly and the AI Receptionist checks your real availability before booking — no double-bookings, no back-and-forth.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How the pieces fit together

Think of ServiceBooked as four layers stacked on top of each other:

1. **The channels** are where customers reach you: your phone number (calls + texts), the chat widget on your website, and any forms you build.
2. **The AI Receptionist** sits behind those channels. It reads your business hours, services, pricing, and any FAQs you've added, and uses that to answer questions and book jobs.
3. **The CRM** captures everyone who reaches out into a unified contact list — with their conversation history, appointments, and where they came from.
4. **The dashboard** is your view into all of it: an inbox of conversations, a pipeline of deals, a calendar of upcoming jobs, and reports on what's working.

You don't need to set up everything at once. Most owners start with the phone number + missed-call auto-text (the highest-impact thing) and add the widget, forms, and reactivation campaigns over their first few weeks.

## What it's not

* **Not a full-service CRM** like Salesforce or HubSpot — we focus on the lead capture + first response, not enterprise sales workflows.
* **Not a replacement for a human team** for complex jobs — the AI Receptionist handles routine questions and scheduling; anything that needs judgment (pricing custom quotes, dealing with upset customers) routes to you with full context.
* **Not just a chatbot** — most of the value is on phone and SMS, the channels service-business customers actually prefer.

## Who it's for

ServiceBooked is built for **owner-operated service businesses** in trades like plumbing, HVAC, electrical, cleaning, painting, landscaping, pest control, locksmithing, auto repair, and similar. If your customers find you by Googling, calling, or visiting your website — and if you've ever lost a job because you couldn't get to the phone — this is for you.

## Next: get set up

<Card title="Quick start (15 minutes)" icon="play" href="/getting-started/quick-start">
  Walk through the essentials — phone number, calendar, your first auto-text — and start capturing leads today.
</Card>