Let your AI agent collect everything you need for a quote
A quote is only as fast as the slowest missing detail. You ask for the measurements, the customer sends one, you ask for a photo, they send it the next evening, you realise you never asked about parking, and a job that should have been priced on Monday goes out on Thursday. An AI agent can gather all of it in one sitting, while the customer is still in the chat, and hand you a single tidy summary to price. You still decide the price. The agent just makes sure you never have to ask twice. This guide shows how to turn your quote into a checklist the agent can follow, with sample notes, example chats from three different businesses and the points where a person should step in.
Why collecting details is a good job to hand over
Collecting details is patient, repetitive work. It needs the same questions in the same order, a gentle reminder when something is missing, and a careful note of the answers. People find that tedious when they are busy. An AI agent does not get bored, does not forget the fourth question and can ask it at nine in the evening when the customer is finally sitting down with a tape measure.
It is also low risk, which makes it a good first job. The agent is asking, not promising. The one rule that matters is that it never puts a price on custom work. That stays with you.
Turn your quote into a checklist
Look at the last five quotes you sent and list every detail you needed for each. Most businesses end up with six to ten items, and most of those are the same every time. Names and details are examples.
| Business | Details for a quote | Photos or files that help |
|---|---|---|
| Removal company | Moving from and to, floor and lift at each end, number of bedrooms, moving date, any large items | A photo of each room, or a short video walk-round |
| Painter and decorator | Rooms, rough size, walls, ceilings or woodwork, colour change or same colour, when they want it done | A photo of each room in daylight |
| Caterer | Date, venue, number of guests, type of food, dietary needs, service style | The venue's kitchen details if they have them |
| Sign maker or printer | What it is, size, quantity, indoor or outdoor, deadline, artwork ready or not | The artwork or logo file |
| Landscaper | Area, size of the garden, what they want done, access for a skip or van | Photos from the house and from the far end |
Mark each item as needed or optional. Needed items are the ones you cannot price without. Optional items help but can be sorted on the call or the visit.
Setting it up, step by step
- Write your checklist in plain words, needed items first.
- Add one line on what you do once you have it, such as "I send quotes by email within one working day".
- Ask your AI agent to add the checklist to your business brief, and to change only that part.
- Add a rule that the agent never gives a price for custom work and never says when the quote will arrive unless you have written it down.
- Choose a tag, such as "quote ready", for chats where every needed item is in.
- Hold replies as drafts at first and send yourself a test request with a missing detail, to see how the agent asks for it.
- Once you are happy, let the agent send, and ask for the quote-ready summaries at set times.
For the first few days, ask your AI agent to hold replies as drafts, and nothing goes out until you approve it. Once the drafts are reliably right, let it send on its own.
A sample note for your AI agent
This is the kind of note a removal company might use. The structure works for most quote-based businesses.
Quote requests. To price a move I need:
NEEDED: moving from (postcode), moving to (postcode), floor and lift at
each end, number of bedrooms, moving date or rough month.
OPTIONAL: large or awkward items (piano, wardrobe, gym kit), packing
help, storage, a short video of each room.
Ask for two items at a time. Say thank you for each answer.
If they send a video or photos, thank them and do not describe the
contents back to them.
When every NEEDED item is in, tag the chat "quote ready", tell them:
"Thanks, that is everything we need. Mike will send your quote by
email by the end of the next working day." and ask for their email.
Never give a price, a range or "about £x". Never promise a date is
free. If they push for a rough figure, say Mike prices every move
himself so it is accurate.Example: a removal quote on WhatsApp
Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Customer | Hi can I get a quote for a move in December |
| Agent | Hi, thanks for thinking of us. Where are you moving from and to? Postcodes are perfect. |
| Customer | BS6 to BS16 |
| Agent | Thanks. How many bedrooms is it, and is there a lift or stairs at either end? |
| Customer | 2 bed, second floor flat no lift. New place is a house |
| Agent | Got it. Do you have a date in mind, and is there anything large or awkward like a piano or a big wardrobe? |
| Customer | Hoping 13th Dec. Big corner sofa |
| Agent | Thanks, that is everything we need. Mike will send your quote by email by the end of the next working day. What email should he use? |
Mike now has a summary with both postcodes, the floor, no lift, two bedrooms, the date and the sofa. He can price it in five minutes without a single extra message.
Example: a catering enquiry by email
On email, people often send most of the details at once. The agent's job is to spot what is missing and ask for just that. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Customer | Hello, we are looking for a buffet for my dad's 70th on 7 March at the village hall in Thornbury. Around 60 people. Could you send prices? |
| Agent | Thank you for getting in touch, and happy early birthday to your dad. To put a quote together, could you tell me if anyone has allergies or dietary needs, and whether you would like us to serve or just deliver and set up? |
| Customer | A few vegetarians and one coeliac. Deliver and set up is fine. |
| Agent | Thank you. Priya will email your quote by Friday. She will also check the coeliac guest's needs with you directly before anything is confirmed. |
The allergy is passed to a person, not handled by the agent. For food, health and safety details, the agent collects the facts and a person takes responsibility for them.
Before and after: one message instead of four
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| "Can you send measurements?" The customer sends one, a day later. | The agent asks for two items at a time and follows up on each gap the same evening. |
| You find out about the stairs on the day of the visit. | Floor and lift are on the checklist, so they are in the summary. |
| Details are spread across a WhatsApp chat, an email and a voicemail. | One summary per customer, in the same format every time. |
| The quote waits until you have a quiet evening to go back through the chat. | You price straight from the summary in a few minutes. |
What the summary should look like
Show me every chat tagged "quote ready" since yesterday, as:
Name | channel | email | each NEEDED item | OPTIONAL items given |
photos or files: yes/no | anything unusual they mentionedIf photos came in, ask the agent to list which messages they are in, so you can open them yourself. Spaces lets your agent fetch a photo, video or file from a message, or a private link to it that works for ten minutes.
What to hand to a person
- Any request for a price, a range or "roughly how much", if the customer keeps pushing after one polite answer.
- Allergies, medical needs, safety concerns and anything structural, such as "can you knock this wall through?"
- Jobs much bigger than usual, such as a full house renovation when you mostly do single rooms.
- A customer comparing your quote with someone else's. Our guide on matching a competitor's price covers how to answer.
- Anything about a quote you have already sent. Changes to a sent quote are yours to make.
The honest limits
The agent records what the customer says. It cannot measure a room, check a photo is current or spot that a "small garden" is really half an acre. Treat the summary as a good starting point, and keep your own check, a visit or a video call, for bigger jobs.
Spaces does not connect to quoting tools, accounting software or your calendar. The agent gathers the details in the chat and hands them to you. If you want it to fill in a quote template or a spreadsheet as well, that needs its own tools, set up separately. Email through Spaces is one email at a time to one person, so it is right for sending a quote to the customer who asked, never for mailing a price list to a list of people.
Common mistakes
- A checklist with fifteen items. Keep the needed list short and leave the rest for the visit.
- Letting the agent give a "ballpark". Customers remember the lowest number they hear.
- Forgetting to ask for an email address, so the quote has nowhere to go.
- Promising a time for the quote that you cannot keep. Write down the time you can manage, then beat it.
- Never updating the checklist. If you find yourself asking the same extra question three times, add it.
Who you message
Summing up
List what you need for a quote, mark what is needed and what is optional, and put it in the brief with a firm rule about prices. The agent asks two items at a time, chases gaps the same day, tags the chat when it is complete and hands you one summary. You do the pricing, and the customer gets their quote days sooner. If they go quiet once it is sent, our guide on following up after a quote takes it from there.
Pricing
FAQ
Can the agent give a price for simple, fixed-price jobs?
Yes, if the price is written in your brief. Fixed prices, such as a standard oven clean or a one-hour lesson, are fine for the agent to share. Custom work that you price job by job should stay with you.
What if the customer will not give an item on the checklist?
Tell the agent to ask once more, kindly, and explain why it helps. If they still prefer not to, it should note the gap in the summary and hand the chat over, so you can decide whether to quote anyway.
Can the agent look at the photos customers send?
Spaces lets your agent fetch photos and files from a message. Whether it can understand what is in a photo depends on the AI agent you use. Either way, open the photos yourself before you price, because the agent's description is no substitute for your eye.
Should the agent send the quote too?
It can, if you write the quote and ask the agent to send it in the same chat or email thread. Many owners prefer to send quotes themselves, because it is a natural moment for a personal line.
How fast should the quote go out once the details are in?
As soon as you can manage reliably. Write that time in the brief so the agent tells customers something true. A quote that arrives when promised builds more trust than a fast promise that slips.
Does this work for businesses that quote after a visit?
Yes. The agent collects the details you need to book the visit, such as the address, access and the best days, and you quote after you have seen the job.
What if a customer sends everything in one long message?
Even better. The agent should check it against the checklist, thank them and ask only for what is missing. Tell it in the note not to ask again for anything already given.