Every contractor with after-hours coverage faces the same dilemma: you want to be available for real emergencies, but not every "emergency" is actually urgent.
The customer whose furnace smells funny? That might be a gas leak requiring immediate attention—or it might be dusty vents during first use of the season.
The person calling at 11 PM about their AC? It could be a genuine emergency with vulnerable occupants—or someone who finally noticed their system was struggling.
AI dispatch systems solve this with intelligent triage: asking the right questions, evaluating the answers, and taking appropriate action. Here's how it works.
The Triage Framework
Effective emergency triage categorizes calls into three levels:
🚨 Tier 1: True Emergency (Immediate dispatch/notification)
- Safety hazards: gas smell, CO alarm, electrical burning, water flooding
- Life safety: no heat with temps below freezing, no AC with extreme heat + vulnerable occupants
- Active damage: water leaking into living spaces, equipment actively failing
⚡ Tier 2: Urgent (Priority next-day scheduling)
- System not working but no immediate safety concern
- Reduced functionality affecting comfort significantly
- Equipment making concerning noises
- Issues that will worsen if not addressed soon
✓ Tier 3: Routine (Normal scheduling)
- Maintenance requests and tune-ups
- Minor comfort issues
- Quote requests for new equipment
- General questions and non-urgent follow-ups
The key is accurate classification. An AI system trained for your industry asks specific questions to determine which tier applies.
The Decision Process
Here's how AI triage typically flows for an after-hours HVAC call:
Step 1: Initial Problem Identification
"What's happening with your heating or cooling system?"
The AI listens for keywords that signal urgency: "no heat," "won't turn on," "smell," "alarm," "water," "emergency."
Step 2: Safety Screening
For any system malfunction, AI checks for immediate safety concerns:
- "Do you smell gas or anything burning?"
- "Is your carbon monoxide detector going off?"
- "Is there water leaking anywhere?"
Any "yes" = Immediate Tier 1 escalation
Step 3: Environmental Assessment
If no safety hazard, AI evaluates conditions:
- "What's the current temperature outside?" (AI can also check weather data)
- "What's the temperature inside your home right now?"
- "Are there any infants, elderly, or anyone with health conditions in the home?"
Step 4: Urgency Determination
Based on collected information, AI classifies the call:
- No heat + outdoor temp <35°F + elderly occupant → Tier 1 Emergency
- No heat + outdoor temp 50°F + healthy adults → Tier 2 Urgent
- System "not working great" + moderate weather → Tier 3 Routine
Step 5: Appropriate Action
- Tier 1: Immediately notify on-call tech with full details; offer to transfer call
- Tier 2: Book first available morning slot; send notification to office
- Tier 3: Book normal appointment; confirm via text to customer
A Real Conversation Example
Here's how AI triage might handle an after-hours heating call:
In this case, the combination of no heat, dropping temperature, and an elderly occupant triggers Tier 1 emergency response. Without the elderly occupant, it might have been Tier 2.
Customizing Triage Rules
Every business has different emergency thresholds. AI dispatch systems let you define your own rules:
Temperature Thresholds
What outdoor temperature makes "no heat" an emergency? 40°F? 32°F? 20°F? You decide based on your region and customer expectations.
Vulnerability Factors
Which occupant conditions warrant escalation? Infants, elderly, medical conditions, pets? You define what matters.
Time-Based Rules
Different thresholds for different times? Maybe you want tighter emergency criteria at 2 AM than at 7 PM.
Equipment Types
Is a commercial refrigeration failure always an emergency? What about a swimming pool heater? You set the priorities.
The principle: AI follows your judgment, at scale. You teach it what matters to your business, and it applies that logic consistently to every call, every time.
The Benefits of Smart Triage
For Your Team
- Reduced false alarms: On-call techs only get woken for genuine emergencies
- Better information: When a call does come through, it includes full context
- Less burnout: Protecting off-hours means sustainable coverage
For Your Customers
- Appropriate response: True emergencies get immediate attention
- Clear expectations: Non-emergencies know exactly when help is coming
- Professional experience: Everyone feels heard and helped
For Your Business
- Capture more emergencies: No more losing callers to voicemail
- Efficient dispatching: Right response for every situation
- Defensible decisions: Clear logic for why calls were handled a certain way
When Triage Gets It Wrong
No system is perfect. What happens when AI mis-categorizes a call?
False positives (over-escalation): Tech gets woken for something that wasn't a true emergency. Annoying, but the customer still gets great service.
False negatives (under-escalation): More concerning. A real emergency gets scheduled instead of dispatched. Good systems minimize this by erring toward caution—when in doubt, escalate.
You can also review call transcripts and adjust triage rules over time. If you notice patterns of mis-categorization, you refine the AI's training.
See Smart Triage in Action
Experience how AI handles emergency calls differently than routine requests. Start your free trial.
Try CallDispatcher FreeThe Bottom Line
Intelligent triage is what separates useful after-hours coverage from chaos. Without it, you're either missing emergencies (voicemail) or getting woken for everything (no filtering).
AI dispatch with smart triage gives you the best of both worlds: true emergencies get immediate response, non-emergencies get appropriate handling, and your team maintains the rest they need to perform well.
The 2 AM calls will still come. The question is whether they're all waking up your tech, or only the ones that truly need to.