AI for tradespeople: quotes, phone calls, documentation and data protection

Where AI helps in a trade business today

Most of the time AI saves in the trades is in the office, not on site. The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) collects practical examples from businesses. They include an answering machine that thinks along, chatbots for round-the-clock customer enquiries, quotes at the push of a button and training materials created with ChatGPT.

Broadly, there are three kinds of tools. First, general chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini, which write and explain texts and understand photos. Second, AI phone assistants that answer incoming calls. Third, trade software for quotes, invoices and projects, into which vendors are now building AI features.

Our assessment: a general chatbot is often enough to get started. Trade software is more worthwhile if you want to handle quotes, measurements and invoices digitally in one system anyway.

Quotes and documentation

With a general chatbot you can turn bullet points into a friendly quote text, a reply to a customer complaint or a daily site report. ChatGPT and Gemini are available free of charge. According to Notebookcheck, ChatGPT Go costs 8 euros and Plus 23 euros a month in Germany. According to Google, Google AI Pro costs 21.99 euros a month.

Trade software goes a step further. Plancraft advertises that its AI creates a draft quote from notes, voice recordings, images, measurements or price lists. According to its pricing page, the smallest plan costs 59.90 euros a month with annual billing or 74.90 euros with monthly billing, each plus VAT. At HERO, the HERO Select plan starts at 69 euros a month with annual billing or 79 euros with monthly billing, each plus VAT, according to its pricing page. AI features such as call answering only come with the HERO OS plan, at 119 euros with annual billing or 135 euros with monthly billing, also plus VAT.

Important: the German data protection authorities stress that AI results make no claim to be correct. You must always check quantities, prices and technical details in a quote yourself.

Phone: when an AI answers calls

AI phone assistants answer calls, ask what the caller needs and send you a summary. In a case report, the Mittelstand-Digital Centre Hamburg describes the introduction of such an assistant at a hearing-aid business. The aim was for the team to hold consultations undisturbed while appointment requests are still captured.

Price examples: IONOS lists its AI phone assistant at 39 euros a month with 30 calls, 69 euros with 100 calls and appointment booking, and 99 euros with all calls, each including VAT. According to its pricing page, Plancraft includes an AI reception in all plans, and according to its help centre it is also available on its own for free. It comes with 60 credits a month, and each started minute of conversation uses one credit. Once they are used up, the AI no longer takes calls and only logs them. Larger allowances cost extra, from 89.90 euros a month or 79.90 euros for plancraft customers, each plus VAT.

Legally: since 2 August 2026, AI systems that talk directly to people must, according to the European Commission, be designed so that the person learns they are talking to an AI, unless this is obvious. German law firm IT-Recht Kanzlei recommends a message at the start that mentions AI and recording, refers to further privacy information and asks for consent. You also need a data processing agreement with the provider and a privacy notice, ideally on your website.

Analysing photos of damage

Many chatbots understand images. With Gemini, according to Google, you can switch on the phone camera during a Gemini Live conversation and show what you see, such as an unfamiliar component or water damage. ChatGPT can also analyse photos; in the free version, image uploads are limited according to OpenAI.

This is useful for naming a part, understanding a customer's report or describing damage for your records.

Our assessment: an AI description is not an expert report and not a diagnosis. The professional assessment remains yours. Also pay attention to what is in the photo. Faces, names on doorbells or private documents in a customer's home are personal data. The German data protection conference points out that removing only names and addresses is usually not enough to avoid personal references.

Data protection and obligations for the business

The German data protection conference, made up of the supervisory authorities, recommends for professional use: the business provides devices and accounts instead of staff using private accounts. In these accounts, training on inputs should be switched off and history should not be kept beyond the session. Anyone using an external provider's AI for their own purposes usually needs a data processing agreement under Article 28 GDPR.

Example OpenAI: in the personal versions of ChatGPT, OpenAI may use content for training, which can be switched off in the data controls. For ChatGPT Business, OpenAI says it does not use inputs for training by default.

The Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK München) points out that the GDPR's information duties also apply, so you must inform customers about the processing.

The AI Act also obliges businesses to promote AI literacy. Since an amendment in July 2026, according to law firm White & Case, providers and deployers must take measures to support a sufficient level of AI literacy among their staff rather than ensure it. A short briefing and clear rules on what may and may not go into the AI are a good start.