The Homeowner Who Called at 9:47 PM: Meet Sage, Your AI Assistant
Updated: Oct 13
Meet Sage
A homeowner calls at 9:47 on a Tuesday night and they have a question about their theater, they want outdoor speakers by the pool, or something stopped working and they don’t know why. Nobody answers, and by morning they may have called someone else.
For years the answer to this has been a contact form, a chat widget, voicemail, and the hope that someone follows up before the homeowner moves on.
Sage is built on a simpler idea. answer the question when the homeowner asks it.
Lantern Room Marketing built Sage for smart home and home technology companies. She is not a dashboard and not a generic chatbot, she is a Super Intelligent assistant that understands your business, helps your homeowners, and makes everyday communication easier.
Meet Sage, Try Both Versions.
Don't just read about what AI can do for your integration business, put Sage to the test.
Why Sage is different
Most website chat gives a homeowner a way to reach you, Sage actually understands the question before asking who they are. A visitor asks whether you install outdoor speakers. Sage draws on your approved website content to explain your outdoor audio work, answers the follow-up, and helps them take the next step. Someone asks about Control4, motorized shades or a theater upgrade, and the answer is your services and your brands rather than the message everyone else gets.
When a homeowner asks about something your site doesn’t cover, a Bluesound streamer for instance, Sage checks the manufacturer’s official sources rather than forums or hearsay, and answers with the confidence of someone on your team. Then she adds the line that matters, “That’s one we’d be glad to look at for you,” alongside your call and email buttons.
She never invents a service, a price or a promise. She answers first, helps next, and makes it easy to reach a real person.
On your website
Sage lives on your site, on desktop and mobile, answering homeowners around the clock.
She remembers the conversation as a visitor moves from page to page, welcomes returning homeowners and picks up where they left off. She recognizes the moments that matter, including quote requests, callbacks, appointment inquiries and new projects, and connects the homeowner to your team the second they want a person.
She points to you and only you, and she gives useful answers instead of a pitch.
The goal isn’t to replace your people, it’s to make sure homeowners get a useful answer while your people are doing the work.
On the phone and by text
A dedicated number homeowners can call or text gives your company one line that works around your schedule.
You’re halfway through an installation when a homeowner calls about lighting control in the kitchen. The call forwards to your cell so you can answer, and when you can’t, nothing slips.
Every caller is asked whether the call may be recorded. If they press 1 it is, and if they don’t it isn’t, and the call goes through either way. It’s the same flow running on our own line, because respecting the homeowner starts with the first ring.
For recorded calls you receive the caller’s number, a short summary, a full transcript and a link to the recording, emailed within minutes and saved in a searchable Sage Inbox. Texts work the same way, with one summary email when the conversation closes. Instead of trying to remember what a homeowner said while you’re driving to the next appointment, the record is waiting for you.
Missed-call recovery. For homeowners who have agreed to texts, Sage follows an unanswered call with a message offering a callback, so you get a real request instead of another unexplained missed call.
Service requests with detail. “Sound but no picture in the theater.” Sage captures the system, the problem, the urgency and the best time to reach them. Homeowners can text a photo of the equipment or error screen, so your technician knows what he’s walking into.
Your technician is on the way. Your tech texts Sage that he’ll be at the Millers around two. Sage sends the homeowner the arrival window and asks the questions that save a wasted trip, including whether someone will be home and whether there are pets to put away. Sage never asks for alarm, gate or access codes.
Did it stay fixed. Later that day Sage follows up, asking whether everything has been working since the visit. A problem becomes a follow-up request before it becomes another frustrated phone call, and a satisfied homeowner is the right one to ask for a review.
Patterns worth knowing. When the same product or issue comes up five times in a week, Sage sends a private note to your registered email, so you see the trend before it becomes a run of service calls.
Homeowners who choose to hear from you can receive an occasional, timely reminder. It’s a separate opt-in, kept apart from everyday Sage conversations, so nobody gets promotions they didn’t ask for.
And we mean occasional, at most once a month. That’s deliberate. In a survey of more than 1,400 consumers, 90% said they’re comfortable hearing from a business once a week or less, and too many messages is the leading reason people unsubscribe. Once a month keeps your texts a courtesy rather than clutter.
The strongest messages aren’t discounts, they’re evidence that someone is paying attention to the homeowner’s house.
Every seasonal text names your company, includes a simple way to reply STOP, and goes out under its own marketing registration with the carriers.
Two ways to work with Sage
Sage Basic | Sage Pro | |
$1,499 setup, $149/month | $1,999 setup, $299/month | |
Website chat, day and night | Yes | Yes |
Built on your services and brands | Yes | Yes |
Manufacturer-sourced answers | Yes | Yes |
Remembers the conversation | Yes | Yes |
Lead alerts to your inbox | Yes | Yes |
Dedicated phone number | — | Yes |
Calls forwarded to your cell | — | Yes |
Text conversations with homeowners | — | Yes |
Call summaries, transcripts and recordings | — | Yes |
Searchable Sage Inbox | — | Yes |
Missed-call recovery | — | Yes |
Service requests with photos | — | Yes |
Technician arrival notices | — | Yes |
Pattern alerts | — | Yes |
Seasonal reminder campaigns | — | Yes |
AI usage is included in both plans, with no separate charges and these are introductory prices.
Sage Basic is the right start if your website is where homeowners find you and you want every visitor answered.
Sage Pro is for the company whose phone is the problem, where calls come at night and on weekends and the details disappear the moment someone hangs up.
Sage Basic is live today on our demonstration site. Sage Pro rolls out to dealers as each texting registration is approved with the carriers, and client folders and full caller histories arrive later with Project Studio.
Ready to See What Sage Can Do?
Try both experiences. Ask real questions and ee how Sage responds when she understands the business behind the website.
For Integrators
Know Your Market: See how you stack up against the competition in your local market.
Project Studio: Turn your finished installs into project pages that win more jobs.
Meet Sage: The AI assistant that answers your leads and texts so you never miss a job.
Oct 21 Dealer AI Class: Save your seat and learn how to put AI to work in your business.
Integrator First Facebook Group: A community where integrators share what's working and help each other grow.
Rob Skuba
(516) 716-7140
Rob Skuba is a U.S. Army veteran and a 25-year veteran of the smart home and AV industry. He’s worked across every layer of the ecosystem, installation, distribution, manufacturing, design, sales, and consumer education, giving him a 360° understanding of homeowner behavior and dealer growth.
Rob has collaborated with top brands, supported legendary home theater designers like Theo Kalomirakis, and contributed to high-visibility projects from luxury homes to major entertainment spaces for 50 Cent. He’s the founder of National Smart Home, Lantern Room Marketing, Date Night In Stereo, and national awareness events including Smart Home Day, National 10-4 Day and National Headphone Day.
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