Question 1

What is Polemica?

Accepted Answer

Polemica deploys AI employees and automation systems for service businesses, contractors, and manufacturers. Products include an AI Workforce (six AI employees for front desk, estimating, purchasing, billing, reputation, and follow-up), business process automations (missed call text back, lead follow-up, appointment booking, review requests), B2B portals for dealers and distributors, and private AI systems trained on your internal knowledge.

Question 2

What industries does Polemica serve?

Accepted Answer

HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, construction, home services, clinics, legal firms, automotive, beauty, manufacturing, and real estate. The AI is trained on your specific business — industry-specific knowledge comes from onboarding, not generic templates.

Question 3

How quickly can we go live?

Accepted Answer

Most businesses go live within 48 hours of completing onboarding. Onboarding typically takes one session where we configure the AI on your services, pricing, hours, and business rules. You review and test, then it goes live. B2B portals and private AI systems take 2–4 weeks depending on scope.

Question 4

Do I need to change my phone number or replace my existing software?

Accepted Answer

No on both counts. The AI front desk works with your existing phone number. Polemica connects to the software you already use — Jobber, ServiceTitan, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Google Calendar — rather than replacing it.

Question 5

When should a business not hire Polemica?

Accepted Answer

If your business has a dedicated receptionist who answers every call and a follow-up process that already works, you probably don't need the AI Workforce. If you have fewer than 10 active dealers or distributors, a B2B portal is likely overkill. And if your team doesn't use documents or internal knowledge frequently enough to justify a private AI, it won't deliver meaningful ROI. We'll tell you this on a demo call rather than sell you something that doesn't fit.

Question 6

What is an AI Workforce?

Accepted Answer

An AI Workforce is a set of AI-powered employees — each trained on a specific business function. Polemica's AI Workforce includes six: AI Front Desk, AI Estimating Assistant, AI Purchasing Specialist, AI Billing & Payment Assistant, AI Reputation Manager, and AI Follow-Up & Referral Manager. Each handles a defined set of tasks and operates 24/7 without supervision.

Question 7

Can AI actually answer phone calls?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Polemica's AI Front Desk answers inbound calls, qualifies the job or inquiry, handles common questions, books appointments, and escalates genuine emergencies to your team. It speaks naturally, asks follow-up questions, and handles the full conversation — not just a pre-recorded menu.

Question 8

How does the AI learn about my business?

Accepted Answer

During onboarding, we train the AI on your services, pricing, service area, business hours, and procedures. You supply the information, we configure it, and you review it before going live. Changes to pricing or services are updated by contacting us — typical turnaround is same business day.

Question 9

What happens when a customer asks something the AI doesn't know?

Accepted Answer

The AI is configured with a fallback: it tells the customer it will have a team member follow up, collects their details, and sends an internal alert to your team. It does not guess at answers it hasn't been trained on.

Question 10

Can I hire just one AI employee, or do I need all six?

Accepted Answer

You can hire one. Most businesses start with the AI Front Desk or the AI Follow-Up & Referral Manager — whichever solves the most immediate problem — and add others over time. There is no requirement to deploy the full workforce.

Question 11

How is an AI employee different from a chatbot?

Accepted Answer

A chatbot answers pre-set FAQs from a scripted decision tree. Polemica's AI employees complete actual business tasks — booking appointments, generating estimates, sending invoices, collecting reviews, and managing follow-up sequences. They're trained on your specific business and handle full conversations, not button menus.

Question 12

What is business process automation?

Accepted Answer

Business process automation replaces repetitive manual tasks with software that runs them automatically. Polemica's automations include missed call text back (responding to unanswered calls), lead follow-up (nurturing new leads until they book), appointment booking, estimate generation, review requests, invoice follow-up, and purchasing workflows.

Question 13

What is missed call text back?

Accepted Answer

When a call goes unanswered, Polemica automatically sends a text message to the caller within seconds: something like "Hi, we missed your call — can we help you via text?" The AI then handles the conversation, qualifies the lead, and books the appointment. Callers who don't leave voicemails often respond to a text.

Question 14

Will automation replace my staff?

Accepted Answer

The automations handle the repetitive, time-consuming tasks your staff shouldn't be spending time on — answering the same questions, chasing overdue invoices, sending follow-up messages. Your team handles the work that requires human judgment. Most businesses find their staff become more effective, not redundant.

Question 15

How do automations connect to my existing tools?

Accepted Answer

Polemica integrates with Jobber, ServiceTitan, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Google Calendar, Gmail, and other tools via API. When a trigger fires in one system, the action happens in another — automatically. See the integrations page for the full list.

Question 16

What is a B2B portal?

Accepted Answer

A B2B portal is a private, login-gated website for your business customers — dealers, distributors, suppliers, or end customers. It lets them place orders, check inventory, download documents, track shipments, and manage their account without calling or emailing your team. Polemica builds four types: customer portals, dealer portals, distributor portals, and supplier portals.

Question 17

How long does it take to build a B2B portal?

Accepted Answer

Most B2B portals are built and deployed within 2–4 weeks. The timeline depends on the number of integrations required and the complexity of your pricing tiers and account rules. Simple dealer portals with a product catalog and order placement can be live in under two weeks.

Question 18

Who hosts the portal?

Accepted Answer

Polemica hosts the portal on your domain (e.g., portal.yourcompany.com). You own the portal — it's not a shared SaaS platform. If you ever want to move it, we'll hand over the code and deployment.

Question 19

What is private AI?

Accepted Answer

Private AI is an AI assistant trained on your internal documents — product catalogs, SOPs, policy documents, sales playbooks, technical specs — that your team can query in plain language. Unlike ChatGPT, it doesn't use the public internet. It only knows what you've given it, and it cites the source document for every answer.

Question 20

Is my data sent to OpenAI or Anthropic?

Accepted Answer

No. Polemica's private AI runs on infrastructure we control, not public AI cloud services. Your documents are not used to train public models. The system is isolated to your organization.

Question 21

What kinds of documents can be loaded into the AI?

Accepted Answer

PDFs, Word documents, Excel files, plain text files, and content from internal web pages. Typical sources: product catalogs, installation manuals, warranty terms, pricing tiers, HR policies, onboarding guides, compliance documents, and historical email threads.

Question 22

How much does an AI employee cost?

Accepted Answer

Individual AI employees start from $119–$249 per month with a one-time setup fee of $299–$499. The full six-employee AI workforce starts from $799 per month. Department packs (Front Office or Back Office, three employees each) start from $449 per month. All prices are in CAD.

See full pricing details on the Pricing page.

Question 23

Is there a long-term contract?

Accepted Answer

No long-term contract. AI employees are month-to-month. You can pause or cancel with 30 days notice. B2B portals and private AI systems are project-based — you own what's built.

Question 24

Is there a setup fee?

Accepted Answer

Yes — a one-time setup fee covers onboarding, configuration, and testing. For AI employees it is $299–$499 per employee. For automations it varies by complexity. For portals and private AI, setup is included in the project quote.

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