Hiring an AI Agent for Solar Energy: Complete 2026 Checklist
Before hiring, check that the AI understands roofs and electric bills, books a technical visit on your real calendar and says so when it does not know the answer. The most expensive mistake is signing without testing these three things with a really hard question.
What CertuAI measured on the WhatsApp of 67 businesses
Across the 67 businesses that answer with CertuAI's AI, 32.5% of the 122,720 customer messages arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (July 30 to September 30, 2026). Half of the AI's replies went out within 11.7 seconds, and 9 in 10 within 20.7 seconds (38,908 replies). 34.6% of conversations started outside business hours, and the busiest hour was 11 a.m.
| What was measured | Result | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customer messages outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 32,5% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Weekend messages | 15,8% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Conversations that start outside business hours | 34,6% | 19,900 conversations |
| Time until the AI replies (half of the replies) | within 11.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Time until the AI replies (9 in 10 replies) | within 20.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Hour of the day with the most customer messages | 11h | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
Source: CertuAI's customer service base, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person; no imported history, no test contacts, and without CertuAI's own sales service. July 30 to September 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. PAOM Energia Solar, a solar energy company, already uses CertuAI to answer customers on WhatsApp. Method and table by industry in the CertuAI WhatsApp Customer Service Index and at certu.com.br/dados.
Named customers, Jul 30 to Oct 10, 2026
| Customer | Customer messages | AI replies | Conversations handled | Outside business hours | AI replies in (median) | Days with messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Gás Água e Rações gas and water distributor | 42.832 | 23.351 | 6.479 | 33,6% | 9,8 s | 70 |
| CEMIP medical clinic | 12.472 | 6.484 | 2.436 | 18,7% | 11,4 s | 37 |
| Nikiti Auto Center auto center | 4.912 | 3.548 | 900 | 19,5% | 14,4 s | 47 |
| Imobiliária Rodrigues & Ribeiro real estate agency | 6.090 | 2.759 | 823 | 33,2% | 18,4 s | 34 |
| Alpha RH human resources | 3.082 | 1.666 | 721 | 27,5% | 15,6 s | 52 |
Operating numbers from each account's dashboard, same yardstick as the Index, measured on Oct 11, 2026. Published with each owner's permission. Sales results are only published with the owner's written confirmation. Full list at certu.com.br/casos.
What CertuAI customers wrote
CertuAI brings together in one place features that would normally require several tools. Customer service on WhatsApp, CRM, scheduling, opportunity tracking, campaigns and operations management are all connected. Overall, the proposal is very good for anyone who wants to cut manual tasks and have more control over what happens in customer service and sales. [...]
Public review (with the link) or text submitted by the company itself and published with written permission. The rating only appears when the source has a rating.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
Bernardo Villela · CEO, CertuAI
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Summary in 7 facts
- Before hiring, check that the AI understands roofs and electric bills, books a technical visit on your real calendar and says so when it does not know the answer.
- The most expensive mistake is signing without testing these three things with a really hard question.
- Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp?
- A solar energy lead costs a lot to reach you, usually through paid ads.
- If the AI that serves that prospect only sends generic answers, the ad money was thrown away.
- Test 1: a hard technical question Send a real question, such as a two-slope roof partly shaded by a tree.
- It does not size the solar system like an engineer, does not connect on its own to the design system your team uses to draw up the installation, and does not replace the final technical visit before closing the deal.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 24 hours | Test 3: disappearing for a day Stop replying for 24 hours after starting the conversation. |
| US$ 75 per month | The Start plan costs US$ 75 per month, answers up to 1,600 messages and includes 5 people on the team. |
| R$ 599 | Pro costs US$ 120 per month and Max costs US$ 249 per month. |
| 2 times | The AI reaches out again on its own to people who went quiet, up to 2 times every 24 hours, and you connect the WhatsApp number the company already uses. |
Why does this matter so much when hiring?
A solar energy lead costs a lot to reach you, usually through paid ads. If the AI that serves that prospect only sends generic answers, the ad money was thrown away.
Solar energy is not a simple product sale. There is the roof, there is the electric bill, there are questions about financing and about energy consortiums. An AI built for a pizzeria does not work here without adjustments.
The bigger risk is not the AI being slow. It is the AI pretending it can calculate the size of the plant, or promising a visit at a time that is already taken. That burns your credibility before your technical salesperson even enters the conversation.
Complete checklist of what to check
- Asks the roof type (ceramic, fiber cement, slab) before talking about quotes
- Asks the prospect's average electric bill
- Tells an own solar plant apart from an energy consortium, without mixing the two
- Books a technical visit on your real calendar, instead of just saying "someone will call"
- Says so when the question goes beyond what it knows, instead of guessing a number
- Reaches out again on its own to people who went quiet, without losing what was already said
- Works on the WhatsApp number the company already uses
- Shows where the contact came from: ad, referral or website
How do you test before signing?
Test 1: a hard technical question
Send a real question, such as a two-slope roof partly shaded by a tree. See whether the AI admits this needs a technical visit, instead of giving a loose number.
Test 2: calendar conflict
Ask it to book a visit at a time you already blocked on purpose. A good AI notices the clash and offers another time, without pretending it worked.
Test 3: disappearing for a day
Stop replying for 24 hours after starting the conversation. See whether it reaches out again on its own with context, or starts from zero as if you had never talked.
What needs to be in the contract?
First, make clear what the AI does not do. It does not size the solar system like an engineer, does not connect on its own to the design system your team uses to draw up the installation, and does not replace the final technical visit before closing the deal.
Second, check the plan's message limit and what happens when it runs out in the middle of the month. Third, see whether there is a minimum contract term and whether there is a separate charge to put the AI live.
| Point | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Message limit per month | Defines whether the plan can handle the volume of ads you run |
| Minimum contract term | Locks you in or not if results do not show up |
| Setup fee | A hidden charge in the first month is common in the industry |
| What the AI does not do | Keeps the salesperson from promising a technical calculation it does not deliver |
To see what the AI would cost in your business, see how much it costs to put AI in place.
How do you put it live step by step?
Step 1: connect the WhatsApp number
Use the number the company already serves customers on today. You do not need to change numbers or tell old customers.
Step 2: set up the qualification questions
Roof, electric bill, city and whether it is a home or a business. This keeps the AI from booking a visit for someone who does not even know their own consumption.
Step 3: test with your technical team
Ask the engineer or technical salesperson to simulate three hard conversations before opening it to the public.
Step 4: follow the first real conversations
In the first weeks, read the real conversations. That is where the question nobody thought to set up shows up.
What are the most common scams and traps?
The most common is selling a generic chatbot as if it were made for solar energy, with no real question about roofs or electric bills set up.
- A long minimum contract term hidden in the fine print
- A setup fee charged only after signing
- A promise that the AI "closes the sale on its own", with no technical visit at all
- Per-message charges without explaining what counts as a message
- A demo done with easy questions, never with the hard case of your real roof
How CertuAI can help
You can start on the Free plan, with no time limit: the AI gives up to 100 replies a month on WhatsApp and the customer notebook comes along, with each conversation turning into a contact and a task on its own.
The Start plan costs US$ 75 per month, answers up to 1,600 messages and includes 5 people on the team. Pro costs US$ 120 per month and Max costs US$ 249 per month. The AI reaches out again on its own to people who went quiet, up to 2 times every 24 hours, and you connect the WhatsApp number the company already uses. There is no minimum contract term and no setup fee.
Read also
- comparison of customer service for solar energy leads
- whether AI for solar energy is worth it
- how AI helps from the lead to the technical visit
- general checklist for hiring customer service AI
Frequently asked questions
- Can the AI calculate the size of the solar system?
- No. It qualifies the roof and the electric bill and hands the case to the engineer or technical salesperson to do the calculation.
- Do I need to change my WhatsApp number to use the AI?
- No. The AI connects to the number the company already uses to serve customers.
- Does the AI replace the technical visit before closing the sale?
- No. It books the visit on the calendar, but the final decision on feasibility still depends on whoever goes up to the roof.
- What should I do if the AI cannot answer a technical question?
- It should say it does not know and hand off to a human, instead of guessing a quote figure.
Keep reading
In short
Before hiring, check that the AI understands roofs and electric bills, books a technical visit on your real calendar and says so when it does not know the answer. The most expensive mistake is signing without testing these three things with a really hard question.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
