The first text
It says up front that it's our automated hiring assistant with a few quick questions before the GM meets them in person, then asks where they're based. Before it said so, people kept asking "are you an AI?". Once it does, they don't mind.
Topics, in order
The AI words each one and reacts to the last answer.
- Where they live vs. where the vans park
- Driver's license
- The schedule (ours is Monday to Friday, 8:30am to around 6pm)
- Authorized to work in the US, with no questions about documents or visas
- Hands-on experience: cleaning, painting, landscaping, detailing, customer-facing work
- How they'd handle a customer changing plans mid-job
- Open to a 6-week trial
One question goes out word for word
"Quick one, do you have a valid driver's license? Our crews drive company vans to job sites, so this is a hard requirement."
Same wording every time, so we can search transcripts for who confirmed it.
Rules the AI follows
- One question at a time, 1 to 3 sentences
- Follow up only if they dodged the question
- No health or disability questions
- Never promise the job, a start date or training
- Pay, benefits and addresses go to the GM
- Never reject anyone. Flag concerns for the GM instead
- End when every topic is covered, or after 9 replies
Knockouts are plain rules, not AI
- The application form has a required license checkbox. Left blank, it won't submit.
- No license on file means a score of 20 and a knockout flag, with no AI involved.
Scoring
- Each reply gets a 1 to 3 quality score plus any red flags.
- At the end the AI scores friendliness, hustle and quality from 1 to 3, lists red flags and knockouts, and writes a short summary.
- The GM gets that with the full transcript and decides who to call.
Follow-up, checked daily
- No reply 48 hours after our last text gets one nudge: "Hey [name], just checking in, still interested in the [company] gig? No worries either way, just let us know 👍"
- Still nothing 48 hours later, they're marked ghosted and the GM gets a note.
How a screen ends
A wrap-up text says the GM will reach out by the next business day to set up an in-person meeting. In practice the GM can text back from the same line right away, and a good applicant from 8pm can be in an interview the next morning.
Referral bonuses get flagged for payroll once the hire passes 90 days.
Set it up yourself
You need a texting tool with automation (we use Quo), an LLM given this list plus your van spots and schedule, plain rules for the knockouts, and a daily check for the 48-hour timers. No code needed.
To see the whole flow running, watch the 3.5-minute walkthrough.
Try it yourself
(845) 303-2097
Text the hiring line and you'll get the screener. It's a live hiring line, so a person will see your replies.
If you're setting this up and get stuck, email me and I'm happy to compare notes. More on how I work at kopczynski.us.