Reply to new Thumbtack leads with an AI agent

1. Open the Thumbtack Pro app, tap Jobs and check the For you tab, where leads that contacted you directly carry labels such as New, Exact match, Smart Match, Paid and Only picked you.
2. Tap a lead and View details to read the customer's answers, then tap Reply; Thumbtack pre-fills an AI draft built from the request, which you send as it is or edit first.
3. Swap the draft for one of your saved quick replies or add attachments, then tap Send; the conversation then moves to the Messages tab.
4. For a job you will not take, select Can't do it so the customer is not left waiting, because Thumbtack counts acting on every lead toward your response time.
5. Matching leads are already charged when they arrive, and the open, read, edit, send loop repeats lead by lead from a phone, often hours after the customer wrote.

Every weekday at 7:00 and 12:00, reply to new Thumbtack leads for bathroom and kitchen remodels. Mention their start date, ask for photos of the room, and hold anything outside my services for me.

1. 01

   Pick up only what is new

   The agent calls list_leads with since set to the previous run and unreplied_only on. A lead you already answered from your phone at 6:50 is left alone, so no customer gets two first messages.

2. 02

   Read the request before writing

   get_lead gives the customer's answers. The agent checks the service, town and start date against the work you told it you take. A roof repair sent to a remodeler, or a town beyond your area, goes on a hold list for you, since tapping Can't do it stays a manual step in Thumbtack.

3. 03

   Write to this customer, not to everyone

   The reply names the job, repeats the timing the customer chose and asks the one question still open: photos of the room, rough square footage, or whether materials are already bought. It quotes no firm price before photos unless your prompt sets price ranges it may use.

4. 04

   Send with your OK, or on its own

   reply_to_lead goes out after you approve the batch. Once you trust the wording, switch confirmation off for that tool and the 7:00 run answers before your first job starts. A price sheet or insurance certificate you keep online can be attached by URL.

5. 05

   Report what is left for you

   The run ends with who got a reply, what each was asked, and which leads wait on you to decline or call. Follow-ups after the first message belong to the conversation in Messages, not to this run.

4 new leads since 7:00. 3 replies sent after your OK.
Dana R., Kitchen Remodel, Austin: asked for photos of the cabinets; she wants to start within 2 weeks.
Luis M., Bathroom Remodel, Round Rock: replied with your price sheet attached.
Kim T., Bathroom Remodel, Pflugerville: asked whether the tile is already bought.
Held for you: Omar B., Roof Repair, Austin. Roofing is not one of your services; tap Can't do it in Jobs.

• Thumbtack counts how consistently and how fast you accept and respond to new leads toward your rank in its search results.
• Thumbtack's "three best matches" section at the top of customer search results requires at least a 4.5-star rating, three reviews and an average response to new customers of four hours or less.
• Thumbtack charges a lead automatically when the customer reaches out and the job matches your job preferences, at the price you set under Services > Manage lead prices.
• Thumbtack quick replies are capped at 100 saved messages, each under 500 characters, and a sent message can be saved as a template by tapping and holding it in the app.
• The AI draft toggle in the top right of Thumbtack's reply screen applies to all your leads until you switch it back.

reply_to_lead asks for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: Thumbtack Help: How to respond to leads · Thumbtack Help: How to improve my rank in search results · Thumbtack Help: How to use quick replies · Thumbtack Help: How to create a webhook

curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/thumbtack/reply_to_lead \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"lead_id":"519153480500518912","body":"Hi Dana, thanks for reaching out about your kitchen remodel. Starting within 2 weeks works on my side. Could you send a few photos of the cabinets and the wall you want opened?"}'

{
  "lead_id": "519153480500518912",
  "message_id": "msg_7f3a91c2",
  "status": "sent",
  "sent_at": "2026-10-11T09:14:00-05:00"
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is thumbtack_reply_to_lead. Example data.

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