An AI assistant that can call local businesses to find prices and availability could be coming to the Eastern Bay within weeks.

Sorted AI founder Mustafa Demirsoy, based in Tauranga, is preparing to expand his service into the region after launching in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa.

The service uses an AI assistant called Tia to contact local businesses on behalf of customers, asking about availability, pricing and other information.

Demirsoy said the idea came after he needed an urgent plumber while helping at his father’s kebab shop.

He found himself searching Google and calling businesses one by one while also trying to serve customers.

“I went through like 10, maybe 20 and still took quite a while,” he said.

A conversation with his sister, who had also spent time waiting on calls to make appointments such as dentist bookings, prompted him to develop the idea further.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are having similar trouble,” he said.

“They’re wasting their hours on a call trying to find out who’s available or even getting prices.”

Demirsoy said Tia could be particularly useful for busy people who could arrange calls to be made while they were working or during the night for the following day.

Customers can choose businesses themselves or allow the AI to select businesses in their area.

Tia then calls the businesses and asks for information such as price and availability.

If a business does not answer, the system can move on to another business. It can also work through automated phone menus.

Responses are sent back to the customer by email, with booking information able to be added to a calendar through the dashboard.

Demirsoy said about 90 percent of the tradespeople he contacted while testing the concept responded naturally to the AI assistant.

“They told their price and said, yes, we are available,” he said.

The service is currently aimed at customers rather than businesses, with the first call free to try.

After that, users pay as they go using credits, with no subscription required.

Demirsoy said he wanted people to become familiar with the core concept before expanding the service with features specifically for tradespeople and other industries.

He said the system was already technically ready to operate throughout New Zealand, with the next step being promoting it in individual areas.

He expects the Eastern Bay service to launch within the next couple of weeks.

“My target audience is the whole of New Zealand,” he said.

Demirsoy said feedback to his recent posts in Eastern Bay community Facebook groups had been mixed, with some people seeing the potential for the service to save them time while others questioned the increasing use of AI.

He said building trust around the technology would take time.

“People will take time to build that trust because it’s absolutely something new,” he said.

Demirsoy said information used by Tia was sourced from Google and, where necessary, business websites to find phone numbers and other details.

He said calls were kept simple, focusing on availability, price and general information needed to make a booking.

As a cybersecurity professional, he said information was encrypted and kept securely within the system.

Demirsoy has a background in creative agency and marketing work, as well as AI engineering and cybersecurity.

For more information, visit Sorted AI at sortedai.co.nz.