How to avoid the technician's wasted trip?

Algar started confirming technical visits on WhatsApp before sending the crew out, with the assistants Lina and Manu integrated into TAOS, according to a presentation by Enock Cabral at Conecta Latam 2026. Before, it notified only a sample of visits, and the response was 5% of the total. Now it notifies all of them, tries up to three contacts, and the response has reached 68%. Wasted visits fell 30%.

Every company that goes to the customer knows this math: fuel, crew hours and a customer annoyed at the wait. A Solvares survey of 10 field service operators in the United Kingdom, dated 12 Feb 2026, puts it at 48.14 pounds per unplanned return visit. With automatic triage, Algar had already avoided 30,000 dispatches in seven months.

The start is simple. Pull the week's visits from the schedule, send the confirmation on WhatsApp with the option to reschedule and send the answer straight back to whoever builds the route. Whoever doesn't answer gets a new attempt at another contact. The planner only has to handle the exceptions.

The math closes quickly. Algar invested R$ 120,000 in the assistant that supports technicians on the visit and saves R$ 63,000 a month, a payback in two months. The numbers are Algar's own, with no independent audit. How many of your team's visits ended at a closed door last month?

Sources

Inforchannel, 22 Oct 2026. https://inforchannel.com.br/2026/10/22/algar-amplia-ia-no-atendimento-e-retem-83-dos-acionamentos-digitais/

Teletime, 22 Oct 2026. https://teletime.com.br/22/10/2026/algar-ia-atendimento-visitas-tecnicas/

Algar, Enock Cabral. https://telxp.cabase.org.ar/notas/files/26-conecta-latam/Enock%20Cabral.pdf

Teletime, 11 Dec 2025. https://teletime.com.br/11/12/2025/algar-economiza-r-4-milhoes-com-ia-para-otimizacao-de-visitas-tecnicas/

Solvares Field Service, 12 Feb 2026. https://solvares-fieldservice.com/en/field-service-research-reveal-complete-more-jobs-per-day/