Get their template
Made and published by Brian Roemmele. Start here; it is their original, not ours.
Template · by Brian RoemmeleGrok Bot Text & Voicemail, Brian's Grok Bot templateIts public page describes an inbound front desk: it reads the texts and voicemails your Google Voice number forwards to Gmail, sorts them by intent and urgency, drafts replies for your approval, and books appointments on a calendar just for the bot. Free, per his post.Open it ↗Template · by Brian RoemmeleGrok Bot Command Line, his companion templateRun your own Grok Bots by text or voicemail from any phone through a free Google Voice number. It listens only to your own cell. Posted Oct 27: https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/2115269980086571190Open ↗
What they did
- A plumber friend told Brian Roemmele he wished Grok Bot could answer his Google Voice voicemail and texts. Brian set it up, and says it has been working for him for the past week.
- In Brian's words: "He has had 100 calls and in those calls Grok Bot scheduled appointments, sent texts and emails and handled 18 emergencies."
- The saving, as Brian puts it: the plumber was spending $500 a month on a message service that kept losing messages.
- In a follow-up post the same day, Brian says the plumber uses it to save over an hour per day, and it sets up appointments in his iPhone Calendar.
- The setup is Brian's Text & Voicemail template, launched the same day. Texts and voicemails go to a separate Google Voice number, which he calls a stand-in until Grok Bot gets its own numbers. Google Voice forwards them to Gmail, and the bot reads each one, works out what the person wants and how urgent it is, and gives you a short note with a reply ready. You tap yes and it goes out as a text from your business number.
- Real customers go to the top, spam goes to trash, and urgent messages are flagged right away. His contractor example turns a rambling job-site voicemail into "Leak under kitchen sink, wants a quote, call back today."
- For booking, it looks privately at all your calendars (work, family, kids), offers only open times that fit your rules (hours, appointment length, buffer), and puts confirmed bookings on a separate color-coded calendar just for the bot. "Every reply waits for your OK," he writes.
- Heads-up: this is secondhand. It's Brian describing an unnamed plumber friend after one week, and Brian built the template he's promoting. The post doesn't say whether the plumber has cancelled the $500/mo service or what Grok Bot costs him, and "sent texts and emails" sits oddly with the template's approve-every-reply rule. We couldn't verify the plumber independently.
“Every reply waits for your OK.”— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele), X
Summary written by Agent Cookbook. The amount is quoted as the creator stated it in their own public post or interview; we link it but can't see their accounts. See the original for full context. How we verify
Our notes
- What it takes
- Grok Bot, Brian Roemmele's free Text & Voicemail template, a separate Google Voice number that forwards texts and voicemails to Gmail, and your calendars plus booking rules (hours, appointment length, buffer).
- Where it breaks
- Approving replies without reading them, bookings that clash with a calendar you didn't share, the text cap on your number, and Google Voice being a stand-in until Grok Bot has its own numbers. The $500/mo saving is Brian's account of a friend's first week.
- Human checkpoint
- Every reply waits for your tap before it goes out as a text from your business number. Bookings wait too, unless you turn on auto-confirm.
- Tools involved
- Grok Bot, His Grok Bot Text & Voicemail template, A separate Google Voice number, Gmail (Google Voice forwards texts and voicemails there), Your calendars and booking rules
✓ Verified Source link checked and still live. Notes by Thomas, editor. How we verify
Approval rule
🛡
Every reply and every booking waits for your OK, unless you turn on auto-confirm for bookings. Texts are capped to keep your number in good standing. Sending, buying, posting, and deleting always need a human.
Set it up
- Get a separate Google Voice number for the business. Per Brian, it's a stand-in until Grok Bot gets its own numbers.
- Set Google Voice to forward that number's texts and voicemails to Gmail.
- Add his Text & Voicemail template from the link above.
- Give it your calendars (work, family, kids) and your booking rules: hours, appointment length and buffer.
- Keep auto-confirm off at first, so every booking waits for your tap.
- Read each note and its drafted reply, then tap yes to send it as a text from your business number.
Common failures
⚠
- Approving replies without reading them. Every reply waits for your OK, so the check is only as good as your read.
- Booking over family time because the bot can't see that calendar. It only offers open times from the calendars you give it.
- Hitting the text cap. Texts are capped to keep your number in good standing; you can raise it, but it's built for incoming messages, not blasting texts.
- Treating Google Voice as permanent. Brian calls it a stand-in until Grok Bot has its own numbers, so expect the setup to change.
- Counting on the plumber's numbers. They're Brian's account of a friend's first week, not a measured result.
Variations
- Turn on auto-confirm for bookings once you trust its picks; replies still wait for your OK.
- Add his Command Line companion template to run your own Grok Bots by text or voicemail from any phone. Per his post, it has three permission levels, and anything involving money, deleting or contacting someone new always waits for a tap in the app. Texts are capped at 20 a day, spaced 30 minutes apart.
- Other uses he lists: landlords (a maintenance emergency gets flagged urgent), contractors, barbers, therapists, tutors and Marketplace sellers.
Related setups: AI receptionist for tradespeople → · After-hours voice agent for a repair shop → · Voice agent that books survey visits → · AI receptionists across franchise locations →
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