Towbook AI Phone Integration: Instant Tow Dispatch 2026

Emergency Tow Calls Can't Wait

It's 2 AM. Someone's stranded on the highway with a dead battery. They call your towing company. Your phone rings and rings—no answer. They call the next towing service. You just lost a $150 emergency call.

Towing companies operate 24/7, but answering phones at all hours is hard. Miss one emergency call, and a customer books with a competitor. In our analysis of 13,175 calls from service businesses, 6.2% were true emergencies requiring immediate response.

For towing companies, that percentage is even higher. Almost every call is urgent—dead battery, flat tire, accident, or breakdown. These aren't "call me back tomorrow" situations.

When you integrate NextPhone with Towbook dispatch software, emergency calls automatically create dispatch jobs. The AI answers, collects vehicle info and location, and creates the job in Towbook—all while the customer is on the phone.

Why Integrate Your Phone System with Towbook

Towing is a speed business. First company to arrive gets the job. Manual dispatch slows you down.

Speed Matters for Roadside Emergencies

Traditional process:

Phone rings — You answer (or miss it)
Write down location, vehicle type, problem on paper or notepad
Hang up, open Towbook
Manually enter job details
Assign driver
Call customer back with ETA

Time elapsed: 5-10 minutes if you're fast.

With integration:

Call comes in — AI answers instantly
AI collects location, vehicle info, problem
Job created in Towbook automatically
You assign driver (or AI assigns based on proximity)
Customer gets ETA via SMS

Time elapsed: 60 seconds.

That time difference matters when customers are stranded and stressed.

24/7 Coverage Without Hiring Night Staff

Running a 24/7 towing operation means someone needs to answer phones overnight. That's expensive—night shift dispatchers cost $15-20/hour plus benefits.

NextPhone handles calls around the clock. Midnight breakdown? 4 AM flat tire? AI answers, creates the Towbook job, and alerts your on-call driver via SMS or phone call.

You still need drivers 24/7. But you don't need human dispatchers.

Accurate Location Data

When customers call stressed from the side of the road, getting accurate location info is hard. "I'm on I-95...I think near exit 42? Or maybe 43? There's a gas station nearby."

NextPhone's AI can:

Ask clarifying questions ("What's the nearest cross street or mile marker?")
Request GPS coordinates if caller has a smartphone
Verify address ("Let me repeat that back—1234 Highway 95 North, correct?")

Accurate location data = faster dispatch = happier customers.

How NextPhone + Towbook Integration Works

Towbook has an API for creating jobs programmatically. NextPhone sends call data directly to that API.

The Integration Flow

Emergency call comes in — NextPhone AI answers
AI asks: "What's your location?" "What type of vehicle?" "What's the problem?"
Caller provides: "I'm at mile marker 47 on I-95 South, 2018 Honda Accord, flat tire"
Call ends (or during call if configured for real-time)
Webhook fires — POST request to Towbook API
Job created in Towbook with:
- Customer name and phone
- Vehicle year, make, model
- Location (address or GPS)
- Problem description (flat tire, dead battery, accident tow)
- Timestamp
Dispatcher assigns driver or auto-assigns based on proximity
Driver gets job notification
Customer gets SMS: "Tow truck en route, ETA 18 minutes"

Total time from call end to job in system: Under 10 seconds.

What Data Gets Synced

Customer info:
Name
Phone number
Location (address, GPS coordinates, mile marker)
Vehicle info:
Year, make, model
Color (helpful for finding vehicle on roadside)
License plate (if provided)
VIN (for insurance tows)
Job details:
Service type (flat tire, battery jump, accident tow, fuel delivery)
Urgency level (emergency vs scheduled)
Special requests (need flatbed, tow to specific shop)

All this data maps to Towbook fields, so the job is complete when it hits your dispatch system.

Setup Guide: Connect NextPhone to Towbook

Step 1: Get Towbook API Access

Log into Towbook — Settings — API. If you don't see API access, contact Towbook support to enable it for your account.

Generate an API key and copy it.

Step 2: Configure NextPhone Webhook

In NextPhone dashboard — Integrations — HTTP Webhooks — Add New.

Settings:
Name: "Towbook Job Creation"
Trigger: "After call ends" or "During call when location confirmed"
Method: POST
URL: https://api.towbook.com/v1/jobs

Headers:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOWBOOK_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

Body Template:

{
  "customer": {
    "name": "[caller_name]",
    "phone": "[caller_number]"
  },
  "vehicle": {
    "year": "[vehicle_year]",
    "make": "[vehicle_make]",
    "model": "[vehicle_model]",
    "color": "[vehicle_color]"
  },
  "location": {
    "address": "[location]",
    "gps_coordinates": "[gps]"
  },
  "service_type": "[service_type]",
  "problem_description": "[problem]",
  "urgency": "emergency"
}

AI Configuration: Tell NextPhone's AI to collect:

"What's your exact location?"
"What year, make, and model is your vehicle?"
"What color is it?"
"What's the problem—flat tire, dead battery, or something else?"

Save and activate.

Step 3: Test the Integration

Make a test call. Provide sample info:

Location: "Mile marker 23 on Highway 101 North"
Vehicle: "2020 Toyota Camry, silver"
Problem: "Flat tire"

Check Towbook. A new job should appear within 10 seconds with all the details.

If it works, you're live. Every emergency call now creates a dispatch job automatically.

Use Cases for Different Tow Types

Emergency Roadside Service

Scenario: Dead battery, flat tire, lockout—non-accident emergencies.

Workflow:
Caller: "I have a flat tire on I-95"
AI collects location, vehicle info
Creates job in Towbook tagged "roadside_service"
Assigns nearest available driver
Customer gets ETA via SMS

Benefit: Fast response = higher customer satisfaction = more 5-star reviews.

Accident Tows

Scenario: Vehicle damaged in accident, needs tow to body shop or impound.

Workflow:
Caller (or police) reports accident
AI collects accident location, vehicle damage details
Asks: "Where should we tow the vehicle—body shop or your home?"
Creates job with destination address
Driver dispatched with flatbed if needed

Benefit: Accurate destination info from the start = no confusion, no wasted trips.

Scheduled Tows (Non-Emergency)

Scenario: Customer needs junk car towed next week.

Workflow:
Caller: "I have an old car I want towed for scrap"
AI asks: "When would you like us to come?"
Caller: "Next Tuesday afternoon"
Creates scheduled job in Towbook for Tuesday
Reminder sent to dispatcher Monday evening

Benefit: Capture non-emergency tows without cluttering your immediate dispatch queue.

Benefits of Towbook + Phone Integration

Faster Dispatch

Manual job entry takes 3-5 minutes. Automated job creation takes 10 seconds. That's 2-4 minutes faster per call.

For a towing company handling 20 emergency calls per day, that's 40-80 minutes saved daily = 5-10 hours per week = 260-520 hours per year.

That's time your dispatchers can spend coordinating drivers, handling complex situations, or taking more calls.

No Missed Emergency Calls

Towing companies that miss calls lose jobs. Period. The stranded driver calls the next towing service on Google.

NextPhone answers every call in under 5 seconds, 24/7. Emergency at 3 AM? Handled. Multiple calls coming in at once? All answered simultaneously.

Result: Zero missed calls = more jobs = more revenue.

Accurate Job Details

When dispatchers are rushing to create jobs, mistakes happen. Wrong address, wrong vehicle type, missing customer phone number.

AI-collected data is accurate because:

AI repeats info back for confirmation ("You said mile marker 47 on I-95 South, correct?")
Data flows directly into Towbook (no re-typing errors)
Required fields are enforced (AI won't create job without location)

Fewer errors = fewer callbacks, less wasted time, happier customers.

Better Customer Experience

Stranded customers are stressed. Long hold times make it worse.

Instant answer + clear ETA + SMS updates = professional experience. That drives reviews and repeat business (when they need a tow in the future).

How NextPhone Makes This Easy

No-Code Integration

NextPhone's webhook builder doesn't require programming. Fill out form fields, test it, activate it.

Most towing companies aren't running IT departments. You need integrations that work without hiring developers.

24/7 Call Handling

NextPhone's AI answers calls around the clock. No night shift dispatcher needed.

At $199/month for unlimited calls, that's cheaper than one night shift dispatcher for a single week.

Multi-Call Support

During busy times (accidents, bad weather), calls pile up. NextPhone handles multiple calls simultaneously.

Traditional dispatch: One person on phone = other callers hear busy signal. NextPhone: Handles 10+ calls at once = no busy signals, no lost jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work with Towbook's mobile app?

Yes. Jobs created via API appear in Towbook's web dashboard and mobile app simultaneously. Drivers using the mobile app see new jobs instantly.

Can I prioritize emergency calls over scheduled tows?

Yes. Configure the webhook to set urgency level based on call type. Emergency calls can auto-assign to nearest driver while scheduled tows go to a "future jobs" queue for manual assignment.

What if a caller doesn't know their exact location?

NextPhone's AI can guide them:

"What's the nearest exit or mile marker?"
"Can you see any landmarks—gas stations, restaurants?"
"If you have a smartphone, can you share your GPS location?"

In worst case, AI creates job with "approximate location" tag and dispatcher calls customer back for clarification.

How much does this cost?

NextPhone: $199/month unlimited calls. Towbook: Pricing varies (contact Towbook for current rates).

No additional integration fees. No per-call charges.

Start Dispatching from Phone Calls

Towing is a speed business. Every minute counts when customers are stranded. Manual dispatch slows you down and creates errors.

Connect NextPhone to Towbook, and emergency calls automatically become dispatch jobs. Faster response, accurate data, no missed calls.

Setup takes 15 minutes. Every call after that creates a job in Towbook within seconds.

Towbook + NextPhone: Towing Dispatch Integration