Effiqo AI, a Bellevue, Washington-based company building AI voice agents for service businesses, announced that Antonio Akins has joined as Fractional Chief Technology Officer. Akins spent nearly 16 years at Salesforce, most recently as Senior Vice President of Engineering, and before that nearly 14 years at Microsoft, where he led quality for Bing Mobile and MSN Mobile. His appointment matters because it brings big-tech engineering discipline to a startup targeting an often-overlooked segment: small HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, and auto repair shops that lose revenue when they cannot answer the phone.
The company’s two AI agents, Elise and Xavier, are designed to address that pain directly. Elise answers calls around the clock, listens to what the caller needs, and books the job on the schedule, replacing voicemail with a consistent, friendly response. Xavier handles the “second shift” of office work by following up on open estimates and calling past customers to bring them back. If a caller asks for a person, either agent connects them to a human in the shop’s own office. The company says the goal is to give owners their time back while ensuring no good job slips away just because they were busy doing the work.
Akins framed the move as a natural extension of his career. “I have spent my career building software people can count on without having to think about it,” he said. “A small shop should get that same peace of mind.” As fractional CTO, he will oversee how Elise and Xavier are built, how customer details are kept safe, and what the agents improve on next—essentially ensuring they keep “answering right, booking right, following up right.”
The hire carries strategic weight beyond engineering. Effiqo is competing in a crowded field of AI receptionists and lead-follow-up tools, and credibility with small-business owners depends on reliability. By bringing in a leader who helped build software used by millions, Effiqo is signaling that its agents are not experimental toys but production-grade systems. Founder Barbara Saunders said Akins makes the team behind the agents stronger, adding that owners “did not start their shops to live on the phone.”
For the broader market, the appointment underscores a shift: AI agents are moving from novelty to core operations for service businesses. If Effiqo can deliver on its promise of consistent call handling and automated follow-up, it could change how small shops compete for jobs—and raise expectations for what affordable AI can do. More information is available at www.effiqo.ai.
