AI Agents Overview
Dental Marketing Tool includes a built-in AI receptionist that can answer the phone, respond to text messages, and even schedule appointments, all without pulling your front desk away from the patients in front of them. This article walks you through what the AI can do and how it fits into your day-to-day workflow.
What the AI Receptionist Does
Your AI receptionist has two distinct channels it works through: voice (phone calls) and text (SMS, web chat, and Facebook messages). You can run one or both, depending on how your practice prefers to communicate.
- On the phone: The AI answers calls when your team is with a patient, when the office is closed, or whenever you want a live backup. It greets callers in a natural, conversational way, answers common questions about hours, services, and location, and can book appointments directly on your calendar.
- In text and chat: The AI replies to incoming texts and web chat messages automatically. It handles routine questions and can also book appointments, collect patient information, and let the caller know when someone from your team will follow up.
How It Fits Your Front Desk
The AI is not a replacement for your team. Think of it as a first line of coverage that handles repetitive, routine questions so your front desk can focus on the patient who is standing right in front of them.
When a conversation needs a human touch, the AI hands off to your staff. You set the rules for when that happens: during office hours, after a certain number of exchanges, or when a caller specifically asks to speak with someone. You can configure those handoff rules under Business Hours and Handing Off to Staff.
What the AI Knows (and How It Learns)
Out of the box, the AI knows the basics you enter into your practice profile. The more detail you give it, the better it performs. You can add your specific services, pricing ranges, insurance notes, office policies, and frequently asked questions. The AI pulls from that knowledge every time it talks with a patient.
Head to Training Your AI on Your Practice to see how to feed it the right information, and visit Adding FAQs and Knowledge to build out a library of common questions and answers your patients actually ask.
Booking Appointments Through the AI
The AI can check your calendar in real time and offer available times to a caller or texter. When the patient picks a slot, it books the appointment automatically and adds it to your schedule, just like a staff member would. No phone tag, no follow-up text needed.
You control exactly which appointment types and calendar slots the AI is allowed to book. For the full setup walkthrough, see Letting AI Book Appointments.
Reviewing What the AI Said
Every conversation the AI handles is saved and viewable in your dashboard. You can read through the transcript, see how the AI responded, and jump in to take over if needed. Your team should spot-check AI conversations regularly, especially in the first few weeks, to make sure the answers match your practice's voice and policies.
See Reviewing AI Conversations for a step-by-step walkthrough of the review screen.
Where to Go Next
Once you have a feel for what the AI can do, the best place to start is The Voice AI Receptionist if you want to handle phone calls, or The Text and Chat AI Agent if text is your priority. Either article walks you through setup from start to finish.