Eleven questions to ask any AI receptionist vendor
Including the four that most vendors cannot answer without changing the subject.
The category is new enough that the demos all look the same and the differences only surface in month two. These are the questions that separate them, in the order we would ask.
1. Does it write the appointment into my practice management system, or does it send me a message? This is the whole ballgame. Ask for a screen recording of an appointment appearing in a real schedule, not a slide.
2. Which systems, and at what depth? 'Integrates with Open Dental' can mean read-only availability, or it can mean patient creation plus writes. Ask specifically whether it can create a new patient.
3. What happens when the write fails? Every integration fails sometimes. The question is whether the caller is told, or whether they hang up believing they have an appointment that does not exist.
4. What does it do with a genuine emergency? Ask them to walk you through swelling with a fever at 11 PM. If the answer involves offering the next available appointment, keep looking.
5. Does it announce itself as AI, and can that be turned off? If it can be turned off, that is a liability sitting in your settings page.
6. Where does the call recording live, for how long, and who can listen to it? Ask for the retention default and whether you can change it.
7. Will you sign a BAA, and can I read it before I buy? A vendor that will not show you the BAA in advance is telling you something.
8. Who are your subprocessors? Anyone handling PHI has a list. If they will not publish it, ask why.
9. What is the total monthly bill for a practice like mine, including numbers, minutes, SMS and registration fees? Get it in writing, with the overage rate.
10. What is the contract length and what happens to my number if I leave? Month-to-month should be the default in this category.
11. Can I hear a real call it handled badly? The answer to this one tells you more about the company than the other ten combined.