What should I ask before buying an AI receptionist for a cosmetic practice?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
Before buying an AI receptionist, a cosmetic practice should ask any provider seven things: how patient information is handled, whether it books into your calendar, what it says about price and clinical questions, how it hands off to a person, whether it admits to being an AI, how long the contract is, and what you can see afterwards.
What should you ask every provider?
Ask these of every provider, including us, and ask for the answers in writing. A provider who is sure of the answer will not mind putting it in an email.
- How is patient information handled, who can see it, and what agreements will you sign?
- Does it book into the calendar we use now, or into its own?
- What will it say when asked about price, financing or a clinical question?
- What happens when a caller asks for a person, or is upset?
- Does it say it is an AI when asked?
- How long is the contract, and how do we leave?
- Can we read every conversation it has had?
How do you test one before you sign?
Call it. Any provider worth considering has a number you can ring. Ask it the awkward questions your patients ask: what something costs, whether it hurts, whether you can speak to the surgeon. Interrupt it. Mumble. Then ask whether it is a real person. What it does in those moments is what your patients will get.
What are the warning signs?
Be wary of a provider who answers every question with yes. Privacy, software connections and what an AI may say to a patient are detailed matters, and an honest answer often starts with 'it depends on your set-up'. Be wary of quoted results from other practices that you cannot check, and of long contracts.
How does Margin answer these questions for a cosmetic practice?
Some we answer today. Mia says she is an AI when asked. She hands off when a caller asks for a person. Every call transcript and text thread is in your portal. Bookings land on the portal calendar and the office is told. Unless your agreement says otherwise, either side can end it with 30 days' notice.
Others are gone through for your practice on the audit, before anything is built: health privacy, what connects to your practice software, and what she says about price and financing. We would sooner tell you that plainly than answer yes to everything.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Mia, the AI receptionist, on every call
- Booking onto your calendar
- Your portal: every call, text and booking
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for cosmetic and elective medical practicesSee the portal with a sample businessThe Surgery Accelerator, for plastic surgeons
Related questions
Is an AI receptionist private enough for a cosmetic practice?
That depends on the provider and the agreements they will sign, so a cosmetic practice should ask directly and get the answer in writing before any patient call is handled. Margin goes through health privacy for each practice on the audit.
Does an AI receptionist work with cosmetic practice software?
It varies by provider and by the software. A cosmetic practice should name the exact system it uses and ask what connects and what does not. With Margin, that is looked at on the audit and you are told plainly.
How long does it take to set up an AI receptionist for a cosmetic practice?
With Margin, calls can go live within days of the kickoff call. Texting starts once phone carriers approve the cosmetic practice's texting number, which takes from a few days to a couple of weeks.