Getting Started

Set up your FrontDesk AI receptionist from scratch — the first 30 minutes.

• What is FrontDesk?FrontDesk is an AI-powered receptionist that answers your phone, books appointments, sends SMS reminders, and follows up with patients — 24/7. It replaces or augments your front-desk staff with a friendly AI voice that speaks naturally, knows your services, and integrates with your calendar. Practices use FrontDesk to stop missing calls after hours, reduce no-shows, and free their team from repetitive scheduling work.
  2 min
• Quickstart — your first 30 minutes with FrontDeskAfter signing up, you'll create a practice, pick a phone number, choose your AI's voice and greeting, set business hours, and place a test call. Most teams are live in under 30 minutes.
  3 min
• Your first test call — what to expectOnce your number is purchased and your voice is picked, the Setup Assistant opens a live test-call panel. Call your FrontDesk number from your cell phone, try booking an appointment or asking a question, and watch the transcript scroll in real time. Most surprises in week one come from greeting wording or business-hours gaps — both fixable in under a minute.
  2 min
• Your home dashboardHome is the first screen you land on. It opens with what needs attention right now — things like unread messages, overdue balances, unconfirmed appointments for tomorrow, patients due for recall, and setup steps — each dismissible once handled. Below that you get today's schedule with open slots you can book into, tomorrow's confirmation counts, your latest unread messages, and a quick summary of calls your AI handled. It's designed so you can glance once and know exactly what to do next.
  1 min
• Use the in-app Setup AssistantFrontDesk has a built-in assistant (the floating orb) that can answer "how do I…" questions and actually make changes for you — buy a phone number, change your greeting, set hours, add a service, send a test text, book a test appointment, and more. Talk to it out loud or type. Every change is previewed first and you approve it, and anything reversible can be undone. Personalize its name, color, and memory under Settings → Account → Assistant.
  3 min
• Complete the onboarding wizardAfter signup you're routed to a 5-step wizard — practice info, business hours, services, AI voice, and a test call. Each step autosaves, you can skip and come back, and your AI starts answering as soon as you finish.
  1 min
• Your first week with FrontDeskThe Dashboard's Getting Started checklist walks you through four tasks — connect a phone number, configure the AI, run a test call, and invite your team. Healthcare orgs get one extra task to sign their BAA. Most practices finish in under an hour.
  1 min
• Glossary of phone, SMS, and AI termsA reference card for the alphabet soup of telecom and healthcare compliance — A2P, BAA, CNAM, DID, FOC, PHI, STIR/SHAKEN, and more. Bookmark this page.
  3 min
• Connect Practice Fusion (EHR)FrontDesk connects to Practice Fusion through its certified FHIR API to securely sync your patient directory (names and phone numbers) so the AI greets returning callers by name. It is read-only and one-way — FrontDesk never changes anything in Practice Fusion and does not read or write your Practice Fusion appointment calendar. Connect it from Settings → Integrations → Practice Fusion.
  1 min