The top of the Voice tab controls how your AI sounds (the voice, How it answers and What it knows). The three cards below it control what it's allowed to do. Open Receptionist → AI Voice, stay on the Voice tab, and scroll down. Changes are saved when you click Save Changes in the bar at the bottom of the page (Discard undoes them); on a phone the button is Save changes.
What it can do
The card header counts how many of these are on.
| Switch | What it does when on | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Book appointments | Checks your live availability, offers times, and books the appointment on your calendar; the caller gets a text confirmation once texting is set up. | On |
| Transfer instead of booking | When a caller wants to schedule, connects them to a person instead of booking. | Off |
| Reschedule | Finds the caller's appointment and moves it. | On |
| Cancel | Cancels an appointment when the caller asks. | On |
| Quote prices | Tells callers the price of a service, using only the prices you have set on your services; it never guesses. | Off |
| Send refill requests to athenahealth | Shown only when athenahealth is connected. Creates a refill task in athenahealth for a provider to review; the AI never approves anything. | Off |
| Caller memory | Recognizes repeat callers to avoid duplicate tasks and route follow-ups to the right person. It won't discuss past calls out loud. | Off |
| Conversation memory | Lets the AI recall a returning patient's recent calls, texts, web chats and portal messages and pick up where they left off. | Off |
| Verify identity before sharing records | Requires the caller's name and date of birth before the AI discusses any treatment, balance or appointment details. | Off (locked on with athenahealth) |
| Natural conversation flow | On outbound campaign calls, confirms who you're speaking with before the recorded part of the call begins; the recording notice still plays up front in states that require it. Hidden when athenahealth is connected. | Off |
A few details worth knowing:
- Transfer instead of booking only becomes available once Transfer to a human is on and a transfer number is set. Turning it on switches Book appointments off, and the AI stops checking availability or booking at all. Save Changes refuses the combination without a number: "Add a transfer number to use 'Transfer instead of booking'."
- Quote prices and the They ask about cost or price transfer trigger can overlap. When both are on, the page warns you and offers Remove cost trigger or Turn off price quoting. Keep both only if you want set prices quoted but balance questions transferred.
- Conversation memory opens more choices when on: which conversations to remember (Phone calls, Text messages (SMS), Web chat, Portal messages), How far back to look (7 days up to a year, or No limit; default 60 days), and Only after identity is verified (on by default and recommended, because a caller ID match isn't proof of identity).
- Verify identity before sharing records never gets in the way of booking a new caller or answering general questions. For a returning caller asking about their own appointment, treatment, balance or records, the AI asks for their full name and full date of birth and checks one more detail on file: the number they're calling from automatically, otherwise their ZIP code or email. See Verify caller identity.
With a capability off, the AI doesn't have that action at all; it offers to take a message (or transfer, if transfers are on) instead.
Handing off to a person
The card header summarizes where transfers ring and how many triggers are on, or shows Off.
Transfer to a human
The master switch for live transfers, on by default. When it's off, the AI takes a message instead of transferring. When it's on, choose where Transfers go to:
- An outside number: enter it under Transfers ring, for example
(555) 123-4567. Leave it blank and the page warns "Without a number, transfers fall back to taking a message." - My team: the call rings your team in FrontDesk, on the computer and in the mobile app. Whoever answers sees the caller and why the AI handed over; if nobody answers, the caller goes to voicemail as usual. No number is needed.
During your staff lunch break and on holiday closures (set per location) the AI doesn't transfer at all: it takes a detailed message and says someone will call back.
Announce to staff
For an outside number, choose what the person answering hears before the caller is connected:
| Option | What staff hear |
|---|---|
| Connect immediately (no announcement) (default) | Nothing; the caller is put straight through. |
| Whisper a short summary of the call | A short summary of why the caller is calling. |
| Whisper a set phrase | A fixed line you write under Staff hear, for example "Patient calling about scheduling." |
The caller doesn't hear the whisper.
Transfer without being asked when…
Chips choose the situations in which the AI hands the call over on its own:
| Chip | What the AI does |
|---|---|
| They ask for a person | Always on (locked). Transfers when the caller asks for a team member, the front desk or a real person. |
| They ask about cost or price | Offers to connect them, and transfers only if they say yes. It never quotes a specific price, amount or balance. |
| They already have an appointment | Explains it may be a different type of visit and transfers so a team member can confirm. |
| They mention an urgent issue | Transfers for an urgent, non-life-threatening issue, and tells the caller to call 911 for a life-threatening emergency. |
Type your own triggers in Add your own ↵ (up to 10), worded as things a caller does, such as "asks about X" or "mentions Y". Under What the AI says for each, you can replace the default wording for each active chip (up to 400 characters); the safety rules for cost questions and emergencies are always enforced. Your trigger choices apply to outbound campaign calls too.
Transfer callers who ask for a specific doctor or provider
Off by default: if someone asks for a doctor, the AI says they're unavailable and offers to schedule or take a message instead of transferring. Turn it on if your providers take these calls.
Where things go
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Email the office when a message is taken | An email address that gets messages the AI takes. Leave blank to rely on in-app notifications. With an address set, Change picks which kinds are emailed: General, Refills, Billing, Referrals, Results, Other, and Always email urgent & emergencies. | Blank; all kinds and urgent on |
| When the AI answers after hours | How the AI behaves on calls outside your hours (below). | Book appointments & take messages |
| Maximum call length | The AI ends the call if it runs longer than this: 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes. | 10 minutes |
| Booking lead time | The AI won't offer a time sooner than this from now, from No buffer up to 60 days. | 4 hours |
| How far ahead can callers book | The AI won't offer a time further out than this: 1 week, 2 weeks, 30, 60 or 90 days. | 90 days |
When the AI answers after hours
This only applies when the AI is set to answer after hours, which you choose on Settings → Phone & SMS → Calls under Who answers. The ⓘ next to the setting shows the instruction each option adds to the AI's prompt.
| Option | What the AI does after hours |
|---|---|
| Book appointments & take messages | Books, reschedules and cancels as it does during the day; takes a message only when it can't complete a request. |
| Take a message | Tells the caller your business hours and takes a message. |
| Send to voicemail | Lets the caller know the office is closed and offers to take a message. |
| Emergency calls only | Handles only emergencies; asks non-urgent callers to call back during business hours. |
With Take a message, Send to voicemail or Emergency calls only, the AI can't book, reschedule or cancel after hours, even though those switches are on; your daytime settings are unaffected. Holiday closures count as after hours. See Configure after-hours behavior.
A safe starting point
- Book appointments, Reschedule, Cancel: on
- Transfer to a human: on, to your front-desk line or to My team in the app and on the web
- Announce to staff: Whisper a short summary of the call
- Verify identity before sharing records: on if the AI can see balances or appointment details you'd want protected
- When the AI answers after hours: Book appointments & take messages
Then place a test call to hear the result.