Setting expectations early, with your team and your patients, prevents most "the AI did something odd" surprises. Here is the honest list. Each capability is controlled on Receptionist → AI Voice, Voice tab; see Set what your AI can do on calls.
What the AI does
| Task | How it works |
|---|---|
| Answer questions | Hours, address and services come from your settings; anything else from the Anything else it should know box and the Knowledge tab; insurance from the Accepted insurance card. |
| Book appointments | Asks what the caller needs and when, checks live availability within your booking lead time and how far ahead callers can book, names the provider, reads the details back and books. The caller gets a text confirmation once texting is set up. |
| Reschedule and cancel | Finds the caller's appointment, confirms which one, and moves or cancels it. |
| Waitlist | Adds a caller to your waitlist when no time suits (when booking is on). |
| Take messages and callback requests | Records who called, why and a callback number, sorted by category and urgency. Messages appear in Tasks and your notifications, and can be emailed to the office. |
| Balances and payment links | Looks up a balance and texts a secure payment link (payment links need booking on). With identity checks required, it verifies the caller first. |
| Recognize returning patients | Matches caller ID to your patient list and greets them by first name. |
| Transfer to a person | To an outside number or your team in FrontDesk, when the caller asks for a person or one of your triggers fires. |
| Spanish and English | With Answers in set to Spanish or Bilingual and a Spanish-capable voice. See Spanish and bilingual calls. |
| Follow your script and rules | Your chosen call script and your clinical rules are added to its instructions. See Call scripts & AI agents. |
| Honor opt-outs | When someone asks not to be called again, it records a do-not-contact request so future outbound calls to them are suppressed. |
What the AI won't do
| Task | Why |
|---|---|
| Give medical advice or diagnose | It is told never to give medical advice, diagnoses or treatment recommendations; it offers to schedule or take a message. For a medical emergency it tells the caller to call 911. |
| Quote prices you haven't set | Prices come only from your services, and only when Quote prices is on; otherwise it doesn't discuss pricing unless you've provided the information. |
| Take card numbers over the phone | It has no way to; it texts a secure payment link instead. |
| Share a returning patient's details unverified | With Verify identity before sharing records on (always, with athenahealth), it confirms name, full date of birth and one detail on file before discussing appointments, treatment, balances or records. |
| Act on something switched off | With Book appointments, Reschedule or Cancel off, it doesn't have that action; it takes a message instead. After hours, the Take a message, Send to voicemail and Emergency calls only modes switch booking off. |
| Offer times outside your booking window | It only offers open times from your calendar, no sooner than your booking lead time and no further out than your limit. |
When the AI hands off
With Transfer to a human on, the AI transfers when:
- The caller asks for a team member, the front desk or a real person (always on).
- One of the triggers you chose fires: a cost question (it offers first), an existing appointment, an urgent issue, or one of your own.
- The caller asks for a specific doctor, only if you've turned that on.
- The caller seems confused or frustrated, when it offers to connect them.
It takes a message instead when Transfer to a human is off, no transfer number is set for an outside number, during your staff lunch break, and on holiday closures. See Why did the AI transfer this call?.
Reality check before going live
Place a test call with the script that answers your calls, then call your FrontDesk number from your own phone and try booking, rescheduling, a question from your knowledge base, and asking for a person. What it handles smoothly in testing is what it will handle smoothly with real callers.