An AI receptionist for veterinary clinics

A veterinary clinic's AI receptionist books wellness and vaccine visits, sends reminders and collects records from new clients. When an owner describes symptoms, it does not reassure or triage. It treats the message as urgent and gets it to your team. That split, routine handled and clinical escalated, is the whole design.

Two kinds of calls

Veterinary front desks answer two very different calls all day. "Can Biscuit get his boosters on Saturday" needs a slot and nothing else. "Biscuit has been vomiting since last night" needs a person, now, and possibly a same-day appointment. A human receptionist tells them apart instantly. An AI receptionist has to be told to, and the telling is a rule, not a hope.

Routine: book it and confirm

Wellness exams, vaccinations, nail trims, dental cleanings, and the pickup of medication refills are booked against each vet's real availability. The AI asks the species, the pet's name, whether they are an existing patient, and the preferred days, and confirms by text. New clients get a request for previous records before the visit.

The escalation list

Before the AI generates any reply, a fixed check runs against the message. Difficulty breathing, collapse, a suspected poisoning or something eaten that should not have been, trauma, a swollen abdomen, straining without producing urine, seizures, or any injury: the message goes to a person immediately with your approved wording to the owner. The AI does not add "it is probably nothing" or "try withholding food". It says someone is being alerted and means it.

The list is yours to extend. A clinic that sees a lot of a particular breed may add breed-specific signs.

After hours: the honest answer

At 2am, the AI says the clinic is closed, when it reopens, and gives the emergency hospital's number from your knowledge. It does not imply a vet is about to reply. Owners in an emergency need the number, not a conversation.

Records and reminders

Vaccination reminders go out on the schedule you set, and the booking happens in the same thread. New clients are asked to send prior records or the name of their previous clinic so your team can request them. Reminders keep clinical detail out of the text: the appointment and the time, not the diagnosis.

What owners ask most

Species you see and which you refer elsewhere. The cost of an exam or a dental. What to bring to a first visit. Whether you board or groom. Load these once and the AI answers them consistently, which is more than a busy front desk manages at 5pm on a Friday.

Frequently asked questions

Will it try to diagnose?

No. It captures the description and whether the pet is unwell right now, and routes anything clinical to a person. It does not interpret symptoms, even to reassure.

Can it say whether we see a particular species?

Only from your knowledge. If you have not said, it asks the owner and logs the question for you rather than guessing.

How does it handle a euthanasia enquiry?

With the gentle wording you approve, and an immediate handoff to a person. This is a conversation software should not have.

What Frontiva does here

The veterinary page shows the workflows and the escalation design. In Frontiva the escalation keywords you set hand a conversation to a person before the AI answers, owners book wellness visits on your public booking page, and SMS reminders go to owners who agreed. Calendar sync with Google and Microsoft is not available yet.

For the wider picture, including what it must refuse, see what is an AI receptionist.