Every enquiry answered, more of them booked
A busy dental practice was losing about 60% of its web enquiries because nobody could reply in time. We built an assistant that answers instantly, asks the right two questions and books the appointment in one tap. Booked appointments rose 127% in the first quarter.
- Client
- Independent dental practice, Limerick
- Practice
- 4 dentists, 2 hygienists, 1 reception desk
- What we did
- Instant chat, qualification, one-click booking, handover rules
- Timeline
- 8 weeks to launch, then monthly reviews
The practice asked us not to name it. The figures come from its own booking system, and we can arrange a reference call under NDA.
Enquiries arrived when nobody could answer
"We were losing 60% of web inquiries because we couldn't respond fast enough." That's how the practice described it when we first met.
Patients look in the evening
Toothache doesn't keep office hours. Many people search and send an enquiry after work, when the practice is closed.
Reception is with patients
During the day, the team is checking people in, answering the phone and taking payments. The web inbox waits.
A slow reply is a lost patient
By the time someone replies the next day, the patient has often booked with the practice that answered first.
One day of enquiries, before and after
Switch between before and after. Each dot is an enquiry: orange ones went unanswered, green ones got a reply.
An illustration of a typical day, based on the practice's enquiry log. Before the project, about 60% of web enquiries went unanswered.
Fast for patients, safe for the practice
An assistant on the practice website that replies in seconds, books real appointments and knows exactly when to hand over to a person.
It answers in seconds, and knows what it shouldn't answer
Every enquiry gets a reply straight away. The assistant answers from the practice's own information, marks anything urgent for the team, and never gives clinical advice. Pick a question to see how it responds.
From question to booked, in one conversation
Before, a web enquiry meant an email, a phone call back and often a missed call. Now the assistant offers real free times from the practice diary and the patient books with one tap.
- QuestionA patient asks on the website, at any hour.
- Two questionsNew or existing patient? Anything urgent?
- Real free slotsRead live from the practice diary.
- BookedOne tap. In the diary, confirmed by text.
A clear line between the assistant and the team
We wrote the rules with the practice before building anything. The assistant handles the routine; everything else goes to a person, with the conversation attached.
127% more booked appointments
Booked appointments in the first quarter after launch, against the quarter before. The rest of the picture is below.
"People used to email us at nine at night and we'd get to it the next afternoon, by which time they'd booked somewhere else. Now they're in the diary before we open."
Eight weeks, no surprises
Nothing went live until the practice had seen and approved it.
- Week 1ListenA month of enquiries read line by line, and a morning at reception watching how bookings really happen.
- Weeks 2–3DesignThe questions, the tone, the clinical line and every handover rule, written down and approved by the practice.
- Weeks 4–6Build and connectThe assistant, the booking link to the practice software, text confirmations and reminders.
- Week 7TestRun against 200 real past enquiries, then a week with the team trying to break it.
- Week 8LaunchLive on the website, with a person reviewing every conversation for the first month.
Ready for the patient's own AI assistant
We built this before AI agents had a name. Today, patients increasingly ask ChatGPT or Gemini to find a dentist. This is what we'd add so those assistants can find the practice and book it too.
So an AI assistant can quote them when someone asks what a check-up costs in Limerick.
Opening hours, services, languages, accessibility and accepted schemes, in a format agents read.
The same free slots the chat offers, available to a patient's own AI assistant.
So 'find a dentist open on Thursday and book me in' ends with a real appointment.
It works beyond dentistry
Physios, vets, clinics, salons and trades have the same problem: the enquiry comes in when nobody is free to answer it.
Someone with toothache contacts three practices. The first to reply with a time usually gets the booking.
Just enough to book the right appointment. Anything more belongs in the chair, not the chat.
The assistant books and informs. Clinical questions always go to a person, and patients are told so.
Reception reviews every conversation. That's what made the team comfortable switching it on.
How many enquiries is your business missing?
We'll look at how enquiries reach you today, where they get stuck, and what an assistant could answer and book for you. You'll get an honest view, including what it shouldn't do.
Start a conversation