Answers on the first ring — after hours, at lunch, mid-consult. Books into your diary, takes ACC details, texts the confirmation, and writes the call into the patient record.
- Included in the ManaNotes platform — no add-on licence, no per-minute call fees.
- Physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture — built for ACC clinics in New Zealand.
The AI receptionist is one skill of a bigger AI manager.
Most clinics start here — the phone is the loudest problem. But calls are one block of Mana, the AI clinic manager inside ManaNotes, which also chases Accredited Employer invoices and requests ACC32 extensions.
A bolt-on answering bot takes a message. Mana takes the call and the money — it lives in the same system as your diary, notes and claims.
Switch on one block or all of them.
The receptionist isn’t integrated with your system. It is your system.
The usual route is bolting one onto the practice management system you already pay for — Cliniko, say — and hoping the integration holds: two subscriptions, per-minute fees, and a booking that has to survive the hop. ManaNotes takes calls inside the system that already holds your diary, notes and claims.
- Sync lag. The bot books against a copy of your diary, minutes old.
- No clinical context. It can’t see ACC cover or session limits, so it books what you can’t fund.
- Broken handovers. Transcript in one tool, appointment in another. Neither reaches the chart.
- Two support queues. A booking goes missing and each vendor blames the other’s API.
- One live diary. It writes the same records your team does. Nothing to sync, nothing to drift.
- Full clinical context. It knows the claim, cover and sessions left before offering a time.
- One audit trail. Recording, transcript, appointment and ACC45 land on the chart together.
- One place to control it. Greeting, hours, escalation and permissions sit with your clinic settings.
What the AI receptionist handles without you.
The calls that eat a reception desk — answered, actioned in your system, logged against the patient. No message pad, no callback queue.
New patient enquiries
Answers price and availability, then books the first appointment.
Reschedules and cancellations
Moves it, then offers the freed slot to your waitlist.
After-hours and weekend calls
Books at 9pm on a Sunday. No on-call roster.
ACC cover questions
Explains surcharges, session limits and what an ACC45 means.
Overflow at the desk
Picks up the second and third call instead of dropping them.
Repeat bookings
Books a course of treatment across weeks in one call.
Directions and hours
Parking, entrance, availability — the interruptions.
Escalation to a human
Anything clinical or unhappy rings a person, transcript attached.
From ring to booked in under a minute.
The phone rings
Your existing number diverts to ManaNotes after hours, at capacity, or all day.
It understands the ask
Natural conversation, not a menu tree. Returning patients are recognised by number.
It books in your diary
Real availability, right practitioner, right length. No double bookings.
It writes everything down
Confirmation texted, transcript saved to the record, ACC45 started if needed.
Voicemail, answering service, or AI receptionist?
| Capability | Voicemail | Answering service | ManaNotes AI receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answers after hours | Takes a message | Sometimes, at a premium | Always, at no extra cost |
| Books into your diary | No | Rarely — usually a callback request | Yes, directly in ManaNotes |
| Knows your availability | No | No | Live diary, per practitioner |
| Takes ACC details | No | No | Starts the ACC45 on the call |
| Writes to the patient record | No | Emails you a note | Transcript and recording on the chart |
| Cost as calls grow | Cheap, costs you bookings | Per minute or per call | Included in the platform, calls unmetered |
| Systems to run | Phone system only | Your PMS + their service + a handover | One system, one login, one bill |