Hey, Chris here from Aeva.
“Which AI receptionist should I use with Cliniko?” is now the most common question I get from clinic owners. It’s the right question. There are twelve AI receptionists on Cliniko’s connected apps directory as I write this, they all say roughly the same thing, and choosing badly is expensive — this tool touches every patient who calls you.
I run one of the twelve, so I have a horse in this race. I’ll be upfront about that. But I’ve also watched hundreds of clinics evaluate these tools, and most use the wrong test: the demo. Every AI receptionist demos well. Here’s what to test instead, updated for July 2026.
First, what does an AI receptionist for Cliniko actually do?
A proper one connects to Cliniko’s API. It reads your live availability, appointment types, practitioner rules and patient records, then answers your phone 24/7 and books, reschedules or cancels appointments in real time, with every detail written back into Cliniko. Good ones also answer clinic questions, recognise returning patients, and hand a caller to a human with a clear message when the call needs one.
The six tests
1. How deep is the Cliniko integration?
Anyone can claim “integrates with Cliniko.” The test is your edge cases: your appointment-type structure, your practitioner-specific rules, your cancellation policy. Ask the vendor to handle your setup on a live call, not a demo script.
2. Where are the numbers?
Ask for concrete counts: how many practitioners use it, how many real patient calls it has handled, how many appointments it has actually booked into Cliniko. Vendors who have the numbers publish them. Vendors who don’t, gesture at experience. Watch for impressive-sounding figures that don’t count anything a clinic cares about — “hours of schedules managed” is not calls answered or appointments booked.
3. Can you check the reviews?
Named clinic, named owner, real business you can look up — or first names and initials? A testimonial you can verify is evidence. One you can’t is copy. This one test will thin the field faster than any demo.
4. Does it only answer calls, or can it make them?
Answering inbound is table stakes in 2026. The revenue is in outbound: ringing lapsed patients to rebook them, and refilling the diary when a practitioner cancels. If it can also take a deposit during the call, your no-show problem shrinks too. Very few systems on the directory do either.
5. How long until you’re live?
Setup claims on the directory range from “no effort” to nothing at all. Ask for a number, in hours or days, and ask when your first AI-answered call will happen. Vague setup promises usually mean nobody measured.
6. Will they answer security questions in writing?
You’re handing a system your patient conversations. Ask, in writing: where is call data stored? Encrypted? Which privacy laws apply in my country? Is my data used to train third-party models? Who can access recordings? What happens to my data if I leave? A serious vendor answers all six without flinching — and the best ones publish the answers before you ask.
How Aeva scores on its own tests
Fair question. Here’s the scorecard, same order:
Integration depth: Aeva reads and writes Cliniko in real time and is configured to your appointment types and rules — up to five actions in one call, whole families booked on one number, cancellations turned into reschedules.
Numbers: 2,100+ practitioners, 210,000+ patient calls answered, 26,000+ appointments booked directly into Cliniko. Figures as of July 2026, and they may be higher by the time you read this.
Reviews you can check: every testimonial we publish is a named owner and a real clinic — see them at aevaai.com/reviews.
Beyond inbound: Aeva makes outbound calls — lapsed-patient rebooking and refilling the diary after practitioner cancellations — and collects deposits during the call.
Speed: setup is self-serve and takes about an hour, with one-on-one support the whole way if you want it. Most clinics take their first AI-answered call the same day.
Security in writing: answers to all six questions are public at trust.aevaai.com. Recordings and transcripts on encrypted servers in Australia, Australian Privacy Principles compliance independently assessed, New Zealand Privacy Act and UK & EU GDPR alongside.
Two of those reviews, so you can see what checkable looks like:
“From rescheduling appointments, letting me know they are running late, to asking when their next appointment is, booking new patients in and answering a variety of questions, she can do it all!” — Liz Richards, Owner of Posture Right Chiropractors
One story I’ll keep telling: earlier this year Helen Jones, who owns South Devon Foot Clinic in the UK, subscribed to every major AI receptionist at once — same clinic, same calls, a planned month-long trial. One day in, she emailed us: “I’ve used the other systems and I’m cancelling them. There is no comparison, yours is far superior.”
Run that test yourself. A week of live calls beats ten demos.
Common questions
Is any AI receptionist officially recognised or certified by Cliniko?
No. Cliniko doesn’t run a partner or certification programme, and its guidelines ask vendors not to call themselves “Cliniko partners.” Every legitimate AI receptionist has the same status: listed on Cliniko’s connected apps directory, integrating through Cliniko’s API. If a vendor implies official recognition, that tells you something — just not what they intended.
Which is the best AI receptionist for Cliniko?
The one that passes the six tests on your clinic’s real calls. By the measures that can be counted — practitioners served, appointments actually booked, capabilities beyond answering — Aeva leads the category, and we publish the numbers so you don’t have to take our word for it.
How long does Aeva take to set up?
About an hour, self-serve, with one-on-one support the whole way if you need it. Most clinics take their first AI-answered call the same day.
Does it work with my existing phone number?
Yes — Aeva connects to your existing phone system and number, and you choose when it answers: 24/7, after hours, or overflow only.
What does it cost?
Plans start from $259 AUD a month in Australia and £139 a month in the UK, scaling with call volume. Most clinics pay 85–95% less than the cost of a full-time receptionist.
If you want to see Aeva on your own clinic’s setup, book a demo at aevaai.com/cliniko — or run the head-to-head. We know how that ends.
Every call counts,
Chris Baxter
Co-founder, Aeva AI Receptionist for healthcare