Hey there! Chris here founder of Aeva AI Recepotionist.
Every clinic owner we speak to has the same worry at first.
"Patients won't like it."
"They'll want to speak to a real person."
"AI will feel cold."
I get it. It's the number one concern we hear before a clinic switches on Aeva AI. And honestly, it's a fair concern.
Nobody wants to feel like they're shouting into a void when they're trying to book a physio appointment.
But here's what we've learned from watching this play out across clinics, with real patients, thousands of times over.
The fear is about the unknown. Not the experience.
What actually happens
Patients assume AI means clunky phone menus. Robotic voices. "Press 1 for this, press 2 for that." They picture the worst version of automation because that's all they've ever known.
Then they actually speak to AI.
And something shifts.
It's warm. It's natural. It handles their request without putting them on hold, without rushing them, without being unavailable at 7pm on a Tuesday.
The surprise is what gets them. They expected nothing. They got something better than alot of front desk interactions they've had.
"I was hoping to speak to Sophie"
Lucy Anderson runs Anderson Clinic in the UK. Her team named their Aeva AI receptionist Sophie.
Sophie introduces herself as AI straight away. No hiding it. Lucy said it actually works in their favour. Patients expect very little, then they're pleasantly surprised.
But this one made me laugh.
Lucy was working late one evening. Picked up a call herself. The patient groaned.
"I was hoping to speak to Sophie."
Lucy had to apologise that he was stuck talking to an actual human. They both had a laugh about it.
But underneath the joke, there's something worth noticing. Every time that patient called, Sophie was there. No hold music. No missed calls. No waiting until morning. Just a consistent, helpful experience every single time.
And that's the thing. Clinic owners shouldn't be tied up answering phones. That's not good use of their time. That's free consultations. Patients don't need the owner on the line. They need someone reliable, available, and ready to help.
The gap is smaller than you think
That's the bit most clinic owners miss about AI right now. The resistance isn't permanent. It's a moment.
If you're a clinic owner still worried about how patients will react, I'd gently say: the owners who had that same worry six months ago are now the ones whose patients prefer the AI.
The gap between "our patients won't accept it" and "our patients love it" is smaller than you think.
One more thing. We've been quietly building a native integration with Splose. Going into beta later this month. If your clinic runs on Splose, keep an eye on this space.
Every call counts,
Chris Baxter
founder, Aeva AI Receptionist for healthcare
P.S. If you’ve got a useful tip or story about your AI receptionist, I’d love to hear about it. Hit reply below.
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