Dental Intelligence AI Receptionist is an add-on to our Engagement Module. If you're interested in learning more about AI Receptionist and setting it up for your practice, CLICK HERE to request a demo!
AI Receptionist appointment scheduling capabilities are currently in beta and require Dental Intelligence Online Scheduling to be configured. AI Receptionist works without it, but won't be able to answer those questions if DIOS is not set up. In this article, we'll walk through how to configure the AI Receptionist Scheduling tab so AI Receptionist can recognize and book appointments for the services your practice offers.
If your practice utilizes Dental Intelligence Online Scheduling, AI Receptionist can answer scheduling calls, offer appointment times, and even book directly into your practice management system (PMS) — but how well it performs depends on how your services are configured. This guide walks you through getting set up correctly the first time.
Before You Get Started
Practice-level service basics
AI Receptionist relies on the settings currently configured in your existing Online Scheduling practice-level services to accurately schedule patients at your practice. Make sure that your practice-level services are set up correctly before enabling AI Receptionist Scheduling.
Ensure providers and operatories are assigned to services AI Receptionist will be able to offer. Every service needs the correct providers and operatories configured, or AI Receptionist won't be able to find valid slots.
Make sure the service(s) you want AI Receptionist to be able to handle aren't marked as 'hidden'. A hidden service won't be visible for patients calling in — double check this box is unchecked unless you're intentionally excluding it.
Earliest and Latest availability windows make sense. These two settings shouldn't contradict each other, and the "Latest availability" window should be far enough out to give patients room to book in advance — this matters especially for Hygiene appointments, which patients often schedule weeks or months ahead.
New vs. Existing patient eligibility is set correctly. Make sure each service is properly marked as available for New patients, Existing patients, or Both — this is how the AI Receptionist decides which services it can offer a given caller.
Step 1: Access AI Receptionist Scheduling Settings
From your Dental Intelligence left side menu, go to Schedule > Online Scheduling
Click the AI Receptionist Scheduling tab
This tab displays all services currently configured for AI Receptionist, including each service's AI tags, patient status (new and/or existing), price range, and description. From here you can enable services, edit existing ones, or remove services you no longer want AI Receptionist to handle.
Step 2: Configure Your Services
Each service you enable here tells AI Receptionist which appointment types it can schedule and how to recognize when a patient is asking about them.
Each service (like Dental Hygiene, New Patient Exam, or Invisalign Consult) needs to be set up carefully so the AI Receptionist can match patients to the right appointment and offer accurate availability.
Click the Add service button in the upper right corner
Configure the following fields: Service, Tag(s), Price, and Description (see field descriptions below)
Field | Description |
Service | Required. Select the appointment type from your existing practice-level services.
Note: If you need to create a new practice-level service, navigate to Schedule > Online Scheduling > Practice-Level Services. |
Tag(s) | Words or phrases patients might use to describe this service (e.g., "cleaning," "hygiene," "regular cleaning").
📌 Tags are required in order for AI Receptionist to recognize patient requests and match them to the correct service. |
Price (Min – Max) | Optional price range for the service. AI Receptionist can share this range with patients who ask about cost. |
Description | What the AI Receptionist uses to explain the service to patients on the call. A short description of the service (up to 255 characters). |
📌 IMPORTANT: If you do not add services in Schedule > Online Scheduling > AI Receptionist Scheduling, the AI Receptionist will not attempt to schedule or request appointments for patients even if you have online scheduling enabled at your practice. You must add services to the AI Receptionist Scheduling tab in order for AI Receptionist to handle those inquiries.
AI Receptionist Service Tags & Description Suggestions
AI Receptionist service tags and descriptions are critical for the success of AI Receptionist Scheduling. Think about how patients describe the service over the phone — AI Receptionist uses tags to match natural language to the right appointment type.
Add multiple tags per service to improve recognition accuracy. To add multiple tags to a service, type a word in the Tags field and then hit Enter on your keyboard to add another word.
When adding a service description, be sure to include both clinical terms and plain-language synonyms patients commonly use (e.g., "hygiene" and "teeth cleaning").
Service Example | Tag Examples | Description Example |
Initial Consult | consultation, initial visit, new patient, first appointment, checkup, exam, oral exam, dental exam, general visit, second opinion, "just want to get checked", "haven't been to a dentist in a while" | First-visit exam to assess overall oral health, review dental history, and identify any issues before recommending treatment. |
Hygiene Appointment | cleaning, hygiene, plaque, tartar buildup, scaling, polishing, teeth cleaning, dental cleaning, prophylaxis, gum maintenance, hygienist visit, fresh breath, stains on teeth, six month exam | Routine professional cleaning to remove plaque, tartar, and surface stains, plus general hygiene maintenance. |
Restorative Appointment | filling, cavity, tooth decay, hole in tooth, sensitive tooth, small chip, crown, cap, broken tooth, cracked tooth, chipped tooth (large), tooth restoration, worn down tooth, root canal, tooth infection, abscess, nerve pain, pulp damage, treatment follow-up, "my dentist said I need work done", "getting my cavity fixed", "coming in for my crown" | A follow-up appointment to treat a dental issue this practice has already diagnosed, such as a cavity, damaged tooth, or infection. |
Emergency Exam | emergency, urgent, dental emergency, severe pain, knocked out tooth, broken tooth (sudden), trauma, bleeding gums (sudden), swelling, "I'm in a lot of pain", "I need to be seen today", "something happened to my tooth", accident | Urgent evaluation for sudden pain, injury, or a dental problem that needs prompt attention, to diagnose the issue and determine next steps. |
Teeth Whitening | whitening, bleaching, cosmetic, brighten smile, yellow teeth, stained teeth, discoloration, cosmetic dentistry | Cosmetic treatment to lighten tooth color and reduce staining for a brighter smile. |
Invisalign Consultation | invisalign, clear aligners, invisible braces, teeth straightening, orthodontics, crooked teeth, alignment, "want straighter teeth", "thinking about braces", clear braces | Introductory visit to evaluate whether Invisalign clear aligners are a good fit, review treatment goals, and outline the process. |
Cosmetic Consultation | cosmetic, smile makeover, veneers, bonding, contouring, gap teeth, uneven teeth, chipped tooth (cosmetic), smile design, "want to fix my smile", aesthetic dentistry | Introductory visit to discuss cosmetic goals for your smile and review options such as veneers, bonding, or contouring. |
Dental Implant Consultation | implant, missing tooth, tooth replacement, dental implant, implant consult, tooth loss, "I lost a tooth", "need a tooth replaced", bridge alternative | Introductory visit to evaluate candidacy for a dental implant and review options for replacing a missing or damaged tooth. |
Sleep Apnea Consultation | sleep apnea, snoring, oral appliance, sleep disorder, night guard (sleep apnea), CPAP alternative, "I snore a lot", "trouble sleeping", breathing issues at night | Introductory visit to discuss symptoms of sleep apnea or snoring and review oral appliance treatment options. |
Step 3: Decide How the AI Receptionist Should Manage Appointments
You have two key behavior settings to configure per your practice's preference:
Only allow requesting an appointment | When this option is checked, AI Receptionist will offer to request an appointment for this service on the chosen date and time rather than booking it directly. Requested appointments will still need to be approved by your team before they are added to the schedule. |
Create appt in PMS (override service configuration) | When this option is checked, appointments booked by AI Receptionist for this service will be created directly in your Practice Management Software and added to your schedule. |
Step 4: Start Small
Once you've configured all service settings, click Add or Save to finish.
We recommend not turning on every service for handling by AI Receptionist right away. A great first step is enabling just:
New patient exams
Hygiene for returning patients
Once you've confirmed AI Receptionist is able to handle scheduling these services well, you can expand to additional services with confidence.
A few things the AI Receptionist doesn't do yet
Some service-level settings aren't currently applied by the AI Receptionist, even if they're configured in your practice-level services:
It doesn't collect reservation deposits
It doesn't ask patients about their insurance
It doesn't let patients choose a specific provider
After Booking: TouchPoints Take Over
Once an appointment is either, a) created by AI Receptionist or b) requested by AI Receptionist and confirmed by a team member, your enabled TouchPoints (confirmations, forms requests, reminders, etc.) automatically take over — no extra setup needed on the AI Receptionist side.
How to Edit or Remove an AI Receptionist Service Type
To edit or remove an existing service, click the 3-dot menu on the right side of the service row and select the desired option: Edit or Delete.
Once a service has been removed from the AI Receptionist Scheduling tab, AI Receptionist will no longer offer scheduling assistance for those services. However, those service types will still be available for patients to schedule for themselves online via scheduling link or QR code.