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A website chatbot for therapists can feel fantastic on a Monday morning when five, six or seven enquiries have landed over the weekend, and then the replies you send through email never get answered, which is exactly what kept happening to me with the chat bubble on my GoDaddy website.

That frustration sent me looking at an AI receptionist for private practice, and because I avoid the phone wherever I can and have no work phone number (I even bought my home and got my mortgage without a phone call), I was thrilled to find out you can have one without it. I built Ava in about two or three hours, chose voice over text or a hybrid, and spent the next few days smoothing out the glitches until she felt easy to use.

Within about three days, two people I had never heard of emailed me to say how much they loved her, one of them mentioning how good it was to get answers after hours without sending an email, and two new consultations booked after dinner time as a result of working with Ava, at A$300 to A$600 each. If you want more enquiries for private practice, or you are wondering why your therapy website is not getting bookings because everything depends on a contact form and an email back and forth, an AI receptionist for psychologists and counsellors can take someone from question to answer to booking, which is how you convert website enquiries into bookings instead of losing them, and it also gives you after hours booking for therapists without you being at your desk.

If you are wondering whether this is about cutting costs and replacing the person on your books, I share why I think the better use of AI for counsellors in private practice is handing over everyday AI admin tasks for private practice, like the question of whether you offer a Medicare rebate (you know how many times that one gets asked), so your admin person gets hours back to work at a higher level and you get time for online booking for therapy practice improvements, referral pathways, marketing, creating your online course or program, and hiring a contractor.

I am building a free pilot for a small number of practices, so the link is in these show notes if you would like me to build one for you, with the understanding that a pilot can be a little clunky at first and nothing goes on your website until it is working. I will be offering to teach you how to build your own or to build it for you in the next few weeks, and you are welcome to have a play with Ava and tell me if you come across a hiccup so I can fix it for you.

Keywords used: AI receptionist for private practice, AI receptionist for psychologists, website chatbot for therapists, more enquiries for private practice, convert website enquiries into bookings, AI for counsellors in private practice, after hours booking for therapists, online booking for therapy practice, AI admin tasks for private practice, therapy website not getting bookings

Mini FAQ:

Q: Do I need a business phone number to have an AI receptionist? A: No, you can have an AI receptionist without a work phone number, which is how I set up Ava, and you can choose voice, text or a hybrid of both.

Q: Can an AI receptionist turn website visitors into bookings? A: Within about three days of Ava going on my website, two people booked consultations after talking with her, and both came in after dinner time.

Q: How long does it take to build an AI receptionist for a private practice website? A: I had a working prototype in two or three hours, although the refining and testing took a few more days and a big learning curve.

Q: Will an AI receptionist replace my admin person? A: I would use it to take everyday questions, like whether you offer a Medicare rebate, off your admin person's plate so she can work at a higher level and free up your time for business development.

Q: Why is a website chat bubble not turning into bookings for my therapy practice? A: A basic chat bubble works like a mini FAQ and sends replies back through email, which is where many people drop out, so something interactive that takes a person from question to answer to booking tends to work better.