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How to Set Up and Use the AI Assistant

This guide walks you through setting up, customizing, testing, and managing your AI Assistant.

What the AI Assistant Can Do

Your AI Assistant works alongside your team to help manage patient communication.

  • Respond to patient messages: Answer inquiries through your website chat, SMS, and Instagram DMs.

  • Manage appointments: Book, reschedule, and cancel appointments while following your practice's scheduling rules and policies.

  • Answer patient questions: Provide information about your services, providers, availability, and practice policies.

  • Capture new leads: Collect patient contact information and add new leads to your opportunity pipeline.

  • Share pricing and treatment durations: Choose whether the assistant can discuss service pricing and appointment lengths.

  • Escalate conversations: Notify the appropriate team members when a request needs human assistance.

  • Follow your practice's preferences: Customize the assistant's tone, responses, and instructions for specific situations.

  • Work alongside your staff: Set a response delay to give your team time to reply first, or configure the assistant to respond during specific hours.

Before you begin:

  • Keep your practice information up to date. The assistant automatically uses your existing services, providers, and scheduling information in Prospyr.

  • Voice AI is available separately. The standard AI Assistant supports website chat, SMS, and Instagram DMs. The Voice AI upgrade allows the assistant to communicate with patients over the phone. This guide covers the standard version.

Getting Started

Navigate to Settings → Online Tools → AI Assistant.

The AI Assistant settings are organized into six tabs:

  • Web Chat: Customize your website chat's appearance and behavior.

  • SMS Agent: Configure how the assistant responds to text messages and Instagram DMs.

  • Test Agent: Test the assistant before enabling it for patients.

  • Insights: Monitor AI Assistant performance.

  • Knowledge: Add information about your practice to improve responses.

  • Conversations: Review conversations with website visitors.

We recommend starting with the Knowledge tab, followed by Web Chat and SMS Agent configuration. Once your settings are saved, you can test the assistant before enabling it for patients.

Step 1: Add Knowledge About Your Practice

The Knowledge tab allows you to provide additional information so your AI Assistant can answer patient questions accurately.

Your assistant already has access to your services, providers, and scheduling information in Prospyr. Use Knowledge Sources to teach it anything else it should know.

Add a Knowledge Source

  1. Open the Knowledge tab.

  2. Select Add Knowledge Source.

  3. Choose the type of information you'd like to add:

    • Website: Add your practice's website or other relevant websites, such as manufacturer websites for products, injectables, skincare, or devices you offer.

    • File: Upload documents such as FAQs, training guides, or patient information.

    • Free Text: Enter additional instructions or information directly.

Helpful information to include:

  • Office hours, locations, and directions

  • Parking instructions

  • Appointment and cancellation policies

  • Frequently asked questions

  • Treatment preparation and aftercare instructions

  • Other practice-specific information

Your Knowledge Sources appear in a list with their current status. You can edit or delete sources as needed.

Tip: Review your Knowledge Sources whenever your practice's hours, policies, or services change to help keep the assistant's responses accurate.

Step 2: Set Up Web Chat

The Web Chat tab allows you to customize the chat experience patients see when visiting your website.

Customize Your Web Chat Appearance

  1. Open the Web Chat tab.

  2. Under Brand Color, select a color that matches your practice's branding.

  3. Under Color Mode, choose Light or Dark.

  4. Enter a Welcome Message. This is the first message visitors see when opening your chat.

  5. Add up to four Conversation Starters. These are suggested questions or actions visitors can select to begin chatting.

    Examples:

    • Book an Appointment

    • What Services Do You Offer?

    • What Treatment Is Right for Me?

    • What Are Your Business Hours?

  6. Under Image / Logo at top of chat window, upload your practice's logo.

Configure Rules & Tone

The Rules & Tone settings determine how your assistant communicates and what information it can share.

  • Allowed to Discuss Price: Enable this to allow the assistant to share pricing from your service catalog.

  • Allowed to Discuss Duration: Enable this to allow the assistant to discuss treatment and appointment durations.

  • Force Lead Capture: Choose whether visitors must provide contact information before starting a conversation.

    • Off: Visitors can begin chatting immediately. The assistant will attempt to collect contact information during the conversation or booking process.

    • On: Visitors must complete a short contact form with their first name, last name, email, and optional phone number before chatting.

  • Brand Voice: Describe how you'd like your assistant to communicate, including its tone and personality.

    Example: "Be warm, welcoming, and professional. Keep responses concise and easy to understand."

  • Default Lead Status: Select which stage of your opportunity pipeline new leads should enter when captured by the assistant.

Once you've finished configuring your settings, select Save Settings.

Preview Your Web Chat

Before adding the chat to your website, you can preview the experience.

  1. Select Preview Agent in the upper-right corner.

  2. Test common patient questions such as:

    • Can I book an appointment?

    • What treatments do you offer?

    • Where should I park?

  3. Review the assistant's responses.

If any answers are incorrect or missing information, update your Knowledge Sources or settings and test again.

Add Web Chat to Your Website

Once you're happy with the appearance and responses, you can add the chat widget to your website.

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the Web Chat tab.

  2. Select Get Embed Code.

  3. Choose your chat button color. You can enter a custom hex code to match your website.

  4. Select Copy to copy the embed code.

  5. Share the code with the person who manages your website and have them add it to your site.

Once installed, visitors can select the chat button on your website to begin a conversation with your AI Assistant.

Step 3: Set Up SMS and Instagram Messaging

The SMS Agent tab controls how your assistant responds to patient text messages and Instagram DMs.

If your Instagram account is connected, the response delay, allowed actions, and availability settings also apply to Instagram messages.

Configure Response Settings

  1. Open the SMS Agent tab.

  2. Locate Allow Agent to Respond via SMS. This setting allows the assistant to respond to patient text messages when enabled.

  3. Under How long should AI wait before answering? (minutes), enter your preferred response delay.

  4. Under Allowed Actions, select which actions the assistant can perform:

    • Book Appointment

    • Reschedule Appointment

    • Cancel Appointment

    • Answer Knowledgebase Questions

  5. Under Availability Schedule, select the days and times your assistant should respond.

    • Use Add Time Slot to configure additional hours.

    • Use Copy from previous to duplicate the previous day's schedule.

Tip: Many practices choose a response delay of 5 to 10 minutes. This gives staff an opportunity to respond before the assistant steps in. If a team member replies during the waiting period, the assistant pauses until the patient sends another message.

Important: Enabling SMS responses allows the assistant to begin responding to real patient conversations according to your saved settings. We recommend completing your setup and testing before activating live responses.

Set Up Escalation Routing

Escalation Routing determines who gets notified when the assistant encounters a request that requires staff assistance.

Examples include:

  • Appointment changes that fall outside your practice's cancellation or rescheduling policies

  • Billing questions the assistant cannot resolve

  • Medical questions requiring a team member's attention

To configure routing:

  1. Locate Escalation Routing on the SMS Agent tab.

  2. Select Add Routing Rule.

  3. Choose the appropriate patient location and issue type.

  4. Select who should receive notifications, such as specific team members or all providers.

  5. Add additional routing rules as needed.

How routing works:

  • Rules are evaluated from top to bottom.

  • The assistant uses the first matching rule.

  • If no rules are configured or none match, all staff members receive the notification.

Customize Your Assistant's Responses

The Custom Prompts section allows you to provide additional instructions for how the assistant should handle specific situations.

You can customize:

  • Introduction: Specify how the assistant should introduce itself, including whether it identifies itself as an AI Assistant.

  • Emergency Situations: Provide instructions for responding when a patient describes an emergency.

  • After Hours: Explain how the assistant should respond when a patient requests assistance outside business hours.

  • Special Cases: Add instructions for situations unique to your practice.

Example:

A plastic surgery practice requires patients to complete an initial phone consultation with a patient care coordinator before scheduling a consultation with the surgeon.

The practice can add a Special Case instruction directing the assistant to schedule the initial phone consultation whenever a patient requests a surgical consultation.

Tip: Custom Prompts are optional. Leave any field blank to use the assistant's default behavior.

How the Assistant Follows Your Scheduling Rules

Your AI Assistant follows the scheduling policies and restrictions already configured in Prospyr.

For example:

  • If a provider requires a two-hour booking buffer, the assistant follows that restriction.

  • If your practice requires cancellations or rescheduling at least 24 hours in advance, the assistant will not make those changes inside the restricted window. Instead, it escalates the request to your team.

Once you've finished configuring your SMS Agent settings, select Save Settings.

Step 4: Test Your AI Assistant

Before enabling your AI Assistant for patients, you can test its responses and make adjustments as needed.

There are two ways to test:

  • Test in Prospyr: Simulate a patient conversation directly within the platform.

  • Test with Trial Mode: Send real text messages from your phone while preventing the assistant from responding to other patients.

Both options use your saved settings. Be sure to save any changes before testing.

Option 1: Test in Prospyr

Use the built-in simulator to see how your AI Assistant responds to patient messages.

  1. Navigate to the Test Agent tab.

  2. Under Select a patient to simulate, search for and select a patient profile. We recommend using your own staff profile.

  3. Check the box labeled I understand this test can perform real actions in this workspace.

  4. Enter a message in the simulator to start testing.

  5. Review the assistant's responses.

  6. If adjustments are needed, update your settings, Knowledge Sources, or Custom Prompts. Save your changes and test again.

The simulator uses the same AI Assistant that responds to real patient SMS messages and Instagram DMs, allowing you to preview how it handles different requests.

Important: The simulator can perform real actions in your workspace, including booking, canceling, or rescheduling appointments, sending links, and requesting staff follow-up. Use caution when testing these actions.

Option 2: Test from Your Phone Using Trial Mode

Trial Mode allows you to test your assistant through actual text messages without the assistant responding to other patients.

  1. Open the Test Agent tab.

  2. Turn on Trial Mode.

  3. Select Save Settings.

  4. Navigate to your own patient profile in Prospyr.

  5. Open your text conversation and turn the AI Assistant back on for your individual conversation.

  6. Send a text message to your practice's phone number.

  7. Review the assistant's responses and make adjustments to your settings or prompts as needed.

Important: Enabling Trial Mode pauses the AI Assistant in all existing conversations. While Trial Mode is active, the assistant will not respond to new or existing patient conversations through SMS or Instagram unless manually enabled for an individual conversation.

When You're Finished Testing

Once you're satisfied with your assistant's responses:

  1. Return to the Test Agent tab.

  2. Turn off Trial Mode, if enabled.

  3. Select Save Settings.

  4. Review your SMS Agent settings and confirm that Allow Agent to Respond via SMS and your availability schedule are configured as intended.

  5. Save any final changes.

Your AI Assistant can now respond to patients based on your saved settings and availability schedule.

Step 5: Monitor AI Assistant Performance

The Insights tab helps you understand how your AI Assistant is performing and how it's supporting your team.

You can change the reporting period in the upper-right corner to view the Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, or Last 90 Days.

Available Insights

  • AI-Handleable Conversations: Shows how many patient conversations the assistant could handle based on their topic.

  • Assistant Replied: Shows how many SMS and Instagram conversations the assistant participated in. This does not necessarily mean every conversation was fully resolved.

  • Team Handled Alone: Shows conversations your team responded to before the assistant became involved.

  • By Topic (SMS): Breaks down patient conversations by topic, such as appointment booking or medical questions, and indicates whether the assistant can handle the request or staff assistance is needed.

Note: Instagram conversations are included in applicable Insights reporting, but are not currently categorized by topic.

Review your Insights regularly to identify common patient questions and opportunities to improve your assistant's responses.

Step 6: Review AI Assistant Conversations

You can review the assistant's conversations to see how it's communicating with patients and identify when your team may need to step in.

Review Website Chats

The Conversations tab within AI Assistant settings displays conversations with website visitors and leads.

  1. Open the Conversations tab.

  2. Search for a conversation or select one from the list.

  3. Review the conversation history to see how the assistant responded.

Review SMS and Instagram Conversations

The assistant's text message responses appear directly within the patient's conversation in your main Conversations inbox.

This allows your team to review what the assistant has said and continue the conversation when needed.

SMS conversations are also categorized by topic, such as:

  • Appointment Booking Inquiry

  • Current Appointment Question

  • Medical Question

These categories help your team identify the types of questions patients are asking and which conversations may require follow-up.

View Website Chats from a Patient Conversation

You can also access a patient's website chat history from the main Conversations inbox.

  1. Open the patient's conversation.

  2. Select the channel menu at the top of the conversation.

  3. Choose AI Widget to view their website chat history.

Additional Settings: Manage the AI Assistant for Individual Patients

You can enable or disable the AI Assistant for specific patient conversations, even when it's enabled for your practice.

This is helpful when you want your team to personally manage certain conversations without AI responses.

Turn Off the Assistant for a Specific Patient

  1. Navigate to Patients and search for the patient.

  2. Open the patient's profile and select the Conversations tab.

  3. Open the patient's text conversation.

  4. Select + (Start or open a channel), then select View next to your practice's texting number.

  5. In the message box, select +.

  6. Turn off the AI Agent toggle.

The assistant will no longer respond in that patient's conversation.

To allow the assistant to respond again, return to the same conversation and turn the AI Agent toggle back on.

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