AI receptionists for medical practices, and the clinical boundary
The design question comes before the vendor question. A medical practice deploying any of these has to decide what the assistant is allowed to discuss, and the right answer is scheduling and general inquiries, with anything clinical routed to a person. That boundary is yours to set and every product here will respect it.
We rank first on that boundary being enforceable at the entry price. Clinical questions route out by rule, scheduling and general inquiries carry on, and the assistant announces itself at call start. Booking is on the $49 plan where Rosie gates it to $149.
Smith.ai keeps a human team behind the assistant, which is the difference between a handoff that lands and one that becomes a message. At $150 a month for Pro that is priced above the SMB options here. GreetKeeper's handoff reaches your front desk, then a second number you nominate.
If you are licensed in Utah, the disclosure requirement is a product specification. State-licensed occupations must disclose prominently and verbally at the start, so ask each vendor whether their assistant can announce itself at call start in your wording.
How this was put together
Compared in September 2026 on the boundary a practice has to draw and on ordinary scheduling, by the team behind one of the entries.
What we compared
- Whether clinical calls can be routed out of the assistant by rule, immediately.
- Whether the assistant can speak an AI disclosure at the start.
- What happens to a clinical call after it is routed out.
- Booking at the entry tier, plus price and overage.
The shortlist at a glance
Billing unit first, because it decides more of the final bill than the headline price does.
| Charges by | Entry plan | After the allowance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GreetKeeper | per answered call | $49/mo for 200 answered calls | $0.45 a call on Starter, published |
| Smith.ai | per call | Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call | Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises |
| Ruby | per minute | $250/mo for 50 minutes | Not published on their pricing page |
| Abby Connect | per minute (half-rate AI) | Starter $165/mo for 50 Abby Minutes | Not published; one Abby Minute buys two minutes of AI handling |
| Rosie | per minute | Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes | Not published |
Read from each vendor's own pricing page in September 2026.
GreetKeeper
Scheduling at $49 with a verbal AI disclosure, and a clear rule for what it discusses.
Worth it for: A practice wanting appointments and general inquiries handled while the front desk is with patients, with clinical calls routed straight out and the assistant announcing itself for the Utah rule.
Charges per answered call. Entry plan $49/mo for 200 answered calls. After the allowance: $0.45 a call on Starter, published.
Smith.ai
The human team is what makes a clinical handoff land somewhere.
Worth it for: A practice whose worst call is an anxious patient outside hours, where a trained person catching it changes the outcome.
Not for: Small practices at $150 a month, and anyone expecting their legal-vertical depth to translate to clinical software.
Charges per call. Entry plan Free tier at $0 for 25 calls, then $3.00 a call. After the allowance: Published, and the per-call rate falls as the tier rises.
Ruby
People answering, which matters when a patient is frightened.
Worth it for: A specialist practice with low call volume where the emotional register of the first contact is part of the care.
Not for: General-practice volume, at $250 for 50 minutes with no published overage rate.
Charges per minute. Entry plan $250/mo for 50 minutes. After the allowance: Not published on their pricing page.
Abby Connect
Human and AI in one plan, so the mix can shift without a migration.
Worth it for: A practice wanting people on the main line and software on overflow, under a single allowance.
Not for: Tight budgets at $165 entry, with no published overage rate.
Charges per minute (half-rate AI). Entry plan Starter $165/mo for 50 Abby Minutes. After the allowance: Not published; one Abby Minute buys two minutes of AI handling.
Rosie
Cheap coverage with booking behind the second tier.
Worth it for: A practice wanting out-of-hours calls captured accurately, with its own urgent-care instruction played first.
Not for: Filling the appointment book from the entry plan, since booking starts at $149.
Charges per minute. Entry plan Professional $49/mo for 250 minutes. After the allowance: Not published.
The boundary to set before you buy anything
Decide what a caller describing symptoms hears, and make it identical at every hour. Usually that is an instruction and a number rather than a question. No assistant on this page should be assessing whether a symptom is urgent, and any vendor demonstrating that is demonstrating a liability.
Keep clinical detail out of the call entirely. Scoping the assistant to scheduling and general inquiries is a design decision that shrinks the data question rather than answering it, and it is the right default regardless of vendor.
Then set closure dates for the days the practice shuts. On those days the assistant answers as closed, plays your urgent-care instruction first, and books the next open slot for routine callers.
Our own pricing, in full
Including the rate after the allowance, which is the number most of this list leaves off.
| Plan | Monthly | Calls included | After that |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterFor a single location taking calls one line at a time. | $49 | 200 | $0.45 per call |
| ProfessionalBooking, routing and transfers included, not an add-on. | $149 | 750 | $0.35 per call |
| ScaleFor busy phones and longer opening hours. | $349 | 2,000 | $0.25 per call |
The short version
- Booking is included on every tier. Rosie keeps booking and live transfer behind its $149 plan.
- The overage rate is on the pricing page. Rosie, Ruby, Slang and AnswerConnect do not publish theirs.
- Calls are counted, not minutes, so a long useful conversation costs the same as a short one.
Questions people ask about this list
What data does the assistant collect?
What you scope it to: name, callback number, appointment type and reason for calling. GreetKeeper does not make a HIPAA claim. Clinical detail stays in your practice system, and every call arrives as a transcript and summary.
What does Utah require of a medical practice?
Medicine is a state-licensed occupation, so the Utah AI Policy Act requires prominent verbal disclosure at the start of the interaction. Ask each vendor whether their assistant can do that.
Can it handle a prescription request?
It can capture that someone rang about one and route it. Anything beyond capture is clinical and belongs with your team.
Why is GreetKeeper first on a list it wrote?
Because the boundary a practice has to draw is configuration, and ours enforces it at $49 with the disclosure spoken at call start. Booking is on that plan, where Rosie gates it to $149.
Hear one of these handle your own call
Your scenario, your greeting, a couple of minutes.