Blogs · July 2026

How long does it take to get an AI agent live in a practice, and what does it cost?

Two to six weeks, one channel first, from £500 a month. Here is what actually happens in those weeks and what you have to do.

The short answer: most practices are live in two to six weeks, starting with one channel and adding the rest as each earns its place. Plans start at £500 a month, and the right number depends on your call volumes and how much work you want the agent to take on. There is no coding, and you do not replace your practice management system.

What the weeks are actually spent on

The build is not the slow part. Getting your information straight is.

Week one: an initial chat. A relaxed call about your patients, your channels, and the systems the agent has to sit alongside. What is ringing that nobody answers, what is slipping, what would count as a win.

Weeks one to three: we tailor it. This is the real work. Your treatments or services, your fees, your opening hours, your policies, all pulled into one knowledge base and checked by you. If your fees live in three spreadsheets and one nurse's memory, this is the week that surfaces it. Then we shape the voice so it sounds like your practice rather than a call centre.

Weeks two to four: switch on one channel. Usually voice, because that is where the pain is. It answers real calls from day one, with you setting what it handles and what goes straight to a person.

Ongoing: refine. We watch the logs and the analytics with you and tune it. The agent gets sharper because your knowledge base gets sharper.

What you have to do

Honestly, less than you fear, but not nothing:

• Approve the knowledge base. Somebody at the practice has to confirm the fees, hours and policies are right. This is the one thing nobody can do for you.
• Decide the escalation rules. What goes to a person, who, and how fast. This is a ten minute conversation that matters more than any other setting.
• Give access to the diary. So it can book into the system you already run rather than take messages.

What it costs

Plans start at £500 a month. The right plan takes shape once we understand your volumes and the channels you want on, and we confirm the figure after a first conversation. There are no per-seat surprises.

Worth weighing that against the alternative. Hiring more front-desk cover is the other honest answer to the same problem, and it is the more expensive one. It is also getting harder: 78% of dental practice owners told the British Dental Association they were stressed about recruitment and retention. And a salary still does not cover Sunday at 9pm.

Why one channel first

Because it proves itself or it does not, and you find out in weeks rather than quarters.

Start where the leak is. In a dental practice that is usually the phone and the recall list. In a veterinary practice it is usually the phone and the out-of-hours line, because owners cannot find what they need anywhere else: fewer than 40% of practices publish prices on their websites, according to the CMA, so they ring.

Then add email, chat and social as each earns its place.

What will not happen

• You will not replace your practice management system. It sits alongside it.
• You will not need anyone technical at the practice.
• The agent will not give clinical advice, on day one or ever. Admin only, with anything clinical or urgent going straight to a person on your team.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• British Dental Association, 2023 survey of general dental practitioners. 78% of practice owners stressed about recruitment and retention. https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/blog/supporting-you-during-declining-morale-in-dentistry/
• Competition and Markets Authority, final decision on the veterinary market investigation, March 2026. Fewer than 40% of practices publish prices on their websites. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-concludes-market-investigation-with-major-reforms-to-veterinary-sector