A solo therapist's AI receptionist books new patients while he works
1 · What happened
In a Zoom webinar, Fred shared figures from the previous week: every caller who spoke to the AI was handled without needing a person, conversations averaged about 14 back-and-forth exchanges, and the top reason for calling was booking a first visit. That's one week of data shared on a vendor's own blog, so treat it as a self-reported snapshot, not a long-term result.
These numbers come from the builder and haven't been checked independently.
RolfPros (Fred Nehring), via Zoom · Oct 2026 · Source: zoom.com ↗
2 · How it works, in plain words
Fred Nehring runs a one-person Rolfing (bodywork) practice and used to miss calls all the time while working with clients. He now uses Zoom Virtual Agent as his receptionist, named "Lisa". It tells callers up front that it's an AI, answers questions, and books appointments, including at night when people are in pain and searching for help.
3 · Setup steps
How to do it yourself
Our suggested steps. The company didn't publish theirs.
- 1
Note the calls you miss in a normal week, and when they come in.
- 2
List the questions new clients ask before booking, and your answers.
- 3
Connect an AI receptionist to your phone line and your booking calendar.
- 4
Have it say it's an AI at the start of every call.
- 5
Check a week of call summaries and fix any answer it got wrong.
4 · The prompt
The instructions to give the AI
Paste this into your AI tool, swap the [brackets] for your details, and test it on a few real examples.
This is one part of the setup. It won't connect to your phone, inbox or other apps on its own; the steps above cover that.
Agent instructions (prompt)
You are the receptionist for [Practice name], a [type of practice] run by [Name]. At the start of every call, say you are an AI assistant for the practice. Help callers with: booking a first visit, rescheduling, opening hours, location and prices from this list: [details]. To book, check [calendar] and offer the next two free times. Confirm name, phone and email. Don't give medical advice. If someone describes an emergency, tell them to call [emergency number]. If they want to speak to [Name], take a message with a short summary.
[Highlighted] = replace with your own details before you run it.
What you should get back: "Hi, I'm Lisa, the AI assistant for RolfPros. I can help you book your first session. Would Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 3 work for you?"
Written by Quickly and Good, inspired by this case.
More detail: tools, prices and what you'll need
The company used: Zoom Virtual Agent (receptionist)
You could use: Zoom Virtual Agent receptionist connected to the practice's phone line and booking calendar
Prices from each tool's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026.
What you'll need
- ☐A business phone line
- ☐An AI receptionist tool
- ☐A booking calendar it can read and write
- ☐A list of common questions and your answers
Can I do this myself?
If you already use Zoom Phone, its virtual agent is one option; otherwise see the other tools and prices on our AI receptionist and appointment booking guides.
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