The Notifications tab lets you control how your team is alerted when the AI Receptionist needs attention or captures important information. By configuring notification recipients and delivery methods, you can ensure that the right people are informed immediately, helping your practice respond quickly to patients and avoid missed opportunities.

Why Notifications Matter

Your AI Receptionist handles patient conversations 24/7, but there are times when your team needs to step in or follow up. Notifications keep your staff informed when important events occur, such as:

A patient requests to speak with a staff member.
The AI is unable to complete a booking or rescheduling request.
A voicemail is recorded.
An urgent care request is detected.
Authentication fails or additional staff action is required.

By configuring notifications, your office can:

Respond to patients faster by alerting the appropriate team members immediately.
Reduce missed appointments by following up on incomplete bookings or confirmations.
Improve patient satisfaction by ensuring important requests aren't overlooked.
Stay informed about AI performance and conversations that require human intervention.
Customize alerts so staff only receive the notifications that are relevant to their role.

How to Access AI Receptionist Notifications

To configure notifications:

Navigate to New Settings.
Select AI.
Open AI Receptionist.
Click the Notifications tab.

From here, you can configure recipients and notification preferences for your practice.

Notification Settings Overview

The Notifications page is divided into four sections.

Email Notifications

Choose who receives email notifications for escalations and voicemails.

You can notify:

Existing staff members
Additional email addresses (office aliases, managers, or external contacts)

This is ideal for ensuring important updates are delivered even if the recipient is not actively logged into Practice by Numbers.

SMS / Text Notifications

Configure text message alerts for time-sensitive events.

You can select:

Staff members
Additional phone numbers

SMS notifications are recommended for urgent situations that require immediate attention.

Team Messaging Notifications

Send notifications directly within the Practice by Numbers team messaging system.

These notifications are useful for offices that primarily communicate inside the platform, allowing staff to respond without relying on email or text messages.

Notification Preferences

The Notification Preferences table allows you to choose:

Which events trigger notifications
How each notification is delivered

Each notification type can be enabled independently for:

Email
SMS
Pending Action
Team Message

This flexibility allows every practice to customize notifications based on their workflow.

Available Notification Types

Below are the notification events available for the AI Receptionist.

Notification	Description
Message for Staff	Patient asked the AI Receptionist to relay a message to the team.
General Patient Info	Patient shared contextual information such as running late or insurance updates.
Unmatched Visit Type	The AI could not find a matching visit type to complete scheduling.
Blocked Due to Authentication Failure	The caller could not be authenticated, preventing the conversation from continuing.
Call Directly Abandoned	The caller disconnected almost immediately after the conversation started.
Appointment Not Booked	Appointment availability existed, but the booking was not completed.
Cancellation / Reschedule Not Logged	The caller intended to cancel or reschedule but the request could not be completed.
Appointment Confirmation Not Completed	The caller attempted to confirm an appointment but confirmation was unsuccessful.
Knowledge Base Gap	The patient asked a question that wasn't covered in the AI Receptionist's Knowledge Base.
Urgent Care — No Slots Available	An urgent appointment was requested, but no immediate availability was found.
Repeated Authentication Failures	Caller failed authentication multiple consecutive times.
AI Cancellation Request	The AI Receptionist captured a cancellation request on behalf of the caller.
AI Rescheduling Request	The AI Receptionist captured a rescheduling request on behalf of the caller.
Voicemail Note	The AI Receptionist recorded a voicemail from the caller.
Human Assistance Requested	The caller explicitly requested to speak with a staff member.
Emergency Care Requested	A potential emergency situation was detected during the conversation.
Slots Not Accepted	Appointment times were offered, but the patient was unable to accept any of the available options.

Best Practices

To ensure your team stays informed without overwhelming staff with unnecessary alerts, consider these recommendations:

Send urgent events such as emergency care requests, human assistance requests, and urgent care notifications through both SMS and Email.
Enable Pending Actions for appointment-related events so staff can easily identify follow-up tasks.
Route General Patient Info and Knowledge Base Gaps to office managers or administrators who can improve office processes and AI responses.
Include multiple recipients for voicemail notifications to ensure patient messages are never missed.
Periodically review notification settings as your office workflows evolve.

Benefits of Proper Notification Configuration

Taking a few minutes to configure AI Receptionist notifications helps your practice:

Never miss important patient requests.
Improve response times for urgent situations.
Keep the appropriate staff informed automatically.
Reduce manual follow-up and missed opportunities.
Ensure the AI Receptionist works seamlessly alongside your team.

Properly configured notifications help your AI Receptionist become an extension of your front office—keeping staff informed while allowing the AI to handle routine patient interactions efficiently.