Tilly vs a traditional answering service
A traditional answering service puts a person on the line for your clinic, usually after hours or when you're busy. Most take a message and pass it on. Tilly is an AI that answers in your clinic's name, books straight into your practice software, turns requests into tasks, and sends possible emergencies to your team, your on-call vet or your emergency partner. It tells every caller it's an AI. Which is right depends on what you want callers to get from the call.
At a glance
| Tilly | Typical answering service — check with yours | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers when | 24/7, in the modes you choose: overflow, after hours, schedule or all calls | Depends on the service and contract; ask |
| Speaks to callers as | Tilly, the AI assistant at your clinic, in your clinic's name | A person, usually answering in your clinic's name |
| Books into your PIMS | Yes, directly, with your rules and a live availability check | Ask whether agents can see and write to your PIMS |
| Refills and results | Verified caller, complete details, task in your dashboard and note in your PIMS | Usually a message passed to the clinic; ask how |
| Possible emergencies | Checked on every sentence; caller connected to your team, or emergency partner details given and texted, on-call vet alerted | Ask how the service recognises and escalates emergencies, and whether a vet approved the script |
| Medical advice | Never | Ask what agents are allowed to say |
| Texts and WhatsApp | Yes, with the same rules as calls | Ask |
| Capacity at peak times | 10 calls at once per location by default; extra calls ring through to your clinic | Depends on staffing; ask about hold times |
| What you see afterwards | Every conversation with summary, transcript, outcome and (if recorded) audio in your dashboard within a minute | Ask how messages and call records reach you |
| Languages | English and Spanish | Ask |
| Data location | In the US | Ask |
| Pricing model | Per location per month, with included minutes; $0.20 per extra minute | Commonly per minute or per call |
The differences that matter
- A message vs a finished job. If a client calls at 8 p.m. to book a vaccine, a message means your team calls them back tomorrow. Tilly books it then and there, in your PIMS, and texts a confirmation.
- Emergencies handled the same way every time. Tilly's emergency checks run on every sentence and follow rules approved by licensed veterinarians and signed off by your own vet. Its emergency wording is fixed and pre-approved.
- Everything visible. Every Tilly conversation is in your dashboard with a summary and outcome, and your Monday report shows calls answered, bookings made and estimated recovered revenue.
- No hold queue. Tilly answers several calls at once, so a busy Monday doesn't mean callers wait for an available agent.
- A person when one is needed. Tilly transfers to your team whenever a caller asks or needs a person, with a spoken summary before your staff accept.
When an answering service may suit you better
- Your callers expect to speak to a person every time, even for routine requests.
- You need someone to make judgement calls Tilly is designed not to make, for example a service staffed by veterinary nurses under your clinic's own protocols.
- Your practice software isn't supported and you mainly want messages taken.
Using both
Some clinics keep a human service for specific needs and use Tilly for overflow, booking and routine calls. Tilly can transfer calls to any number you choose, including a service.
Questions to ask any answering service
- Can your agents book directly into our PIMS? Which PIMS?
- How do you recognise a possible emergency, and who approved that script?
- What can your agents say about a pet's health?
- How do we see each call afterwards, and how fast?
- How are we billed: per minute, per call, or a flat fee? What counts as a minute?
- Where is our clients' data stored, and for how long?
Compare the cost with your own numbers
Enter your bill, your monthly calls and your average call length to compare.
Tilly cost = the plan with the lowest monthly total for these minutes: plan price per location plus $0.20 per minute beyond the included minutes. One location; prices exclude tax.
Questions
Is Tilly an answering service?
It does the job of one and more: it answers in your clinic's name, books into your PIMS, takes requests as tasks and gets emergencies to a person. It's an AI, and it tells every caller so.
Will callers be put off by an AI?
Callers hear right away that they're talking to Tilly, the AI assistant at your clinic, and can ask for a person at any time. Try our demo and judge for yourself.
Can we switch from our answering service gradually?
Yes. Start Tilly on overflow or a schedule while your service covers the rest, then widen it.
Does Tilly take messages like an answering service?
Yes, and more: a message becomes a task with all the details, assigned to the right person, with an automatic update to the client when it's done.
Call both and compare
Call your answering service, then call our demo clinic.