Possible emergencies reach a person within seconds
Tilly listens for signs of a possible emergency in everything a caller says. When it hears one, it stops whatever it was doing and connects the caller to your team. When you're closed, it sends them to your emergency partner and alerts your on-call vet. It never tries to handle an emergency itself.
Updated
Transcript
- Caller · 00:15My dog Daisy got into something in the garage and she isn't acting like herself.
- Tilly · 00:18That could be urgent, so I'm connecting you to the team right now. Please stay on the line.
- 00:29 · Transferred to Marcus Bell (front desk) · answered in 11 s
Timeline
- 6:58:04 p.m.Call answered: AI disclosure, person line, recording notice
- 6:58:19 p.m.Possible emergency recognised on the caller's first turn (vet-approved script)
- 6:58:20 p.m.Urgent path: transfer to the front desk started
- 6:58:31 p.m.Transfer answered by Marcus Bell
- 6:58:32 p.m.Dashboard alert and on-call text to Dr. Priya Shah
- 6:59:06 p.m.Acknowledged by Dana Ortiz
The worst call to miss.
A dog that ate rat bait or a cat straining in the litter box can't wait for a callback. A voicemail box can't tell the difference. Neither should an AI try to judge it. Tilly's job is to recognise the signs and get the caller to someone who can help.
How it works
Checks every sentence first.
Before Tilly answers anything, it checks what the caller just said for red flags, such as trouble breathing, collapse, seizures, suspected poisoning, heavy bleeding or a hard, swollen belly.
Treats doubt as urgent.
If it isn't sure, it treats the call as urgent. Once a call is urgent, nothing in the conversation can downgrade it.
Open: connects your team.
Tilly tells the caller it's connecting them now and rings your urgent line. Your staff hear what the caller reported before they accept. If no one picks up within 30 seconds, Tilly gives the caller your emergency partner's details.
Closed: emergency partner and on-call vet.
Tilly reads out your emergency partner's name, number and address, texts them, and offers to connect the call. Your on-call vet gets a phone call, text and app alert.
Reviewed the same day.
Every urgent conversation appears at the top of your dashboard until someone acknowledges it, and is reviewed by your clinic and by a Tilly clinical advisor.
Example from our demo clinic
- Caller
- My dog just ate a whole bar of dark chocolate and he's shaking.
- Tilly
- What you're describing could be an emergency. I'm connecting you to our team right now — please stay on the line.
- Front desk phone
- (Front desk phone, before connecting) "Urgent Tilly call: possible toxin, dog, Biscuit. Press 1 to take it."
Details
Same rules on every channel.
Texts, WhatsApp, email and web chat are checked the same way. A text that sounds urgent gets an immediate reply telling the client to call now, with your emergency partner's details.Fixed, approved wording.
During an emergency, Tilly only says lines written and approved by licensed vets, pre-recorded in your clinic's Tilly voice.No advice, even when asked.
If a caller asks "should I make him sick?", Tilly answers: "I can't give medical advice, but the quickest way to help Biscuit is to speak to a vet right now."If the caller hangs up.
Tilly still texts the emergency partner's details, alerts your on-call vet after hours and creates an urgent follow-up task.Landlines.
If the caller's number can't receive texts, Tilly repeats the number slowly, digit by digit.Your dashboard.
A red banner appears for everyone at that location within two seconds and stays until someone acknowledges it.Sensitive calls go to people, with compassion.
When a caller wants to talk about euthanasia, a pet that has died, a complaint about care, how a surgery went or a disputed bill, Tilly doesn't try to book or sell anything. It answers with fixed, kind wording approved by veterinarians, then offers to put the caller through to your team when someone is available, or a priority callback. After hours, a caller asking about euthanasia is also given your emergency partner's number in case their pet is suffering now. Tilly never books a euthanasia.
Sensitive calls
Example from our demo clinic
- Caller
- I think it's time for Bella. I need to talk to someone about putting her to sleep.
- Tilly
- I'm so sorry you're facing this. Our team takes care of this personally, so I'd like to put you in touch with them rather than arrange it myself. I can put you through to someone on the team now, or ask them to call you back as a priority — whichever is easier for you.
Your control
- Choose your urgent line, its hours and who it rings, and how long it rings (15 to 60 seconds; 30 by default).
- Choose who takes each kind of sensitive call, and in what order. The offer of a person or a priority callback is always made and can't be switched off.
- Name your emergency partner and set your on-call rota.
- Add red flags specific to your clinic. They're approved by a licensed vet at your clinic. You can add, never remove.
- Flag any conversation that should have been treated as urgent. It goes to our clinical advisors and into our test set.
No medical advice.
Tilly never diagnoses, names medicines or doses, or suggests home remedies.
Emergencies go to a person.
A possible emergency is passed to your team, or your emergency partner after hours, within seconds.
Always says it's an AI.
Every call and message starts with "I'm Tilly, the AI assistant at your clinic."
What Tilly will never do
- Give medical advice, a diagnosis, a medicine name or a dose.
- Suggest home remedies or first aid.
- Tell a caller that something isn't serious.
- Lower the urgency of a call once it's flagged.
Questions
Does Tilly decide whether it's an emergency?
No. Tilly recognises signs that it might be one and gets the caller to a person. People decide what happens next.
What counts as a red flag?
Things like trouble breathing, collapse, seizures, suspected poisoning, heavy bleeding, a swollen belly with retching, a cat straining to pee, being hit by a car, labour problems and eye injuries, plus anything the caller calls an emergency. The full list is approved by licensed veterinarians and you can add to it.
What if Tilly flags something that isn't an emergency?
The caller reaches a person sooner than they needed to. We tune the rules to catch every emergency first, and to avoid false alarms second.
Who writes the emergency rules?
Tilly's clinical advisors, who are licensed veterinarians. Every new version must pass our full safety test set before it's used, and your own vet signs off before you go live.
Can Tilly call 911 or an emergency number?
No. Tilly never dials public emergency numbers. It connects callers to your clinic, your on-call vet or the emergency clinic you've chosen.
What happens when someone calls about euthanasia or a pet that has died?
Tilly answers with fixed, gentle wording approved by veterinarians, doesn't try to book anything, and offers to put the caller through to your team when someone is available, or to arrange a priority callback. After hours, a euthanasia caller is also given your emergency partner's number. Tilly never books a euthanasia. The same care applies to complaints, questions about how a surgery went and billing disputes.