For NHS GP practices
AI Receptionist for GP Practices
An AI receptionist for GP practices answers every patient call on the first ring, understands what the caller needs and completes the task, from booking an appointment in EMIS or SystmOne to submitting a total triage form. InTouchNow AI does this in 85+ languages and 200 accents, and passes calls to your team whenever a person is needed. 150+ practices already use it to end the 8am rush.
GP practices and enterprise customers
of calls completed by AI
languages, detected in real time
answering NHS calls since
What does an AI receptionist do for a GP practice?
Most practices know the pattern. At 8am the lines flood, patients sit on hold or hear an engaged tone, and receptionists spend the morning on routine calls instead of the patients who need them most.
An AI phone receptionist takes that pressure away. AI answers calls on your existing practice number, holds a natural conversation with no “press 1” menus, and either completes the request or routes it to the right person. Because calls are answered in parallel, patients never queue, however many ring at once.
InTouchNow was built specifically for UK general practice, not adapted from another industry. It follows your call flows, your protocols and your tone of voice, so patients get the same conversation your best receptionist would have. You can read more about the technology in our guide: how does an AI receptionist work?
What can AI handle on your phone line?
Appointment booking into EMIS and SystmOne
For book-on-the-day practices, AI receptionist appointment booking works like your reception team, just faster. AI verifies the patient against your clinical record, captures the reason for the appointment in their own words, reads live availability and books the slot in real time.
- Book-on-the-day, pre-bookable and nurse appointments
- Checking, changing and cancelling existing appointments, at any hour
- Your rules followed exactly: age-based cohorts, triage-first pathways, template criteria and protected capacity
- Cancelled slots returned to availability straight away, ready for the next caller
See how it works step by step on our book on the day page, or read our guide to AI appointment booking for GP practices.
Total triage forms into your online consultation tool
For total triage practices, AI asks the same questions your care navigators would, one at a time, at the patient’s pace. It then completes and submits the triage form, in the patient’s own words, directly into the system you already run, including Accurx, Klinik, eConsult, Anima and Rapid Health. Cases land in your triage inbox ready for clinicians to prioritise, with the full call transcript available. Find out more about AI for total triage.
Routine requests and general enquiries
The phone brings everything, so AI handles the wider call load too. It can answer questions such as opening hours or how to order a repeat prescription, capture a structured message for the right person, and signpost patients to services such as Pharmacy First.
Transfers to staff and emergencies
If a patient asks for a person, or a call needs nuance, empathy or discretion, AI transfers it to your practice team, with the full context passed across. Calls AI can’t complete are transferred to your practice team, in line with your rules. Every conversation includes NHS-safe signposting: if a patient describes red-flag symptoms, they are directed to 999 or 111 immediately, and the safety-netting is recorded on the transcript.
Multilingual calls and local accents
Real-time language detection means AI can switch language mid-call, so a patient more comfortable in Polish, Urdu or Romanian can complete their request without an interpreter booking. AI speaks 85+ languages and 200 accents, and you can choose a regional voice that sounds familiar to your patients. Explore our AI voice agents in local accents and dialects, and for consultations, our AI-powered clinical translation service.
How does AI work with your phone and clinical systems?
InTouchNow sits behind your existing IVR with any cloud telephony provider. There is no number to port and no new hardware: you simply route an AI menu option to InTouchNow, with a transfer-back line to reception. Some practices also use AI to answer calls still queuing after a set time.
Behind the scenes, AI connects to the systems your team already uses:
- Clinical systems: EMIS and SystmOne, for live booking, changes and cancellations
- Online consultation and triage: Accurx, Anima, Blinx, eConsult, Klinik, Patchs, SystmConnect, Medicus and Rapid Health
- Communications: SMS, including multilingual messages, and email transcript delivery to the practice
Your workflow stays the same. Bookings appear in your appointment book and triage cases appear in your inbox exactly as if a receptionist or patient had entered them.
Is an AI receptionist safe for NHS general practice?
Safety and governance are built in from the start. AI is designed as a non-clinical, administrative tool. It does not make clinical decisions, and safeguards detect and escalate patient safety concerns. Every deployment is risk assessed and maintained within a clinical safety case, with hazard logs and continuous audit, overseen by an NHS-accredited Clinical Safety Officer and an in-house Data Protection Officer.
InTouchNow holds or meets the following standards:
- Registered with the MHRA as a Class I medical device
- DCB 0129 and DCB 0160 clinical safety standards
- NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC)
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (information security), ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 22301 (business continuity)
- Cyber Essentials certification
- UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, with UK-hosted data and no patient data used for model training
AI introduces itself as the practice’s digital assistant on every call and never pretends to be human. Every call is transcribed, and you can listen back for training, monitoring and compliance. Read more about our clinical safety and compliance.
What results do practices see?
AI can complete up to 70% of incoming calls, and every call is answered on the first ring. Here is what practices have reported:
Practices typically report queue times falling from several minutes to a single ring, a large share of routine calls completed without a receptionist, and reception hours returned to patients who need a person. Named case studies will be added here once each practice has confirmed.
Reception teams freed from routine calls can focus on complex queries, vulnerable patients and supporting clinicians. AI is there to support your staff, not replace them.
How do setup and the free trial work?
Onboarding is done with you, not to you, and a human stays in the loop from day one.
- Discovery: we map your call flows, booking rules or triage protocol, telephony and tone of voice.
- Build: we choose your voice, accent and languages, configure AI to your scripts and connect your clinical and triage systems.
- Test together: your team hears real scenarios side by side with us, and we refine wording, routing and escalation.
- Go live and optimise: launch with human cover in place, then tune continuously with regular reporting on volumes, outcomes and transfers.
Most practices go live in days.
We offer a free two-week trial so you can see first-hand how AI handles your patients’ calls. Pricing is usage based: you only pay for calls AI answers and completes, and you can set a spending cap.
Why choose InTouchNow as your AI receptionist?
- Built from real GP reception experience: InTouchNow launched in 2019 as a human-led call centre serving NHS GP practices, built on 30 years of contact centre experience, and our quality assurance team all have GP reception experience.
- Trusted at scale: 150+ practices use InTouchNow, and we work with ICBs, federations and provider groups through our enterprise programme.
- Safety first: we chose to register as a Class I medical device because we believe tools at the front door of general practice should meet the highest standard.
- Every patient included: 85+ languages and 200 accents widen access across your whole community.
- Backed for the long term: InTouchNow AI raised a £2.3m seed round led by Ada Ventures.
Still have questions? Visit our FAQs.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI receptionist for a GP practice?
An AI receptionist is a voice agent that answers your practice phone line, understands what the patient needs in natural speech and completes the task. With InTouchNow, AI books appointments into EMIS and SystmOne, submits triage forms into your online consultation tool, signposts patients and hands calls to your team when a person is needed.
Does AI make clinical decisions?
No. AI is a non-clinical, administrative tool. It captures and structures the information your protocol asks for and follows your booking rules. Clinical decisions stay with your clinicians, and anything outside protocol is escalated straight away.
What happens if a patient wants to speak to a person?
They just ask. The call transfers to your practice team, in line with your rules, with the full context passed across so the patient does not have to repeat themselves. AI can also detect frustration and hand over.
Do we need a new phone number?
No. AI works on your existing practice number alongside your cloud telephony. There is no number to port: your AI menu option routes to InTouchNow, with a transfer-back line to reception.
How many calls can AI answer at once?
There is no practical limit. AI answers calls in parallel, so 10, 100 or 1,000 patients can get through at the same time, which is how practices end the 8am rush.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. InTouchNow offers a free two-week trial so you can see how AI works with your own patients and systems before committing.
Ready when you are
Ready to talk to AI?
Book a demo to see AI book and triage for your practice. Talk to AI on 020 3879 4499.
Trusted by 150+ practices and enterprise customers · Free two-week trial · Most practices go live in days