The patient experience begins long before a clinical encounter. For many, the first interaction is with a contact center, where navigating appointment scheduling, insurance questions, or simple directions can be a source of either reassurance or frustration. Still, many healthcare organizations rely on outdated systems that make these initial touchpoints anything but seamless.
That’s beginning to change with the rise of AI-powered contact centers. Forward-looking healthcare organizations are turning to conversational AI and intelligent automation to improve patient access, reduce agent burnout, and build trust across every interaction. Affordable Care, a leading dental support organization serving over 400 practices nationwide, offers a compelling example of how this transformation is taking shape in real time.
Rethinking Automation in the Contact Center
Like many in the healthcare space, Affordable Care recognized that automation would be key to delivering faster, more consistent service at scale. But as its patient experience team evaluated its traditional IVR system, it became clear that legacy technology had limitations, particularly for a customer base spanning multiple generations and preferences.
“Our customer base is very diverse,” said Manny Noyola, Patient Service Director at Affordable Care. “We support people who are more seasoned in life, but also want to cater to a younger generation that doesn’t necessarily want to talk to somebody to quickly handle a question or two.”
Finding the right voice AI solution proved challenging. Some vendors demanded heavy upfront costs and rigid implementation models, while others offered toolkits or templates that fundamentally lacked context for the healthcare industry, which is too risky for a large-scale healthcare operation. What Affordable Care needed was a solution that was both powerful and flexible enough to automate high-volume tasks without disrupting service continuity.
Enter VoiceAI Agents
During a quarterly review with Observe.AI, Affordable Care was introduced to VoiceAI Agents. These intelligent, conversational agents can fully automate routine phone interactions, speaking with patients in a human-like, natural way and responding in real time without robotic delays or awkward pauses.
“Our leadership saw how friendly and how quick the VoiceAI Agents were responding in the live demo,” said Noyola. “There were no long pauses or robotic responses in the interactions compared to other solutions we’ve seen. So, we knew it was the best option for us.”
Importantly, the team was not starting from scratch. For years, Affordable Care has used Observe.AI’s post-call analytics to analyze patient interactions and agent performance. That historical insight helped them pinpoint which use cases were ripe for automation.
One of the first use cases they selected: calls about practice directions. According to Noyola, agents were fielding about 400 such calls every day. These interactions were simple to resolve, yet repetitive and time-consuming for staff.
“Within the first couple of days of deploying VoiceAI Agents, 95% of callers didn’t ask to be escalated to a live agent,” said Noyola. “That specific use case alone is saving us about 8 hours per day across all agents, helping them focus on more complex use cases.”
Elevating the Human Agent Role
Rather than replacing human agents, VoiceAI Agents allowed them to shift toward more meaningful, patient-centric work. Noyola noted that team members are increasingly operating like an inbound sales force by reassuring patients about treatment decisions, building rapport, and driving satisfaction.
“Because VoiceAI Agents are handling more high-volume calls, our human agents can then focus on the patient,” Noyola explained. “They’re able to establish trust and create stronger relationships, which ultimately supports business success for our 500+ affiliated dentists.”
Looking Ahead: AI Beyond the Call Center
Affordable Care is already exploring new ways to leverage VoiceAI Agents. One initiative under consideration is outbound outreach using AI agents to follow up with no-show patients or remind them about proposed treatments. This would reduce the administrative burden on busy clinics while improving continuity of care and patient outcomes.
“VoiceAI Agents is going to be transformational to our business,” said Noyola.
As healthcare organizations look to enhance patient engagement, stories like Affordable Care’s show what’s possible when AI is deployed thoughtfully. By starting with high-impact, high-volume use cases and empowering human agents with automation, healthcare leaders can improve operational efficiency without compromising compassion.
Swapnil Jain
Swapnil Jain is CEO and co-founder of Observe.AI.
