AI Website Chat: Turn Your Practice Website Into a 24/7 Reception Desk

What the Chat Widget Does

When a visitor arrives on your website, a small chat button appears in the bottom corner. If they click it, they're greeted by your AI receptionist — the same receptionist that answers your phone, now available as text chat.

The AI can:

• Answer practice questions. Hours, location, parking, telehealth availability, cancellation policy, what to expect at a first appointment — anything you've configured in your practice information.
• Provide fee information. Session rates, Medicare rebates, NDIS pricing, gap payments — from the fees you set.
• Book appointments. The AI checks your real-time diary, shows open times, collects the visitor's details, and creates a booking that, with review mode on (the default), waits for your tap.
• Match visitors to the right practitioner. For group practices, the AI can direct visitors to the appropriate practitioner based on the type of service requested and availability across your team.
• Capture new client details. Even if a visitor doesn't book immediately, the AI can take their name, contact details, and reason for enquiry as a message so you can follow up.

All of this happens in a natural, conversational format — not a rigid form or a scripted chatbot with "Press 1 for..." menus.

Why Chat Matters for Practices

People Research Before They Call

Most potential clients don't pick up the phone as their first step. They search online, visit your website, read your services page, and then decide whether to reach out. The gap between "browsing your website" and "making contact" is where you lose the most potential clients.

A chat widget bridges that gap. Instead of hoping visitors will find your contact form or pick up the phone, you give them an immediate, low-barrier way to get answers. For many people — particularly younger demographics, people with social anxiety, or those researching outside business hours — typing a quick question is far easier than making a phone call.

After-Hours Capture

Your website doesn't close at 5pm. Analytics for most practice websites show that a significant portion of traffic happens outside business hours — evenings and weekends. These visitors are actively looking for help and are ready to engage.

Without a chat widget, that traffic bounces silently. With one, every after-hours visitor gets a responsive, knowledgeable interaction. A visitor at 10pm on a Saturday can ask about your availability, get your rates, and book a provisional appointment — all without waiting until Monday.

Lower Friction Than Phone or Email

Not everyone wants to call. Some people prefer text. Some are researching from their desk at work and can't make a call. Some are comparing multiple practitioners and want quick answers without committing to a phone conversation.

Chat is the lowest-friction contact method you can offer. It takes seconds to type a question, and the AI responds immediately. No hold music, no voicemail, no waiting for an email reply.

How It Works

Setup

The chat widget is configured from your Salutant account under Settings › Chat widget. You customise the appearance (a picture such as a friendly face or your logo, the first words visitors see, and a colour that matches your site — Salutant checks the text on it stays easy to read), and it uses the practice information you've already set up.

Once configured, you copy a short piece of code that you paste into your website. If you use Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or any website builder, it takes about two minutes to add.

That's it. The widget is live on your site, ready to talk to visitors.

The Visitor Experience

Here's what a typical interaction looks like from the visitor's perspective:

Visitor clicks the chat button.

> "Hi! Welcome to Mindful Psychology. I'm here to help with questions about our services, fees, or booking an appointment. How can I help?"

Visitor: "Do you have availability this week for a new client?"

> "Yes! Dr Sarah Chen has openings on Wednesday at 10:00 AM and Thursday at 2:30 PM this week. Would either of those work for you?"

Visitor: "Thursday works. How much is an initial session?"

> "An initial consultation with Dr Chen is $240 for a 60-minute session. If you have a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan, the Medicare rebate is $93.35, bringing your gap payment to $146.65. Would you like to book the Thursday 2:30 PM slot?"

Visitor: "Yes please."

> "Great! I'll just need a few details to secure that appointment."

Visitor gives their details.

> "All set! Your appointment with Dr Sarah Chen is requested for Thursday at 2:30 PM. You'll receive a confirmation once the practice confirms the booking. Is there anything else I can help with?"

The visitor goes from browsing to booked in under two minutes — at any time of day.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

When a booking is made through the chat widget, the same workflow triggers as a phone booking:

1. The booking follows your rules, and with review mode on (the default) it waits for your tap before it touches your diary
2. A notification is sent to you by email
3. The chat lands in Conversations in your Salutant account, next to your calls

You review and confirm the appointment with one tap, just as you would for a phone booking. When you want to step in, you can take over a live chat yourself.

Group Practice Support

For practices with multiple practitioners, the chat widget supports practitioner matching. When a visitor says "I'm looking for help with anxiety" or "Do you have someone who sees children?", the AI can:

• Point visitors to practitioners by the services they offer
• Check each practitioner's real-time availability (multi-practitioner booking is for Halaxy practices today)
• Present options with next available times
• Handle Medicare, NDIS, and private fee differences per practitioner

This means the chat widget acts as a receptionist for your group practice — directing visitors to the right practitioner based on their needs and availability. It gives no clinical advice or triage. No phone tag, no "let me check and get back to you."

Custom FAQs

Every practice has questions that come up repeatedly. "Do you offer telehealth?" "Is there parking?" "What should I bring to my first appointment?" "Do you see children?" "What's your cancellation policy?"

The chat widget draws on the practice information you add for these. You write the question and answer in plain language, and the AI incorporates them naturally into conversations — it doesn't just copy-paste your answer, it weaves the information into a conversational response.

This means the AI gets smarter about your specific practice over time as you add more information. The more context you give it, the more accurately it can respond to visitor questions.

Privacy and Data Handling

The chat widget handles administrative information only — appointment scheduling, practice details, fees, and contact information. It never accesses or reveals clinical notes, session content, assessment results, diagnoses, or treatment plans.

If a visitor describes an emergency, the chat tells them to call triple zero (000) and gives crisis lines, including Lifeline on 13 11 14.

All conversations are stored securely and accessible only to your practice in your Salutant account. The same privacy principles that apply to phone call records apply to chat transcripts.

Embedding on Your Website

The widget works with any website platform. You copy a short piece of code from Settings › Chat widget, and Salutant can email the steps to your web developer for you.

Platform-specific instructions:

• WordPress: Paste into a header-and-footer scripts plugin, or your theme's footer settings
• Squarespace: Settings → Advanced → Code Injection → Footer
• Wix: Settings → Custom Code → Add Code → Body end (a paid Wix plan is needed)
• Webflow: Project Settings → Custom Code → Footer Code
• Static HTML: Paste before the closing `</body>` tag

The widget loads asynchronously, so it won't slow down your page load. On phones, the chat opens full screen.

Plans

• Solo: $49 + GST a month, 180 call minutes included, 1 booking seat
• Team: $129 + GST a month, 360 call minutes included, up to 5 booking seats
• Clinic: $249 + GST a month, 720 call minutes included, up to 10 booking seats

Extra minutes are 40c each, from a prepaid balance you top up. See Salutant pricing.

Phone + Chat: Two Channels, One AI

The phone receptionist and website chat widget share the same practice information and rules. Your practice information, service rates, business hours, diary availability, and custom configuration are used by both channels. When you update your rates or business hours, both the phone AI and the chat AI reflect the change immediately.

This means you configure once and reach clients everywhere — whether they prefer to call or type.

Getting Started

1. Sign up for Salutant — start with a free demo call
2. Configure your practice details — services, rates, hours, and greeting
3. Choose a plan
4. Set up the chat widget in Settings › Chat widget
5. Copy the code and paste it into your website
6. Test it — visit your website and start a conversation

The entire setup takes under 10 minutes. Once live, every website visitor has instant access to a knowledgeable, professional receptionist — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

*The AI website chat widget provides general practice information and appointment scheduling assistance. It does not provide medical advice, clinical assessments, or therapeutic interventions. Review mode is on by default, so bookings made through the chat widget wait for the practice's tap. The chat widget does not access or display clinical notes, session records, assessment results, or treatment plans. Practice owners are responsible for the accuracy of information configured in their widget settings.*