Optometry Answering Service & AI Receptionist for Eye Care
Frontivo.io is a 24/7 AI receptionist and answering service for optometrists, eye care practices and optical shops. It answers calls, website chats and texts in seconds, books comprehensive eye exams, contact lens fittings and children's exams on your real schedule, answers questions about vision plans, insurance, exam prices and frame brands from your own information, takes glasses and contact lens requests as messages for your optical team, and flags eye emergencies — sudden vision loss, flashes and new floaters, a chemical splash or an eye injury — so the patient is told to get emergency care and your team is alerted right away. It never gives medical advice. All-in-one plans start at $299/month (Phone Only $199/month, Website Chat Only $149/month), and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
14-day free trial · No credit card · 14-day money-back on your first payment · Keep your number by forwarding it
Hi, I've suddenly started seeing lots of floaters and flashes of light in my right eye. Is that something you see?
Thank you for calling. The practice treats sudden flashes and new floaters as urgent. Is there also a shadow or curtain over part of your vision?
Kind of, at the edge.
Please don't wait on this. The practice asks patients with these symptoms to go to the nearest emergency room or eye emergency clinic now. I'm flagging this for the on-call optometrist with your number. Can I have your name?
What can an AI receptionist do for an optometry practice?
Eye exam booking
Books comprehensive exams, contact lens fittings, children's exams and follow-ups with the right length, and texts a confirmation with what to bring — current glasses, contact lenses and insurance card.
Vision plan and insurance questions
Answers which vision plans and medical insurance you accept and your self-pay exam prices, only from what you enter.
Eye emergency alerts
Flags sudden vision loss, flashes and new floaters, chemical splashes, eye injuries and severe eye pain, tells the caller to get emergency care where your rules say so, and alerts your team right away (live transfer to your on-call number is on every phone plan).
Glasses and contact lens requests
Takes "are my glasses ready?", prescription copy and contact lens reorder requests as messages for your optical team, with the patient's details already collected.
Optical shop questions
Answers frame brands, lens options, hours and whether walk-ins are welcome for adjustments and repairs, from what you enter.
After-hours coverage
Answers nights and weekends, books the next available exam and gives your after-hours eye-emergency instructions.
No medical advice
It never diagnoses, interprets symptoms or comments on a prescription. Clinical questions become a message for your doctors (or a live transfer to your team).
Why optometry practices lose eye exams to busy phones
An optometry front desk handles exam bookings, vision plan checks, frame questions and "are my glasses ready?" calls, all while greeting patients and running pre-testing. When the line is busy, a new patient looking for an eye exam simply calls the next practice on the list. After hours, a patient with sudden flashes of light or a chemical splash needs clear instructions right away, not a voicemail box.
How does Frontivo.io handle a call about sudden flashes and floaters?
A sample conversation. Prices and names are examples — Frontivo.io only quotes the prices and details you give it.
Caller
Hi, I've suddenly started seeing lots of floaters and flashes of light in my right eye. Is that something you see?
Frontivo.io AI
Thank you for calling. The practice treats sudden flashes and new floaters as urgent. Is there also a shadow or curtain over part of your vision?
Caller
Kind of, at the edge.
Frontivo.io AI
Please don't wait on this. The practice asks patients with these symptoms to go to the nearest emergency room or eye emergency clinic now. I'm flagging this for the on-call optometrist with your number. Can I have your name?
Caller
Daniel Park.
Frontivo.io AI
Thanks, Daniel. The on-call optometrist has your details and will follow up with you shortly. If your vision gets worse on the way, call emergency services.
How do you set up an AI receptionist for an optometry practice?
- 1
Tell Frontivo.io about your practice: doctors, exam types and lengths, hours, vision plans and insurance accepted, exam prices, frame brands and your eye-emergency instructions — type them in or import a page from your website.
- 2
Set your rules — what counts as an eye emergency, when to transfer to the on-call doctor, which exams can be booked — then test every channel in the Channel Tester.
- 3
Forward your practice line (or get a new Frontivo.io number: in seconds in the US and Canada, after a documents check in most other countries) and paste one line of code to add the chat and voice widget to your website.
What to add to your knowledge base
- Comprehensive eye exams
- Contact lens exams and fittings
- Children's eye exams
- Dry eye and medical eye visits
- Vision plans and insurance accepted
- Frame brands and lens options
- Glasses and contact lens orders and pickup
- Eye emergency and after-hours instructions
Works with the tools you already use
- Your business phone number. Forward your existing line, or get a new number.
- Google & Outlook Calendar. Checks live availability before it books, so slots aren't double-booked.
- Website chat, text, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger & email. One AI receptionist answers on every channel with the same knowledge (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email are on Growth, or each on its own single-channel plan). WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger open soon, once Meta's approval is through: reserve WhatsApp Only, Instagram Only, Messenger Only or Growth at no charge.
- Zapier, webhooks and API. Send every new lead and booking to the other software your optometry practice runs on through Zapier, Make, signed webhooks or the API (on Growth; opens soon, reserve it at no charge). Google Sheets and Slack or Teams alerts work on every plan.
What are missed calls costing your optometry practice?
Adjust the sliders to your own numbers.
Estimated extra revenue if those callers book
$5,456/month
- Phone Only plan
- -$199
- Net per month
- $5,257
Pays for itself after 1 job a month.
An estimate from your own numbers, not a promise. Prices in US dollars.
Start free trialFrontivo.io vs voicemail vs an answering service for optometrists
Voicemail
- Cost
- Free
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- No
- Knows your urgent calls
- No
- Channels
- Phone only
Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai)
- Cost
- Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- Often (Calendly or Google Calendar)
- Knows your urgent calls
- Follows your script
- Channels
- Phone; live chat or texts with some providers
In-house receptionist
- Cost
- About $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits)
- Hours
- Business hours
- Books on your calendar
- Yes
- Knows your urgent calls
- Yes
- Channels
- One call at a time
Frontivo.io
- Cost
- From $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- Yes
- Knows your urgent calls
- Yes
- Channels
- Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon)
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| Option | Cost | Hours | Books on your calendar | Knows your urgent calls | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Free | 24/7 | Phone only | ||
| Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai) | Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls | 24/7 | Often (Calendly or Google Calendar) | Follows your script | Phone; live chat or texts with some providers |
| In-house receptionist | About $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits) | Business hours | One call at a time | ||
| Frontivo.io | From $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included | 24/7 | Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon) |
Sources: Ruby and Smith.ai pricing pages (checked September 28, 2026); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Receptionists (2025 median pay) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026, benefits 30% of compensation). US prices from the sources above; other providers and countries vary. Frontivo.io prices are in US dollars.
For optometrists the difference that matters most is booking the exam on the first call while sending true eye emergencies straight to care: Frontivo.io does both by your rules and keeps every clinical question for your doctors.
How much does an AI receptionist for an optometrist cost?
Optometry practices can start on Starter ($299/month): phone, website chat and text, with 300 AI voice minutes (about 100 calls), 300 website chats and 300 AI text replies, plus live call transfer to your front desk or on-call doctor, appointment reminders and the Leads and Customers pages. Busier practices that also want WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email choose Growth ($549/month; opens soon, reserve it at no charge) for all 7 channels, with 450 minutes (about 150 calls), 600 conversations and 500 text replies, plus review requests after visits and analytics. Calls and website chat work from day one; texting switches on after carrier approval for your number. Annual plans save 15%, extra usage is billed per unit or can be set to pause at your allowance, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no card and no setup fee (your phone number is connected when you subscribe, and WhatsApp comes with WhatsApp Only or Growth, which open soon). Need just one channel? Phone Only is $199/month, and single-channel plans start at $99/month. Several locations or 1,500+ minutes a month? Talk to us about a custom plan. Prices in US dollars.
Compare all plansFAQ
Optometrists: FAQ
Straight answers about how Frontivo.io works for optometrists.
- You define what counts as an eye emergency, such as sudden vision loss, flashes and new floaters, a curtain over the vision, a chemical splash or an eye injury, and what the patient should do. Frontivo.io gives those instructions — for example, to go to an emergency room or call the local emergency number — flags the call and alerts your team right away (live transfer to your on-call number is on every phone plan).
Still have questions?
Pick whatever's easiest. We're happy to help.
Keep exploring
Related industries
- Medical answering service
- Dental answering service
- Physical therapy answering service
- Chiropractic answering service
The features behind it
- AI phone receptionist
- AI appointment booking
- Human handoff and live call transfer
- Text messaging (SMS)
Guides for optometrists
- How to choose a medical answering service: operators, nurse triage or AI, HIPAA and cost
- How to stop missing calls at a small business
- After-hours answering service: your options compared (and what each costs)
- AI receptionist vs answering service: what actually changes?
- Compare Frontivo.io with other options
Answer calls 24/7.
Website chat can be live in about 15 minutes, and your phone number is connected when you subscribe. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
- 14-day free trial
- No credit card
- Cancel anytime
Several locations, a team, or a custom setup? Talk to sales