AI + human receptionists, law-first
Clinic Answering Service vs Smith.ai
Smith.ai pairs AI with live human agents and is strong for law firms and professional services. Its public pricing showed plans from $300 for 30 calls, and its medical page stated the service is not HIPAA compliant when we checked. Based on public information as of October 2026; check with the vendor.
Choose Clinic Answering Service if…
- You handle protected health information and need a signed BAA
- You want bookings in real slots, with OpenEMR write-back planned (sandbox today)
- You want insurance eligibility checked on the call
- You prefer flat monthly pricing over per-call billing
Choose Smith.ai if…
- You are a law firm or agency with no PHI
- You want human receptionists on every call
- You need their CRM integrations such as Clio or HubSpot
Side by side
| Capability | Clinic Answering Service | Smith.ai |
|---|---|---|
| HIPAA compliant with a signed BAA | ✓ | — |
| Books real slots in the EHR schedule | Sandbox today; planned | Partial |
| Native OpenEMR integration | Sandbox today; planned first | — |
| athenahealth, eClinicalWorks via FHIR/HL7 | Sandbox today; planned | — |
| Eligibility (270/271) during the call | Sandbox until clearinghouse contracted | — |
| AI voice waitlist fill on cancellation | ✓ | — |
| Warm transfer with whisper summary | ✓ | Partial |
| Live human agents | Your staff, by transfer | ✓ |
| Revenue ledger in dollars | ✓ | — |
| English and Spanish included | ✓ | Add-on |
| Missed-call text-back | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public pricing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Entry price / month | $149 | $300 (30 calls) |
Pricing and feature notes come from public pages as of October 2026; confirm with each vendor before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Can Clinic Answering Service replace Smith.ai for a medical office?
Yes, if the goal is booked visits rather than messages. Clinic Answering Service signs a BAA, writes to the EHR and checks eligibility. Smith.ai's medical page said the service is not HIPAA compliant when we checked in October 2026; confirm with Smith.ai.
Switching from Smith.ai?
We migrate your data free and run both in parallel until your team is comfortable.