Using custom actions to improve new client intake

For Veterinary Clinics, the first call or website visit sets the tone for the client relationship. Your front desk is already juggling check-ins, urgent cases, and a ringing phone. When a new client reaches out after hours or during a busy morning, the call often rolls to voicemail, the email sits unanswered, or the client shows up without the forms you need. That creates a backlog of administrative catch-up before the pet is even in the exam room.

Custom actions address this directly. Instead of asking a staff member to play phone tag for basic information, you can have your Chatref agent gather it right in the chat. It asks the questions you’d normally cover in that first call – client and pet names, which doctor they prefer, what’s bringing them in – and logs the answers. The client feels heard and the front desk gets a complete intake packet, not a cryptic message slip.

Chatref already answers common questions from your own practice documents – hours, services, what to bring – so the client knows what to expect. Custom actions let that same conversation guide the intake process. When a client asks about becoming a new patient or mentions an appointment, the agent can switch from answering to asking: “I can get you set up. What’s your pet’s name, and what’s the main reason for the visit?”

Each response the client gives is captured as a data point you define. You might collect phone number, preferred appointment time, or a short description of the pet’s symptoms. Behind the chat, a custom action can then trigger a tool you already use – sending a notification to your practice management inbox, forwarding the details to a scheduler, or tagging the conversation for follow-up. The agent stays grounded in your own content, so the questions it asks are built from the same intake forms and protocols your team already uses.

1. Add your intake information
   Upload your new-client forms, standard intake questions, or website pages that explain what a first visit requires. Point Chatref at your practice details so it knows exactly what to ask.

2. Define your custom actions
   In your Chatref dashboard, navigate to the agent’s settings and create a custom action. Choose the type – collecting structured information, sending an email, or triggering an external tool. Name the fields you need: for example, pet_name, owner_phone, visit_reason. Write a short prompt that tells the agent when to use this action, such as “When a visitor asks about becoming a new client or booking a first appointment.”

3. Test the flow
   Use the live playground to chat as a new client. Walk through the intake – ask about hours, say you’d like to schedule an appointment, and provide the requested details. Confirm that the agent asks the right questions in the right order and that the captured data lands where you expect it. Adjust the order of questions or add missing fields as needed.

4. Add the widget to your site
   Place the Chatref embed snippet on your homepage, your “New Clients” page, or your contact page. One snippet activates the agent everywhere you allow it. The widget loads instantly for anyone visiting your site, ready to start the intake conversation any time of day.

Once the intake path works, tune it based on what you learn from real conversations. The Agent says, “This is your first visit, so here’s what we’ll need: your contact details, your pet’s info, and what’s worrying you. I’ll send this ahead to the team so they can have the chart ready when you walk in.”

• Layer in pre-screening – add a custom action that asks about recent travel, known allergies, or whether the pet is taking any medications. This turns the chatbot into a triage assistant that surfaces urgent cases before the appointment.
• Connect to your daily workflow – configure the action to send a structured message to a Slack channel or your practice email, formatted exactly how your team likes it. That way the intake arrives where you already work, not buried in a separate inbox.
• Review the conversation tags – Chatref tags conversations by topic automatically. Filter for “new client” or “intake” tags each week and look for patterns. If clients keep asking the same follow-up question after providing their details, adjust the action to address it proactively.
• Keep content fresh – if your intake forms change or you add a new doctor, update the source documents. The agent will pick up the changes the next time it pulls from your content, so the intake process never drifts from what your team actually needs.

What causes new client intake problems for Veterinary Clinics?

New client intake slows down because the process relies almost entirely on phone calls during business hours. When the front desk is busy with in-person patients, new-client calls go to voicemail or get cut short, leaving the staff to chase people down later. After-hours inquiries sit until morning, and manual data entry from scribbled notes creates errors and repeat calls. Without a self-service way to provide basic information, every new client becomes an administrative bottleneck.

How do I improve new client intake for Veterinary Clinics?

Shift the first step from a phone call to an on-site chat that works around the clock. Use a tool like Chatref to answer intake questions and collect client details from your own documents, so the front desk gets a complete picture before they even pick up the phone. The chat can ask for contact information, pet details, and the visit reason – then pass that straight to your scheduling system or inbox – cutting out the back-and-forth that eats up time and frustrates clients.