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Senior living · Assisted living

Assisted living answering service for inquiries, tours and urgent move-ins

An assisted living answering service should give a worried family a real answer at 9 p.m. and leave the price of care to your nurse’s assessment. Your AI receptionist answers from your published information and books the tour in your connected calendar. Urgent hospital-discharge calls go through to the person on call.

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What an assisted living answering service should do, and where it stops

Families decide fast, often after a fall or a hospital stay. The calls that come in at night are often the urgent ones.

In 2023, 56% of assisted living move-ins came within 30 days of the first inquiry. That’s from an analysis of 175,561 move-ins (Lana Peck, via McKnight’s). Assisted living occupancy reached 89.1% in the third quarter of 2026, up from 88.3% the quarter before (NIC MAP). Fewer open apartments make each inquiry count.

Night calls are where communities lose them. Bild & Co., a sales consulting firm, ran a mystery shop in 2024. At night and on weekends, 63% of callers reached voicemail or were asked to call back. Across the study, 32% of shoppers said they wouldn’t visit (McKnight’s).

Your AI virtual receptionist answers those calls from your published information. It asks your inquiry questions, books tours in your connected calendar and puts urgent calls through to the one number you choose. Everything else waits for your team in the portal with the caller’s answers, and goes into your CRM if it has an open API.

Where it stops

It never quotes care fees beyond your published rates. It never says an apartment is held, or that someone is a fit for assisted living. Your nurse’s assessment sets the care plan and the care fee. The phone call doesn’t.

AI receptionist for assisted living: the call map

An assisted living line gets five kinds of call. Each ends differently, and your rules set every ending.

A call comes in. The greeting says it’s an AI and that the call is recorded.

  1. Adult child, planning ahead Mom fell twice this year. What does assisted living cost with you?
    Your virtual receptionistGives your published starting rates and says care fees follow the nurse’s assessment. Then asks your inquiry questions.
    The call endsTour booked on the call, in your calendar
    Your team receivesThe answers in your portal, and in your CRM if it has an open API; an email that a call came in.Senior living inquiry questions
  2. Hospital discharge this week They’re discharging Dad on Friday. Can he move in?
    Your virtual receptionistTakes the discharge date and the hospital, then follows your rule for short-notice moves.
    The call endsPut through to the manager on call
    Your team receivesA live call. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message.Hospital referral intake
  3. Respite stay I’m having surgery in March. Can Mom stay with you for three weeks?
    Your virtual receptionistAnswers from your respite policy: minimum stay, the daily rate you publish, what’s included.
    The call endsThe dates taken; a tour booked if they’d like one
    Your team receivesThe dates and the questions asked, for your sales director.
  4. Family of a resident This is Rita’s daughter. She sounded upset on the phone tonight.
    Your virtual receptionistNever discusses the resident. Puts care concerns through to the person on call, by your rules.
    The call endsPut through, or a message for the nurse
    Your team receivesA live call, or a message for the next shift.After-hours family calls
  5. Vendor, applicant, anyone else I’m calling about the caregiver job.
    Your virtual receptionistAnswers from your rules, or takes the reason and a callback number.
    The call endsAnswered, or a message
    Your team receivesA message headed with who called and why.

One agent puts every call through to the same number, such as the manager on call, and takes a message if nobody answers within 20 seconds. If sales calls and care calls need different people at night, build two agents in one account. Calls your rules mark urgent are flagged urgent in the portal and get their own email. For a health agent, that email only says an urgent call came in; the details stay in the portal.

Assisted living inquiry calls: care-level questions and what the agent says

Families ask about care in the first minute. The answers come from your business rules. Anything that depends on the person waits for your team, because the nurse’s assessment, not the phone call, sets the care plan and the price.

Care-level questions families ask an assisted living community, what the AI receptionist says and what it never says
The family asksWhat the agent says, from your rulesWhat it never says
“How much is assisted living?”Your published starting rates, worded the way you wrote them, and that care fees are set after the nurse’s assessment.A monthly total for this person, or a care level.
“Mom needs help with bathing and her pills. Is that extra?”How your pricing works: care levels, points or all-inclusive, as your rules describe it. It notes the needs in the family’s words.Which level she would be on, or what it would cost.
“Can you take someone with dementia?”Whether you have a memory care neighborhood, and that your team talks through fit after an assessment.Whether this person would be accepted. Fair housing rules cover oral statements too (24 CFR 100.75).
“What happens at the assessment?”Who does it (your nurse or wellness director), where, how long it takes and what to bring.What the assessment will find.
“Do you take Medicaid or long-term care insurance?”The payment sources you accept. If the family mentions VA benefits, it notes that for your team.Whether this person qualifies, or what a policy will pay.
“Can she stay a few weeks after my surgery?”Your respite policy: minimum and maximum stay, the daily rate you publish, what’s included.That an apartment is free, unless your rules have it book respite stays from your calendar.
“Is a nurse there at night?”Your staffing, only as you describe it in your rules.Anything you haven’t written.

Residential care is licensed and regulated by each state, and requirements “vary considerably” (ASPE). VA Aid and Attendance adds a monthly amount to a VA pension for qualified veterans and survivors (VA); the VA processes those claims. General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours.

Assisted living after-hours calls: an urgent discharge at 8:50 p.m.

The son needs a move within days. The agent gives the published rate only, takes his answers and follows the rule that puts short-notice moves through to the manager on call. It never says an apartment is free.

Sample call · Willow Creek Assisted Living (example community). Example call with made-up names. The recording, transcript and summary are in your 365vox portal for the days you choose.
  1. AI receptionistThanks for calling Willow Creek Assisted Living. I’m an AI assistant. This call is recorded and transcribed so we can handle your request. How can I help you today?
  2. CallerHi. My mother is at Mercy Hospital after a fall. They want to discharge her on Friday, and she can’t go home alone. Do you have room?
  3. AI receptionistI’m sorry about your mother’s fall. I can’t check or hold apartments, but our manager on call can talk with you tonight. First, can I get your full name?
  4. CallerDavid Chen.
  5. AI receptionistThank you, David. What’s the best number to reach you?
  6. Caller503-555-0164.
  7. AI receptionistThat’s 503-555-0164. Who will be moving, and how are you related?
  8. CallerMy mother, Grace Chen. She’s 84.
  9. AI receptionistAnd the discharge is this Friday, from Mercy Hospital. Is that right?
  10. CallerYes. What does it cost? I need to know before Friday.
  11. AI receptionistOur published assisted living rates start at $4,900 a month. Care fees are added after our nurse’s assessment, which happens before move-in. The manager can explain how that works for your mother.
  12. CallerOK. Can I talk to someone now?
  13. AI receptionistYes. Because the discharge is within three days, I’ll put you through to Angela, our manager on call. If she doesn’t pick up, I’ll come back on the line and take a message for her. One moment.

What it never does on an assisted living line

These come from the five built-in rules and the rules you add in step 10.

  • Never quotes a care fee beyond your published rates, and never estimates a total for a person.
  • Never says an apartment is available, held or reserved, and never takes a deposit.
  • Never tells a family their parent qualifies, or doesn’t, for assisted living or memory care.
  • Never asks whether the future resident has a disability or a diagnosis. It notes what the family volunteers, in their words.
  • Never confirms that someone lives in your community, or discusses a resident’s health or care.
  • Never gives medical advice about a fall, a medication or a discharge plan.
  • Never calls families back. It sends no text messages and makes no outgoing calls: it answers the calls that come in.

Why the assessment sets the price

Your care fee depends on the help a resident needs, and your nurse measures that at the assessment. A number said on the phone before then can sound like a promise.

So the agent gives your published starting rates, the way you wrote them, and stops there. The built-in rule “Never promise prices, refunds, discounts or outcomes” backs this up.

Starter rules for an assisted living line

Paste these into step 9, Business rules, and replace every bracket with your own words. The rules box holds up to 4,000 characters, next to your website and up to 3 documents, such as your rate sheet and respite policy.

Every call the agent puts through goes to the one number in step 4. These rules call that person “the manager on call”. Have your executive director, your wellness nurse and whoever handles privacy read them before you test.

Business rules · assisted living (starting point)

Starting point only: review with your clinicians and your privacy officer before you use it.

About us: [Community name] is an assisted living community in [city]. We also offer [memory care / respite stays]. Tours run [days and hours].

Tours: Offer every family a tour. Book it in the calendar at a time that suits them, and read the day and time back.

Prices: Say only these published rates: assisted living starts at [$ a month] for a [studio]. Say that care fees are set after our nurse’s assessment, before move-in. Never estimate a care fee or a total for a person.

Assessment: Our [wellness nurse] does the assessment [at the hospital, at home or here]. It takes about [time]. Families bring [list].

Availability: Never say an apartment is available, held or reserved. Say our team confirms availability.

Respite stays: Minimum stay [days]. Daily rate [$]. Includes [meals, care, activities]. [Choose one: book the stay in our calendar when an apartment is free on those dates, or take the dates the family wants for our team.]

Short-notice moves: A family or hospital may say the move is within [3] days. Treat the call as urgent. Say you will put them through to the manager on call, then put the call through.

Payment: We accept [private pay, long-term care insurance, a Medicaid waiver program]. Never say whether a person qualifies for a program or what insurance will pay.

Residents: Never confirm whether someone lives here, and never discuss a resident. If a caller is worried about a resident’s care tonight, put the call through. Otherwise take a message for the nurse.

Harm or money: If a caller describes abuse, neglect, an unexplained injury or missing money, write down their words and treat the call as urgent. Before you put the call through, tell the caller: if someone is in danger, hang up and call 911.

Anything else: If the answer isn’t here or on our website, say you don’t have that information and offer to take a message.

A starting point, not legal or clinical advice. Change it to match your state’s rules and your own policies.

Build it yourself

Build your assisted living line yourself

Families say things like “Mom has dementia” on the first call. So when you create the agent, answer Yes to the health question and accept the health-information agreement. Then set these on the Customize screen.

Build yours free for 7 days

You set all of this yourself in the 365vox portal, on the Customize screen. Everything saves as you type; then you submit, test the agent with a real call and activate it.

Customize · your agent

  1. Step 1, IndustryOther. Your business rules describe your community, its care levels and respite stays.
  2. Step 3, Questions to askName, phone and email are there. Add Who are you calling about, and how are you related?, Is there a hospital discharge date?, When are you hoping to move?, Are you asking about a respite stay? and How did you hear about us?
  3. Step 4, Forward to a personThe manager on call, who can talk about a short-notice move tonight. One number per agent. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message.
  4. Step 5, IntegrationsConnect your sales director’s calendar, so the agent books tours and assessments during the call. If your senior living CRM has an open API, connect it too: tours, callers’ details and call notes go straight into it.
  5. Step 7, When your agent answersOverflow in office hours (your phone rings first; the agent answers after 20 seconds), plus after hours and weekends.
  6. Step 8, Call notificationsYour sales director and executive director. Each email says only that a call came in; the details are in the portal. Calls your rules mark urgent get their own email.
  7. Step 9, Business rulesThe starter rules above, your website, and up to 3 documents: your rate sheet, respite policy and admission paperwork list.
  8. Step 10, Things your agent will never doThe five built-in rules stay on. Add Never say an apartment is available or held and Never estimate a care fee.
  9. Step 13, Test your agentCall it as a son with a Friday discharge would. You can’t activate it until you’ve called it.

What an assisted living answering service costs, worked out

$0.75 a conversation minute, billed by the second. No monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. The example below covers nights, weekends and overflow during the day.

See AI receptionist pricing Estimate your cost

Example: an 80-apartment assisted living community

After hours, weekends and daytime overflow.

Inquiries from adult children and seniors
30 calls × 4 min
Families of residents
40 calls × 2.5 min
Residents
20 calls × 2 min
Discharge planners and referral agencies
6 calls × 3 min
Vendors, applicants and others
20 calls × 1.5 min
Total
116 calls · 308 min
Monthly cost$231

308 minutes × $0.75 = $231 a month. Illustrative assumptions chosen by 365vox, not a customer result. Your own calls decide your cost. Taxes where applicable.

Comparing virtual receptionist services?

Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.

The virtual receptionist, minus the call center

Assisted living answering service FAQs

What does an assisted living answering service say when a family asks about price?
Only your published rates, worded the way you wrote them, such as “assisted living starts at $4,900 a month for a studio”. It adds that care fees are set after your nurse’s assessment. It never estimates a care fee or a total for a person: the built-in rule bars promising prices. The family’s cost questions are in the call record, so your sales director can answer them on the call back.
How does the agent handle a hospital discharge that’s days away?
As your rules say. For example: if the discharge is within three days, mark the call urgent and put it through to the manager on call; otherwise book a tour or an assessment. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message, and the urgent call gets its own email. For a health agent that email only says an urgent call came in, so the manager opens the portal for the details. Calls from planners themselves are covered in hospital referral intake.
Can the AI receptionist explain our levels of care to families?
Yes, as you’ve written them. Describe each level in your rules or a document: what’s included, how residents move between levels and how the assessment works. The agent explains that structure. It never says which level a person would be on, because that comes from your assessment. If a family describes needs, such as help with medications, it records them in their words.
Can families ask about a respite stay after hours?
Yes. Put your respite policy in your rules: minimum and maximum stay, the daily rate you publish, what’s included and the paperwork. The agent answers from it. Whether it books the stay on the call is your decision: with respite stays in your connected calendar, it can book them when an apartment is free; otherwise it takes the dates the family wants, the reason in their words and a callback number, and your team confirms. The respite agreement stays with your team.
Which state rules affect what our assisted living agent can say?
State licensing rules set what assisted living may provide and who it may admit or keep, and they differ widely (ASPE). The agent doesn’t know your state’s rules. It says what your business rules say. So write admission and care answers with whoever handles licensing for you, and keep anything that depends on a person’s condition for the assessment. General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours.
What happens when the son of a current resident calls at night?
The agent doesn’t confirm or discuss the resident. If he’s worried about her care tonight, your rules can put him through to the manager on call. Otherwise it takes a message for the nurse. Where HIPAA applies, a provider may share what’s relevant with family involved in care unless the patient objects (HHS FAQ 2087). That judgment belongs to your staff. See after-hours family calls.
How quickly do assisted living families decide, and why does night coverage matter?
Quickly. In 2023, 56% of assisted living move-ins came within 30 days of the first inquiry, in an analysis of 175,561 move-ins (McKnight’s). In a mystery shop reported in 2024, 63% of night and weekend callers reached voicemail or were asked to call back (McKnight’s). The agent answers those calls and leaves your team a full record to call back from.
How much would round-the-clock inquiry coverage cost an 80-apartment community?
In the worked example above, 116 calls a month during nights, weekends and daytime overflow add up to 308 minutes. At $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, that’s $231 a month. There’s no monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. Your own calls decide your cost. See pricing.

The discharge is Friday. The family is calling tonight.

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