This case study follows a Melbourne psychology practice seeing real patients every day. Like most small practices, its front desk is busiest exactly when the phones are: during session hours. And like most practices, the questions don't stop when the practice closes.
In June 2026, the practice added RIKO to its website. RIKO reads the practice's own site and documents, then answers patient questions in a chat window around the clock: fees, Medicare rebates, what to expect in a first session, referrals, parking. When someone wants to book or needs a human, it collects their details and sends them straight to the practice team.
The first seven weeks, measured
These numbers come straight from the practice's live conversation logs between 3 June and 23 July 2026. No projections, no estimates.
That first number is the one worth sitting with. More than half of everything patients wanted to know was asked at a time when, before RIKO, the practice was a voicemail. Those questions used to become missed calls, unanswered emails, or - most often - a patient quietly moving on to the next practice on the list.
Built for a psychology practice, not a shop
A chatbot on a psychology website carries responsibilities a retail chatbot never has to think about. RIKO's setup at this practice reflects that:
Crisis-safe by design
If a visitor's message suggests they may be in crisis, RIKO immediately provides crisis resources (000, Lifeline, Beyond Blue) and alerts the practice - before anything else happens.
Never pretends to be a person
Visitors who need a human are pointed to the practice's real contact channels, not strung along.
Answers only from the practice's own material
Every answer is grounded in the practice's website and documents. Questions it can't answer confidently are escalated to the team instead of guessed at.
Data stays private
Conversations are stored securely in Australia, never used to train AI models, and covered by our security and privacy commitments.
The strongest signal: they doubled down
After seven weeks of live use, the practice didn't just keep RIKO running - it rolled RIKO out to its second clinic, with its own separate knowledge base and its own patient audience.
A tool only gets deployed twice when the first deployment earned it.
"We were surprised how naturally RIKO handles patient questions: everything from Medicare rebates to how our sessions work. It's taken a real load off our admin team, and new patients get an immediate response even when we're closed."Psychology practice, Melbourne
What this means for your practice
This practice's pattern is not unusual - it's the norm. People look for a psychologist, physio, or allied-health provider in the evening, once the day is done and there's finally a quiet moment. If your practice is invisible at 8pm, you're invisible at the exact moment patients are deciding.
RIKO is trained on your website in minutes, not months. You can see it answering questions about your own practice before you pay a cent.