No. Chatbots answer questions. Our agents take actions — booking appointments, sending emails, following up with customers, checking calendars. Think of it as your most reliable employee, working 24/7.

Do I need to be technical?

Not at all. We handle the setup. You just use your email and calendar like normal. If you can check your inbox, you can use your AI agent.

What if it sends something wrong?

Every consequential action goes through your approval. Your agent drafts responses, books appointments, sends follow-ups — but nothing goes out without you saying yes. You're always in control.

How much does it cost?

We don't publish pricing because every business is different. But we'll give you a fixed price on the call — no surprises, no hidden fees, no monthly lock-in. Starter setups from £1,500.

What if it doesn't work for my business?

30-day money-back guarantee. If your agent isn't saving you time within the first month, you get a full refund. No questions asked.

Can it handle care home enquiries and family communications?

Yes. Care homes are one of our strongest verticals. Our agents handle initial enquiries from families searching for care, book viewings and assessment visits, send follow-up information packages, and manage ongoing family communications.

How AI Agents Handle Care Home Enquiries After Hours — A Guide for UK Care Providers

67% of care home enquiries arrive outside office hours. Most go unanswered for 12+ hours. Here's how AI agents are changing that.

The care home enquiry problem no one talks about

When a family member starts looking for a care home, they don't wait for 9am. They search at 10pm, after a difficult conversation with their parent. They send enquiries at 6am, before work. They browse on Sunday afternoons, when the worry won't let them rest.

The data is stark: 67% of care home enquiries arrive outside standard office hours. And the average response time? Over 12 hours. By the time your team replies, that family has already contacted three other homes. One of them replied first. You lost the enquiry.

This isn't a staffing problem — it's a timing problem. Care home managers can't be available 24/7. Reception staff go home at 5pm. Even the most dedicated team can't answer emails at midnight.

But an AI agent can.

What an AI agent actually does for care home enquiries

An AI agent isn't a chatbot that parrots FAQs. It's a system that reads enquiries, understands context, asks the right follow-up questions, and takes action — all without human intervention until a qualified lead is ready for your team.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Instant response — Every enquiry gets a reply within seconds, 24/7. Families feel heard immediately, not left waiting.
Smart qualification — The agent asks about care needs, timeline, budget, and location. It scores leads so your team knows which enquiries to prioritise.
Personalised follow-up — Not generic emails. The agent references specific needs, sends relevant brochures, and checks in at the right intervals.
Appointment booking — Families can book viewing appointments directly through the agent, synced to your calendar in real time.
Handoff to your team — When a lead is qualified and ready, the agent passes everything to your care manager with full context. No dropped conversations.

Why care homes are different from other businesses

Care home enquiries are emotionally charged. Families aren't comparing prices on a widget — they're making one of the most difficult decisions of their lives. They need reassurance, empathy, and clear information. They need to feel confident that their loved one will be safe and cared for.

This means an AI agent for care homes can't be generic. It needs to:

Understand care terminology — Respite care, nursing care, dementia care, residential care. The agent knows the difference and routes enquiries accordingly.
Show empathy — The tone matters. Families need to feel heard, not processed. A well-configured agent uses warm, reassuring language that builds trust.
Handle sensitive questions — Cost, visiting policies, end-of-life care. The agent provides clear, honest answers without making families feel awkward for asking.
Know your home — Room types, staff ratios, activities, CQC rating. The agent represents your home accurately and positively.

The numbers that matter

Let's talk about what this actually means for your occupancy rate:

Response time drops from 12+ hours to under 60 seconds — Families remember who replied first.
Enquiry-to-viewing conversion improves by 40-60% — When families get immediate, helpful responses, they're more likely to book a viewing.
Your team saves 2-3 hours per day — No more chasing enquiries, drafting follow-up emails, or playing phone tag. Your staff focus on care, not admin.
After-hours enquiries convert at the same rate as daytime — Previously lost opportunities become real leads.

What families actually experience

Here's how a typical enquiry flows with an AI agent:

10:47pm — Sarah submits an enquiry through your website: "Looking for a care home for my mum. She has early-stage dementia and needs residential care. Can we arrange a visit?"

10:47pm — The AI agent replies instantly: "Thank you for reaching out, Sarah. I'm sorry to hear about your mum — finding the right care home is an important decision, and we're here to help. To make sure I connect you with the right person, could you let me know: what area are you looking in, and do you have a preferred time for a viewing?"

10:52pm — Sarah responds with her location and availability.

10:53pm — The agent checks the calendar, suggests three viewing slots, and sends a link to your dementia care brochure.

11:15pm — Sarah books a viewing for Thursday at 2pm.

8:30am next day — Your care manager arrives to find a fully qualified lead: Sarah's requirements, timeline, care needs, and a confirmed viewing. The agent has already sent a confirmation email and a reminder is scheduled for Wednesday.

Your team did none of this. The agent handled everything while you were asleep.

Common concerns (and honest answers)

"Will families know they're talking to an AI?"

Yes — and that's fine. We set up agents to be transparent. "I'm an AI assistant working with the [Home Name] team." Families appreciate honesty, and they appreciate speed even more. Most care home enquiries are about information and logistics, not deep emotional counselling. The agent handles the former; your team handles the latter.

"What if the agent gets something wrong?"

The agent is configured with your exact information — services, prices, policies, availability. It doesn't guess. And every response is logged, so you can review conversations and refine the agent's knowledge base over time.

"Can it handle complex enquiries?"

Yes. The agent is trained on your specific care home — your services, your rooms, your team, your policies. For enquiries that genuinely need a human (medical questions, detailed care planning, complaints), the agent escalates immediately with full context.

Is this right for your care home?

An AI enquiry agent makes sense if:

You receive enquiries outside office hours (most care homes do)
Your team spends significant time on email and phone follow-up
You've lost enquiries because you couldn't respond quickly enough
You want to improve your enquiry-to-viewing conversion rate
Your care managers are stretched between admin and actual care responsibilities

It doesn't replace your team. It handles the repetitive, time-sensitive work so your team can focus on what they do best: caring for residents and supporting families.

Next steps

We build care home enquiry agents in 48 hours. The process is simple: a 15-minute call to understand your home and your enquiry flow, then we configure and deploy your agent.

No long-term contracts. No hidden costs. If it doesn't work for your home, you walk away.

Book a 15-minute call →

About Propel: We build AI agents for UK small businesses — care homes, salons, clinics, consultancies, and trades. Fixed-price setup. No monthly lock-in. Based in Lincolnshire, working nationwide.